Ideally, Casey St. Clair would be spending Thanksgiving relaxing and eating dinner with her boyfriend and his family. Instead, the part-time Target employee and substitute teacher will work next Thursday night during the early kickoff of the big-box retailer's Black Friday sale. Stores will open at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving this year, reflecting a wider shift in the retail industry toward getting a head start on the biggest shopping day of the year. Wal-Mart workers plan Black Friday walkout As it stands now, Toys R Us, Wal-Mart, Sears and KMart will be the first large retail chains to open their doors for bargain hunters at 8 p.m. Many other chains are open Thanksgiving Day, but their Black Friday sales don't start until midnight or Friday morning.
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Part-time Target employee says she has to forgo Thanksgiving with family because of 9 p.m. opening
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More than 40 petitions on Change.org ask retailers to "give Thanksgiving back to employees"
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Retail experts say power is in the hands of consumers to control demand for extended shopping hours
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Target says employees get overtime, holiday pay for working certain hours on Thanksgiving, Black Friday
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