Star-Trib to Target Employee Forced to Work on Thanksgiving: "Buck up, Take This Job and Be Grateful

[marmar]

Star Tribune to Target Employee Forced to Work on Thanksgiving: "Buck up, Take This Job and Be Grateful"


If you need a shocking example that the mainstream media is irrelevant, here is an easy one: The brilliant editorial staff at the Star Tribune responded to Anthony Harding's petition to get Target and other stores to push back their ridiculous 12am Black Friday openings to 5am, (so that employees can have a Thanksgiving that does not require them to return to work by 11pm) with this:

Two words for Anthony Hardwick: Buck up.

He’s the Target employee from Omaha who led a petition drive to stop the retail giant from opening its doors at midnight on Black Friday. Don’t impinge on workers’ Thanksgiving celebrations, he said.

Hardwick’s intentions are good, but when nearly 14 million Americans are unemployed, complaining about work hours is grossly self-indulgent.

He, a Target employee who wants to go to work at 5 am the day after Thanksgiving, is grossly self-indulgent? Not the CEOs making bank and paying their employees minimum wage to stock shelves on Thanksgiving? ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/737517/star_tribune_to_target_employee_forced_to_work_on_thanksgiving%3A_%22buck_up%2C_take_this_job_and_be_grateful%22/

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

1. The new normal

no holidays, no sick time, no vacation.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

2. The a-h reporter who wrote this is Thomas Lee, and his e-mail is....

[e-mail]

Read the article here, and then enjoy e-mailing Mr. Lee, who clearly thinks the poor have a right to suffer, to starve and to endure any amount of crap at minimum wage.

Frankly, Mr. Lee's patronizing, sarcastic being can kiss my ass.

[Juneboarder]

57. Just sent him an email and thought I'd share with you:

Hi Mr. Lee,

I read your editorial piece and the first kind comment that came to my mind (after many several rude comments) is that you're probably not one of those privileged enough to be required to show up at your place of employment at 11pm, Thanksgiving night. I mean, how awesome is it that these folks give up enjoying their families to worry about getting to sleep in time so they can wake up and get to work by 11pm that night. It is truly the American Dream to be able to work slave hours for slave pay; wouldn't you agree. We should definitely be happy to have a job, possibly two or three, that each pay minimum wage so that we can barely provide food and shelter for our families. (Sarcasm, in case you didn't catch it)

I ask one thing of you this Thanksgiving Mr. Lee, as you sit around the Thanksgiving dinner table with the food spread about ready to indulge with your family at your side; please make sure to say your thanks for having those minimum wage slaves that will be there to assist you in your Black Friday shopping. Hopefully you aren't ever in a position of being forced to work for slave wages.

[WI_DEM]

59. perfect!

[Juneboarder]

60. Thomas Lee responded:

HI. I appreciate your comments. However, I did not write the piece you are referencing. Our editorial board, which is independent of the newsroom, wrote the commentary. I’m forwarding your note to Scott Gillespie, our editorial page editor. Best…T

[e-mail]

[coalition_unwilling]

3. And you wonder why Star Trib wonders in and out of bankrupcy

ever since McClatchy dumped it back in 2007? You have your answer right here.

Q.E.D.

[Brigid]

4. Jesus!

Is it really necessary to be made to feel like Oliver Twist if you have a job these days? :banghead:

[jakefrep]

5. Target's HQ is in Minneapolis, no?

Is the Star-Tribune a house organ for Target?

[HockeyMom]

6. I had to work at Midnight Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years

but that was in a Group Home for the Development Disabled people. I had no problem with it because it was NEEDED. I suppose hospital staff, police, and firefighters would say the same. There is no NEED for people to go shopping at Midnight for "bargains" other than the stores want the sales and MONEY.

[Ilsa]

7. I agree with the employee.

I used to watch my mother-in-law leave our family gathering, go to bed early on Thanksgiving so she could be in at work the next day at 4am, but it was grocery store work. Not having a full day to celebrate with family or friends is a terrible drag, and personally, I don't think it accomplishes that much.

My solution would be for shoppers to not honor these early bird sale events. Make them unprofitable.

[Cid_B]

8. The guy didn't even have to work that day...

He just didn't want anyone else to get time and a half... He is an ass....

"The team member you are referencing is not now, and has never been, scheduled to work on Thanksgiving or Black Friday at Target," company spokeswoman Molly Snyder said Wednesday via emai

http://www.twincities.com/ci_19349889

[marmar]

9. "He just didn't want anyone else to get time and a half."

And you know that how? ...... There's an ass, but it's not him.

[Cid_B]

19. Great example of knowing what is best for other people...

He requested the day off and got it... No one is putting a gun to the head of the people who chose to work that day apparently.

[Occulus]

23. "knowing what is best for other people"

Yeah, even for people who miscarry after being kicked in the stomach and dosed with pepper spray

:evilfrown:

[Obamanaut]

45. Interesting threads on this, here ->

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=2366410&mesg_id=2366410

edited to add this newer one http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2367695

[Politicalboi]

25. Eventually someone HAS to work

As much as I need money, I would not want to work the holidays. And there has to be others who didn't want to work, but have to or they will lose their job. This is minimum wage after all, and Target to boot. People should NOT go shopping at midnight just because of the greed. Make them spend more money on electricity than they made in sales.

[Chan790]

39. Having worked this sort of job before...

let me tell you that it's never quite so hunky-dory as you think this is.

I worked for _____, a chain coffeehouse. The company said it was up to the store's staff to decide (in October) if they wanted to be open on Christmas rather than close early on Christmas Eve. We decided "no f**king way". The DM wanted the store to be open because we're a store 1/2block off I-95 almost exactly halfway between Boston and NYC so he refused to accept "No" for an answer and told his boss we'd agreed to open on Christmas and wanted to be open late on Christmas Eve if we could have holiday pay. This is something that was readily agreed to by management from management. None of this came from store staff.

Two months later, unable to find enough people to work Christmas and Christmas Eve and in danger of having to work the store themselves...I and 2 other people were informed by the DM and store manager that we were "choosing" to work rather than choosing to be singled out for harassment and shit-listing.

I walked in on the 23rd and quit.

[LeftyMom]

10. Oh, you're still here?

Good to know you found yet another thing to be wrong about. I find consistency admirable.

[CreekDog]

29. Republican family values

have to work so hard that you never see your children.

but in the long run...oh yeah, we'll regret that.

:wtf:

[Cid_B]

32. So don't....

He didn't and you don't have to either...

Also, you guys need a hobby that isn't me.

[CreekDog]

35. always amazed at how little capacity you have for compassion

and for empathy.

what happened to you that broke those human qualities?

[Cid_B]

36. I think it's not empathetic

... to keep people who might want to work and get some overtime from providing for their families because some guy thinks they shouldn't.

Also, it strikes me as particularly whiny because I know too many people who missed every holiday for over a year , several times, for crappy pay and no days off at all and this guy complains because he might have to adjust his sleep schedule (except he doesn't because he got the day off.)

[CreekDog]

37. it's not just about this, it's about going into suicide threads to interrupt the sympathy

it's about throwing cold water on people about to get civil rights.

it's about the whole bullying thing.

it's just about always interupting people caring about other people here and expressing that.

if it was just one issue it would be one thing, but you particularly crave situations of death, misery, poverty and pain to tell people that it's just not that big of a deal.

that's what weirds me out.

[Chan790]

40. Hobby?

This is self-policing the fora.

[RetroLounge]

30. Yeah, as opposed to normal kids

Oh, wait, that was your gay-bashing thread.

I get your right-wing posts all mixed up.

RL

[Chan790]

41. I am beginning to wonder...

whose cousin he is because I've seen long-time posters banned for a lot less than Cid_B gets away with.

[CreekDog]

54. !

:rofl:

[Selatius]

44. That's a pretty huge assumption. You sure he didn't just feel solidarity with his fellow workers? nt

[Cid_B]

48. If he felt "solidarity" then he would be there sharing the burden...

... but that's just me.

[Saphire]

52. There will be no overtime....employees clock in at 12:01am FRIDAY.

Target will not be open for one minute on Thanksgiving day.

[Logical]

11. Lots of people have to work holidays. Cops. Firefighters.

[LeftyMom]

12. They make a teeny bit more than Target cashiers. And they're needed in the middle of the night.

Nobody has a 3 am emergency because they can't buy some jeans, paper plates and a Transformers toy.

[PM Martin]

26. Correct.

Americans are not even allowed a single holiday. Sad. They have to work and are cheated out of the majority of the profits.

[Ilsa]

13. Yes, and nurses, doctors, all vocations in which lives are dependent

on those people being available.

The same level of importance cannot be ascribed to retail. What's the big deal if they just open early, such as at 7am? Give employees a chance to spend time with family or friends.

[Logical]

14. What about quiktrip or 24 hour walmart. Close and fire those people?

[marmar]

15. Huh?

:wtf:

[Politicalboi]

28. Quicktrip is like 7/11 or Am Pm mini marts

They can close whenever they want too. And why not close the 24 hour Wal-Mart. Let the employees have a holiday with their family. It's understandable. If they all closed like years ago, they wouldn't have to compete, and put their minimum wage people through so much stress. The people are going to be there when they open. There should be a law that working holidays pays 3 times the amount of pay no matter how many hours worked during the week, of even if you're a new employee. The older you get, you realize that no amount of money can buy back your life, even for a holiday.

[CreekDog]

33. I was just in Germany and you know, it was a little harder to shop there for certain things

Because stuff closed early or on certain days. I never did without anything important. And while it was slightly inconvenient, I had the comfort of knowing that the people who served me when the stores were open were not forced to work there on crazy hours. Perhaps they were off being human beings, being with their families, doing something educational, etc.

And in exchange for me not being able to buy some deodorant at every store on a Sunday? That's a good trade and it's not much to ask of me or other consumers. But it means a ton to those workers' children and families who get to see more of them.

Meanwhile, this the purportedly most Christian nation in the world makes people work so hard their kids barely see them --well, if they're poor. And even with all that work, those kids are more likely to be hungry or without health care than in a place like Germany.

That's our shame and it shows that our Christianity doesn't actually run that deep despite all those full evangelical churches on Sunday morning.

[LanternWaste]

51. I imagine the convenience of getting a Slurpee and an overpriced pack of smokes

I imagine the convenience of getting a Slurpee and an overpriced pack of smokes at 3am on a Holiday is of greater priority to many people than the Holiday itself...

[flpab]

17. Family time is missing in this country, greed is more inportant

Walmart got run out of Germany, you get what you want by 6pm Sat because it is family time then and all day Sunday. I love that. You can find a gas station with a small selection of groceries but the big stores are closed. Cafes are open but not the butcher shops, bakeries etc. i love that. I work at an airport and we are so use to working holidays but we along with hospital workers, police, firemen etc knew that. this is just plain greed.
BUY LOCAL this year. Buy from a local shop, buy gift cards from the local salon, eateries, an etsy.com store. Put your money back into the local economy and stop giving more money to these greedy corporations.

[LuckyLib]

16. It's about a creep in our culture toward everything $$$$$ and away from family, rest, sanity,

and connecting with family and friends. Police, firefighters, health-care workers, airline crews and other essential personnel are a different matter. It's part of the work. By corporate reasoning, at this rate, why not have 24 hour per day availability for shopping for all retail centers, in case someone gets the urge?

Let's give it a rest! No Black Friday shopping, and certainly no 1:00 a.m. shopping. Shop local, small businesses, in your community when you can.

[FarCenter]

21. I worked two Thanksgivings

Turns out that if you are in Europe on business, they do not give you the day off.

[MedicalAdmin]

43. I seriously hope this post is satire ...

... and not rank stupidity. Somedays it is hard to tell.

[BadgerKid]

18. Surely a symptom of what's wrong in America.

Companies pushing for profits faster and faster. Employees' lives and families be damned.

[Missy Vixen]

24. Drive past Microsoft's main campus on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve or Christmas Day

You'll clearly see individual office lights on from the street, and it's not for security.

Mr. Missy Vixen worked as a contractor at the Evil Empire. I still remember hearing about the lectures on "work-life balance" from one of his supervisors. It's a joke. Software employees get paid a bit more than working at Target, but the message is the same: We're more important than anyone or anything in your life. If you don't put the company first, you'll be looking for another job.

[tblue37]

20. "Let them eat cake." nt

[liberal N proud]

22. Remember labor Unions?

They were the organizations who in the past dealt with unreasonable demands, employers put on their employees.

Remind people as this unreasonable request is forced on these workers. Maybe Unions will become popular again.

[Chan790]

42. Some portion of the problem...

is that labor unions never broke into white collar work in any real sense. Nor seemingly wanted to.

When I was with the bank, I tried to organize my branch. There were 6 of us not including the Branch Manager, Asst. BM/FSR4 and Teller-Coordinator (all management positions), I had 5 committed "Yes" votes and couldn't find a union or group of unions that would have us. I was very clear that if they got one branch, we were all so connected throughout DC that others would follow...because it had been discussed in hypothetical and secret conversations over a drink at the bar, at kids' birthday parties, just hanging out...there was an interest in not being screwed over by the bank anymore, but organized labor was not interested in being any help or organizing us.

I tried IWW, SEIU, AFL-CIO...no dice. I reached out to people who are active in labor-organizations here for guidance and input, no response.

Then I got fired and I'm sure it was for organizing...but I can't prove it.

[WolverineDG]

47. Really? When I worked at Legal Aid, we were part of UAW

I always thought that was weird, but hey, for a while there, I was an autoworker! :D

dg

[Chan790]

56. Maybe it was the fact that we're a bank?

I don't know...I just couldn't get any help from anyone. You'd think someone saying "Please organize us, I did all the heavy lifting already" would have an easy time of it.

Maybe I should have tried the UAW. It never occurred to me, being as we're not auto workers.

[WolverineDG]

49. But see, unions already had a hand in this

that whole "time & a half" pay for work on a holiday thingy? Last time I looked, Black Friday wasn't an official holiday. It's become one unofficially, due to Thanksgiving forced to fall on a Thursday, but that doesn't mean employers have to pay time & a half.

Count me as one of those who doesn't see this as an "unreasonable" demand. I used to have a job like this & we fought for holiday hours because we needed the money (with the added bonus of getting out of the house). Sounds like this store had enough volunteers so this particular "oppressed worker" could have the day off.

You say shoppers & corporations are "greedy" because they want to open stores early on Black Friday? Did you ever stop to think that maybe the workers WANT and/or NEED that extra pay, before telling them it's for their own good that they can't work on that day?

Get back to me when there's a real problem that needs fixing, like making people work off the clock to avoid paying overtime, or not letting them have bathroom or meal breaks when they're working 8-12 hour shifts.

dg

[liberal N proud]

50. Wal-Mart, who is the leader in this race to kill holiday pay does not have unions

[WolverineDG]

53. Killing holiday pay isn't what's being whined about

I'm beginning to think that there is nothing people on DU won't complain about. Of all the problems facing labor today, having to work on Black Friday for time & a half ain't one of them.

dg

[liberal N proud]

55. Wal-Mart employees do not get time and a half

They have not for several years.

[kevinbgoode]

27. Well, I'm sure the Trib is gonna follow this up with an editorial

saying the same thing about corporate CEOS. . .surely they should just be happy with a good job instead of needing to receive "bonuses" for DOING the job.

[Marrah_G]

31. I have to work 1 pm to 8 pm on Thanksgiving.

But I should be grateful for that part-time minimum wage job. I am sure December will be fun working until midnight and then getting up at 6 for job # 1.

My oldest drives so he is taking his brother to my cousins house for dinner while I work.

Living the American dream.............. FML

[WillowTree]

34. I say the same thing to myself whenever I get frustrated at work or POed at my boss.

These days, I count myself fortunate to have any job at all. I know there are millions out there that would give a helluva lot to have it.

[Modern_Matthew]

38. Hell, I've seen that same shit said here. nt

[Obamanaut]

46. Some say Thanksgiving should not even be a holiday, inasmuch as it

a celebration based on a bunch of newcomers to what is now the US who were unkind (cruel?) to the original inhabitants.

On edit: I don't say that. Having that day off allows one to watch a lot of football.

[WI_DEM]

58. These hours are stupid, here it's 10PM with many store openings, but...

if the public is going to turn out at 10PM or midnight then the retailers will continue to do so. So, I think the best thing we can do to help these employees is not show up at the stores at such ungodly hours and maybe (but I won't hold my breath) the stores will change their policy next year and open at a more practical hour.