A popular online petition is calling on consumer electronics retailer Best Buy to stay closed on Thanksgiving Day, and allow workers to spend holiday with family.
The petition, on the petition site Change.org, has generated more than 5,000 signatures, according to the site on Thursday. The campaign was launched by Rick Melaragni, a Best Buy employee of eight years in Tampa, Florida, after more than 100,000 people joined an earlier campaign on Change.org calling on the retailer Target not to open on Thanksgiving Day. Both companies have moved the standard "Black Friday" opening time up from Friday morning to midnight on Thanksgiving. The new opening time will require employees to arrive at work no later than 11 pm on Thanksgiving Day.
"I will be cutting my Thanksgiving short like many retail workers," said Melaragni. "I will have to be in bed while most are preheating their ovens. It occurred to me that the customers who want a good deal will have to do the same. I volunteered for the midnight shift to allow those who have children to spend the day with their family. This holiday is to meant give thanks for what we have and rejoice after much hard work."
Best Buy, Target, Macy's and Kohl's all plan to open at midnight on Thanksgiving, and Wal-Mart will go even further, with a 10 pm Thanksgiving start for some deals.
The Best Buy campaign comes after Anthony Hardwick, a Target employee from Nebraska, launched a viral campaign calling on Target to open on the morning of Black Friday as opposed to midnight at Thanksgiving. Hardwick's petition has inspired more than 60 other similar petitions focused on other major retailers that have announced they will open on Thanksgiving this year.
Thanksgiving is celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday of November, and the period starting Friday is traditionally a golden time for retailers, as people go on their holiday shopping spree. Major retailers have been opening their Thanksgiving shopping period at midnight on Thanksgiving instead of Friday morning.
The petition, on the petition site Change.org, has generated more than 5,000 signatures, according to the site on Thursday. The campaign was launched by Rick Melaragni, a Best Buy employee of eight years in Tampa, Florida, after more than 100,000 people joined an earlier campaign on Change.org calling on the retailer Target not to open on Thanksgiving Day. Both companies have moved the standard "Black Friday" opening time up from Friday morning to midnight on Thanksgiving. The new opening time will require employees to arrive at work no later than 11 pm on Thanksgiving Day.
"I will be cutting my Thanksgiving short like many retail workers," said Melaragni. "I will have to be in bed while most are preheating their ovens. It occurred to me that the customers who want a good deal will have to do the same. I volunteered for the midnight shift to allow those who have children to spend the day with their family. This holiday is to meant give thanks for what we have and rejoice after much hard work."
Best Buy, Target, Macy's and Kohl's all plan to open at midnight on Thanksgiving, and Wal-Mart will go even further, with a 10 pm Thanksgiving start for some deals.
The Best Buy campaign comes after Anthony Hardwick, a Target employee from Nebraska, launched a viral campaign calling on Target to open on the morning of Black Friday as opposed to midnight at Thanksgiving. Hardwick's petition has inspired more than 60 other similar petitions focused on other major retailers that have announced they will open on Thanksgiving this year.
Thanksgiving is celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday of November, and the period starting Friday is traditionally a golden time for retailers, as people go on their holiday shopping spree. Major retailers have been opening their Thanksgiving shopping period at midnight on Thanksgiving instead of Friday morning.
