On Wednesday, in a coordinated effort to rally support for waiting until Black Friday to open their doors, a group of Target customers, employees and shareholders signed a petition with nearly 212,000 signatures on the site Change.org. The for-profit social change advocate, which earns money from providing services to nonprofits, says “dozens of shareholders” have left comments, arguing that the store’s decision encourages people to work and/or shop on Thanksgiving when they could be at home with their families. A Target spokeswoman says less than one-third of employees will work on Thanksgiving and will receive time-and-a-half their hourly rate, plus additional compensation for the hours worked between Thursday and Friday morning.
But several small shareholders contend that’s not good enough, according to Change.org. “I bought stock in Target because I was so impressed by the respect and concern they showed their employees and the communities where their stores are located, wrote shareholder Jill Larson, of Minnesota. “I am disappointed to hear about this decision.”
