Black Friday is one of the most beloved institutions of American capitalism, and as American citizens we have a love-hate relationship with the event.
We love the deals, but the long lines wrapped around the perimeter of big retailers and the flood of other bargain hunters hustling around to get what they want can be intimidating for those who are not diehard shoppers.
This year, retailers such as Nordstrom, Costco and Recreational Equipment, Inc., have decided to change the game by announcing their stores will not be open this Thanksgiving Day, according to the Atlantic. The companies have framed this news as a gift of a break for their employees so they will have a peaceful start to the always chaotic holiday season.
REI is taking this removal from Black Friday a step further by shutting down their website and headquarters in addition to their 143 stores nation-wide. REI will also give all of their employees holiday pay on Thanksgiving Day.
Though the Editorial Board is no stranger to the fun aspects of shopping on Black Friday, we think there is a large difference between providing holiday specials on merchandise and forcing your employees to work ridiculous hours away from their families or communities on Thanksgiving Day.
We are glad to see large retailers stand up and take the lead in pointing out the overblown greed involved in opening stores on Thanksgiving.
Black Friday has become so huge for retailers that they have started another ode to American capitalism with Cyber Monday.
Cyber Monday might seem harmless in comparison to making employees work away from their families and friends on Thanksgiving Day, but the warehouse workers who have to pick out all the items people order, package them and send out orders have it just as rough as Black Friday workers.
One of our own members of the Editorial Board had a terrible experience with Amazon. The huge and monopolizing online retailer Amazon hires large sums of workers through temp agencies for the holiday season and promise wages starting at $10.50 an hour. If you’re a holiday temp worker, this wage is enticing and provides much needed income for the holidays.
However, this wage is usually far below the starting wage of an employee directly hired into Amazon and is kept secret from the temp workers. Once hired as a temp for Amazon, these workers are kept through Christmas. Once the holiday arrives, these temp workers are let go and given a small present and a “thank you” for their work just before they leave.
The commercialization of holidays as a time to buy everything your heart desires for a low price has led to this type of treatment for U.S. retail and warehouse workers.
We believe that a deal on the flat screen television or an amazing pair of boots is not worth the exploitation of retail and warehouse labor or the decrease in the time workers are able to spend with their families during the holiday season.
We hope this trend of retailers standing up to Black Friday starting on Thanksgiving Day continues.
