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Ohio lawmakers urge protection for retail workers on Thanksgiving

Door-buster sales have made Thanksgiving "a mess of consumerism and hollow capitalism that places corporate profit motives over traditional morals and family values," an Ohio lawmaker said.

By Frances Burns
Shoppers jam Macy's flagship store on Herald Square in New York on Black Friday in 2013. Two Ohio lawmakers are urging protection for retail workers who want to spend Thanksgiving with their families. UPI/John Angelillo/File
Shoppers jam Macy's flagship store on Herald Square in New York on Black Friday in 2013. Two Ohio lawmakers are urging protection for retail workers who want to spend Thanksgiving with their families. UPI/John Angelillo/File | License Photo

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Two Ohio legislators urged passage of a bill Wednesday to protect retail workers from being forced to be on the job for Thanksgiving "door-buster" sales.

State Reps. Mike Foley of Cleveland and Robert F. Hagan of Youngstown introduced the measure last year. Since both sponsors are Democrats and Republicans hold majorities in both houses of the Ohio legislature, it appears to have little chance of passage.

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The bill would allow employees who want Thanksgiving off to take it without any adverse consequences. Those who choose to work would be entitled to triple pay.

"Door-buster deals should never take precedent over our traditional holiday celebration of spending time with family and loved ones," Foley said. "The Thanksgiving holiday has devolved in to a mess of consumerism and hollow capitalism that places corporate profit motives over traditional morals and family values."

In a statement, the two lawmakers said that Macy's, one of the nation's major department store chains and the sponsor of New York's famous Thanksgiving Day parade, announced last year it was opening on Thanksgiving.

"While 2013 saw retailers that used to open exclusively on Black Friday open their doors on Thanksgiving Day, this holiday season will bring even more stores into the fray," the lawmakers said.

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The Cleveland Plain Dealer listed store openings in and around Ohio's largest city. They include Kmart, which planned to remain open for 42 hours straight, starting at 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day, and a number of stores opening late in the afternoon on Thanksgiving, including Dick's Sporting Goods, Toys 'R' Us, which plans to remain open through the night, Best Buy, Staples and Old Navy.

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