Slaves to the Sale: Thanksgiving no holiday to millions of American workers

Where's the compassion?

With online and early-release Black Friday sales appearing earlier and earlier each year, why bother opening stores during dinnertime Thanksgiving day?

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Most retailers plan to open their doors Thanksgiving night at 6 p.m. Unsurprisingly, most of the stores also expect to remain open to usher in Black Friday savings. Employees and their families will once again be forced to spend Thanksgiving evening apart.

Though many stores will be open, the retailers that have earned the applause of families across the United States include: H&M, Staples, DSW, COSTCO, Nordstrom, Burlington Coat Factory, Crate and Barrel, Jo-Ann Fabrics and crafts, T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, Pier 1 Imports, Barnes & Noble, Sam's Club, Home Depot, GameStop and Lowe's, as each has chosen to keep its doors closed this holiday.

The store to take the retail world by surprise this year is REI, an outdoor specialty chain, which announced it will remain closed Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday.

According to a survey conducted by RichRelevance, 64.51 percent of Americans claim to "hate" or "dislike" stores open on Thanksgiving Day while only 12.53 percent claimed to "like" or "love" it.

The results of the survey come as no surprise since most Americans celebrate their families and are thankful for each other, the food on their tables and the experiences they share during each Thanksgiving meal. 

Though no retail outlet has stepped forward to discuss their reasons for remaining open, Time believes stores have either realized that early sales and online shopping have taken over, or it feels the pressures of possible backlash by employees and their families.

"Save Thanksgiving" advocates have launched campaigns in the past to promote the importance of family over the "importance" of store revenue, while others have mounted boycotts. 

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