Sign Of The Times: More People Working On Thanksgiving
(CBS) – It's a growing trend, some say, and a very bad thing: stores and restaurants open on Thanksgiving.
Are the stores to blame – or are you?
CBS 2's Brad Edwards reports.
It's the week to be grateful and thankful, to over-eat and overspend.
And now more and more businesses are opening their doors. Even Macy's opens on the holiday this year, while Nordstrom won't.
"We just like the idea of celebrating one holiday at a time," a sign at the retailer's says.
One Indiana man won't be working. Tony Rohr, who managed a Pizza Hut, drew the line at opening on Thanksgiving – and lost.
"Why can't we be the company that stands up and says we care about our employees?" he says.
Peter Gill of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association says it's a sign of the times. Thirty-three million people are expected to go shopping on Thanksgiving Day.
"They found if the customers want to shop on Thanksgiving, they're going to open up," he says.
He says it doesn't have to be bad for employees: "If you get a chance to make time and a half on Thanksgiving Day, I think a lot of them are looking forward to that."
For seasonal workers, it's a tight holiday season. Last year's was 32 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. In 2013, there are only 26 days, nearly a week less.
