Wal-Mart’s War On Thanksgiving
Christmas, schmistmas. Thanksgiving is a genuine, bona-fide, 100% American holiday. Where is the outrage from Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Ted Cruz, and all the other usual suspects for this egregious attack on the holiday on which we give thanks for everything American, including but not limited to mom, family, and America?
Walmart has announced it will open its stores at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving, joining retailers like Target, Best Buy, Kmart, Macy’s, Kohl’s, J.C. Penney, and Toys R Us that are cutting their workforce’s holiday short to pursue holiday season profits. …
What Walmart did not explain in its announcement is that 1 million workers have little choice but to work. Retailers have insisted they will afford time off to any worker who want to spend time with their families. However, far from being “excited” to work the holiday rush, it’s more likely managers have flatly told staff they cannot request the time off. The Huffington Post has reported on several signs popping up in Kmart stores that tell employees to not even bother requesting time off. (Kmart replied those were “rogue” signs.)
And the workers who volunteer to show up on a holiday may be doing so because they can’t otherwise get enough hours. More than 8 million people are currently working part time but want to be full time. Erratic scheduling is not only an issue that hits Walmart around the frantic holiday season; it’s long been accused of understaffing and constantly changing schedules, and retail in general has become known for shortchanging workers on the hours they need. Furthermore, Walmart’s aggressive use of a temporary work force throughout the year already leaves workers without benefits, predictable scheduling, and enough pay. Even when retail workers are full-time, they struggle to survive on low wages and are not necessarily guaranteed vacation time.
