A local coach, that I admire has some advice for disgruntled parents who come to him because Little Johnny does not get enough playing time; simply and respectfully he says, play somewhere else. Ive thought about this situation with retailer open for midnight madness shopping on Thanksgiving. I concur, Thanksgiving is a time for celebration with family and friends and no Thanksgiving in my house would be complete without those very people around. In many circles the open midnight on Thanksgiving deal has become a tradition. I am really looking forward to (as I have for the past 3 Thanksgivings) going to the Outlets with my sons (their friends), daughter (and her friends) at midnight on Thursday and coming home with a boat load of stuff - its what we do. But what about the workers many of whom are taking seasonal jobs so that the Christmas, Hanukkah, Ramadan (yes, I know its past) or Kwanza is a commercially joyous one in their homes? This is what I propose: Assume they are on holiday pay (Nike is) at time and a half - they work retail so time and a half is a difference in their take-home) - so if each retailer allows for that, plus adds a $200 store bonus (as Sears does) that can be coupled with their employee discount, would that ease the burden of having to treck in at 11pm for a midnight to 8am shift? I think it does. Thats just me. The point is this, MOST (and I do mean MOST) retail companies do offer holiday incentive. Working a holiday SUCKS. However, some people simply do not have a choice and some people NEED the hours. Listen, Im not pleading poverty here. I do ok. But I dont work, I dont get paid - thats the nature of my independently owned small business. If the company Im working with is closed, Im closed. I dont make retail money but scale-to-scale, it is a burden. If I dont submit articles or write, I dont paid and if the person/ persons I need to talk to for those little nuggets that make everyone else smarter and more enlightened (snark inserted) are only available at 3AM, I had better make myself available at 3AM - thats it, PERIOD. The stores are open - they aint closing. The people that are working are not performing a service, they are working. They are answering the demand of the time of season. If the unions and a handful of people dont like it they have a choice and that choice is the stalwart of what unions are predicated on: fairness. Businesses are open and are open providing an opportunity to work and make money - thats why they are IN business - if this is not enough, then follow the coaches advice, (play) work somewhere else.
Posted on: Fri, 22 Nov 2013 13:24:52 +0000
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