Thanksgiving Is For Family

For decades, “Black Friday,” noted as the official “kick-off” to the holiday shopping season, has become an infamous tradition among bargain shoppers and retail enthusiasts everywhere.

According to a survey done by statisticbrain.com, the total cost of in-store consumer spending on Black Friday in 2015 came out to a whopping $67 billion, with the average amount spent by an individual coming out to approximately $400.

With the success, many stores have turned away from waiting until 7 a.m on Friday morning to begin their deals. Over the past few years, retail giants such as Walmart, Best Buy, and Target have opened their doors to eager shoppers even earlier that morning, and even on the evening of Thanksgiving Day.

And this year, some stores are opening their doors even earlier.

According to blackfriday.com, stores such as Dollar General and Big Lots will be opening as early as 7 a.m on Thanksgiving Day (really!?), while larger department stores and Walmart will be open continuously from Thursday to late Friday.

While the deals can be hard to miss, you have to think about the effect this can have on the retail workers as stores begin to open earlier every year.

In 2013, an article from the Huffington Post focused on the worth of working on Thanksgiving for retail workers. Many of the workers interviewed confessed that missing the holidays with their families (especially their children) was not worth the few extra bucks, the excruciatingly long hours, and the approval of their boss. Many, according to the article, had decided to make that Thanksgiving shift their last.

Many large retail corporations have actually had instances of managers firing employees for trying to take off Thanksgiving Day to spend time with their families.

Retail workers shouldn’t be forced to work on Thanksgiving Day. In some cases, holidays (such as Thanksgiving) serve as the only time for entire families to come together. Some employees may offer to work, but no one should be forced or have the threat of losing their jobs as “punishment” looming over their heads if they decide to choose family over work.

On the contrary, some companies have decided this year that there are some things money can’t buy, such as spending valuable time with your family. Home Depot, T.J. Maxx, and hhgregg are among the many companies nationwide that have vowed to keep their doors closed on Thanksgiving Day this year.

Isn’t it ironic that the same companies that display family affection in their advertisements dismiss family values when it comes to making a profit?

Sure, the company will fill their annual sales quota, but it will leave millions of empty seats at the Thanksgiving table.

Allison Duda is a writer for EdinboroNow. She can be reached at ad152438@scots.edinboro.edu.