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Increased Pay for working Thanksgiving

KevinKohler

KevinKohler

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Ohio lawmakers propose triple Thanksgiving Day pay


Heard about this on NPR this morning. Not sure where I stand, thought, to be honest, I AM leaning towards actions like this...I'm just disgusted that such action is even needed.

Basically, more and more retailers are deciding to be open for Thanksgiving, a family holiday. I perceive this as a move by the government to discourage such actions, by increasing the cost. Thing is, if americans were really concerned about making this a family holiday...they wouldn't ****ing SHOP on thanksgiving. Simple solution, right? If no one shops on this day, stores won't feel compelled to open to capture those sales. They are saying that enough major retailers do this, they will pressure the mom and pops to follow suit. Now, I'm no economic genius, but I fail to see how this works? So, Kmart is open on thanksgiving, and this somehow forces a store that, prior to Kmart's position, ACCEPTED no sales on this day. But now that Kmart is making money on this day...all of a sudden the mom and pop will be losing money for not making money on that day? Seems like kinda failed logic, to me...


But anyway, yeah. It is what it is. I feel that, yeah, making someone work on their holiday should require extra compensation...but honestly, I think this **** shouldn't even be necessary. I think americans need to wake up and accept that if you **** in your bed, you gotta sleep in ****.
 
KevinKohler said:
Ohio lawmakers propose triple Thanksgiving Day pay


Heard about this on NPR this morning. Not sure where I stand, thought, to be honest, I AM leaning towards actions like this...I'm just disgusted that such action is even needed.

Basically, more and more retailers are deciding to be open for Thanksgiving, a family holiday. I perceive this as a move by the government to discourage such actions, by increasing the cost. Thing is, if americans were really concerned about making this a family holiday...they wouldn't ****ing SHOP on thanksgiving. Simple solution, right? If no one shops on this day, stores won't feel compelled to open to capture those sales. They are saying that enough major retailers do this, they will pressure the mom and pops to follow suit. Now, I'm no economic genius, but I fail to see how this works? So, Kmart is open on thanksgiving, and this somehow forces a store that, prior to Kmart's position, ACCEPTED no sales on this day. But now that Kmart is making money on this day...all of a sudden the mom and pop will be losing money for not making money on that day? Seems like kinda failed logic, to me...


But anyway, yeah. It is what it is. I feel that, yeah, making someone work on their holiday should require extra compensation...but honestly, I think this **** shouldn't even be necessary. I think americans need to wake up and accept that if you **** in your bed, you gotta sleep in ****.
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I'm all for incentives to work on holidays. When I was young and worked part time in retail, I used to love working on holidays because not only did we get a percentage pay for those days, part of a government statutory holiday mandate, but we also got paid double time for working. It was a great way to make extra money. The full time staff didn't have to work and got paid for the day anyway.

I'm not sure I favour government forcing triple time - in a capitalistic society, if the business is making enough by being open they will pay sufficiently to get people to work. I'm more inclined to support the employees' right to refuse work on statutory holidays, which we have here.
 
Sure because the college athletes who do not even get to go home for the holiday because they are off playing for free in front of tens of thousands of people who are being served refreshments and foam fingers should be made to work--just not the guy who works at Walmart. Mom and pop shops have no incentive to even be open on black friday. People aren't coming there when Walmart has so many good deals.
 
Compared to other countries the American worker gets a raw deal. Holiday pay and guaranteed PTO should be par for the course
 
A triple pay law would insure that more stores closed on Thanksgiving, meaning that workers will makenothing. That's way better! LOL!
 
CanadaJohn said:
I'm all for incentives to work on holidays. When I was young and worked part time in retail, I used to love working on holidays because not only did we get a percentage pay for those days, part of a government statutory holiday mandate, but we also got paid double time for working. It was a great way to make extra money. The full time staff didn't have to work and got paid for the day anyway.

I'm not sure I favour government forcing triple time - in a capitalistic society, if the business is making enough by being open they will pay sufficiently to get people to work. I'm more inclined to support the employees' right to refuse work on statutory holidays, which we have here.
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No here. Holidays in retail are called "black out" dates, and cannot be requested off.
 
Declan said:
Sure because the college athletes who do not even get to go home for the holiday because they are off playing for free in front of tens of thousands of people who are being served refreshments and foam fingers should be made to work--just not the guy who works at Walmart. Mom and pop shops have no incentive to even be open on black friday. People aren't coming there when Walmart has so many good deals.
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80,000 for 4 years is nothing?
 
Higgins86 said:
Compared to other countries the American worker gets a raw deal. Holiday pay and guaranteed PTO should be par for the course
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Holiday pay and PTO (paid time off?) are the norm, not the exception.
 
:roll:
 
Declan said:
Sure because the college athletes who do not even get to go home for the holiday because they are off playing for free in front of tens of thousands of people who are being served refreshments and foam fingers should be made to work--just not the guy who works at Walmart. Mom and pop shops have no incentive to even be open on black friday. People aren't coming there when Walmart has so many good deals.
Click to expand...

Playing for a free education, you mean?
 
KevinKohler said:
Ohio lawmakers propose triple Thanksgiving Day pay


Heard about this on NPR this morning. Not sure where I stand, thought, to be honest, I AM leaning towards actions like this...I'm just disgusted that such action is even needed.

Basically, more and more retailers are deciding to be open for Thanksgiving, a family holiday. I perceive this as a move by the government to discourage such actions, by increasing the cost. Thing is, if americans were really concerned about making this a family holiday...they wouldn't ****ing SHOP on thanksgiving. Simple solution, right? If no one shops on this day, stores won't feel compelled to open to capture those sales. They are saying that enough major retailers do this, they will pressure the mom and pops to follow suit. Now, I'm no economic genius, but I fail to see how this works? So, Kmart is open on thanksgiving, and this somehow forces a store that, prior to Kmart's position, ACCEPTED no sales on this day. But now that Kmart is making money on this day...all of a sudden the mom and pop will be losing money for not making money on that day? Seems like kinda failed logic, to me...


But anyway, yeah. It is what it is. I feel that, yeah, making someone work on their holiday should require extra compensation...but honestly, I think this **** shouldn't even be necessary. I think americans need to wake up and accept that if you **** in your bed, you gotta sleep in ****.
Click to expand...

This year I'll be working on both Thanksgiving and Black Friday and I get time and a half, which is fine but nothing to write home about.

But the thing is, neither consumers or retailers really give a **** about the retail workers in this case. At least not as much as they care about money and sales. It really is a race to the bottom but whatever, it is what it is I guess. Two years ago we opened at midnight, last year we opened at 6pm. This year we are open at 5pm and I have to be at work at 3pm on Thursday. At least this year we actually aren't open overnight, which is a plus.
 
agree with the intent of the measure, but disagree that it should be a measure in the first place.

as the OP mentions, best way to stop the trend of stores opening on thanksgiving is to stop shopping on thanksgiving. it'll all even out in the long run.
 
This reminds of those people that work at a grocery store and bitch and moan when they have to work thanksgiving. Well, yeah, that was a given when you took the job. Did you think that somehow people would remember everything they needed for the meal? :lol:
 
apdst said:
Playing for a free education, you mean?
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At the end of the day, Division I college football and basketball players are still being exploited and the NCAA is essentially in breach of anti-trust law. This isn't really disputable. Now professional athletes, I don't particularly feel terrible for them on Thanksgiving.
 
apdst said:
A triple pay law would insure that more stores closed on Thanksgiving, meaning that workers will makenothing. That's way better! LOL!
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an alternative perspective. i like it.
 
apdst said:
Playing for a free education, you mean?
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No, playing so Gillette can sell more razors. This is about tv ratings plain and simple. Ratings for sports are in the toilet and they want to force people to stay home and watch sports. People are not irate that the security guard has to work the game. They do not get upset that the convenience store clerk has to be there to sell them a pack of smokes. Nobody gives a crap about whether or not JC Penny's does or does not open on Thanksgiving day.
 
labor organization would render this issue moot.
 
StillBallin75 said:
At the end of the day, Division I college football and basketball players are still being exploited and the NCAA is essentially in breach of anti-trust law. This isn't really disputable. Now professional athletes, I don't particularly feel terrible for them on Thanksgiving.
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Giving them a free edication, free tudors and under-the-table bennies is exploitation? I would LOVE to be exploited like that!
 
Declan said:
Sure because the college athletes who do not even get to go home for the holiday because they are off playing for free in front of tens of thousands of people who are being served refreshments and foam fingers should be made to work--just not the guy who works at Walmart. Mom and pop shops have no incentive to even be open on black friday. People aren't coming there when Walmart has so many good deals.
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It's not just the athletes, but also the student trainers, the mascots, the cheerleaders, and the band members.

That's part of the reason my kid dropped college marching band. And the New Years bowl games are even worse, one year my kid had to return to college on Christmas day, ride a bus to Florida, and spend the next week parading around for the bowl game, only to return to the college on Jan second (still a week before school started).
 
Helix said:
labor organization would render this issue moot.
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and a labor party would render the RNC and the DNC moot, which is why the US doesn't have one. Either way, people are free to organize or not organize, and so far they do not seem willing to organize in retail.
 
KevinKohler said:
No here. Holidays in retail are called "black out" dates, and cannot be requested off.
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In my view, for full time staff, they should be optional - I would agree for part-timers there's less individual choice. Here, in retail, you don't have to work on Sundays if you don't want to - it was part of the deal to have retail open on Sundays.
 
Declan said:
and a labor party would render the RNC and the DNC moot, which is why the US doesn't have one. Either way, people are free to organize or not organize, and so far they do not seem willing to organize in retail.
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they're discouraged at every step these days. but yeah, eventually, the pressure will be enough that unions will form again. that's the way it usually works. people finally get enough of being treated like **** at work, and then they organize.
 
I'm strongly against retailers basically forcing employees to work on Thanksgiving. It's awful that people have to miss a family holiday to work, repugnant that retailers put a few extra bucks ahead of their employee's families, and stunningly shocking that people fall for the "Black Friday" BS.

That said, I don't know if legislation is the best method to deal with this. Helix may be on to something, maybe unionization will give the employees a better standing to deal with excessive holiday hours.
 
Visbek said:
I'm strongly against retailers basically forcing employees to work on Thanksgiving. It's awful that people have to miss a family holiday to work, repugnant that retailers put a few extra bucks ahead of their employee's families, and stunningly shocking that people fall for the "Black Friday" BS.

That said, I don't know if legislation is the best method to deal with this. Helix may be on to something, maybe unionization will give the employees a better standing to deal with excessive holiday hours.
Click to expand...

What always shocked me when I lived in the US is that stores are open for Thanksgiving, July 4th and Veterans day, America is a very traditional, family and military based nation. Surprised me that the public are not outraged that these companies are making money on these "sacred" American holidays.
 
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