I Pledge To Not Go Shopping On The Day Of A Holiday

With Halloween quickly approaching, and the end of the year gauntlet of retail holidays upon us, let’s all commit to a simple pledge:

I will not shop on the day of a holiday!

Everyone deserves a holiday, but our service economy currently does not allow a substantial percentage of the population time off to spend with their families. Restaurants, grocery stores, and retail shops of all kinds remain open so that the people who own them can make money while they themselves take the holidays off. And the worst part is that most employees stuck working do not get any extra compensation, bonuses, or thanks for their labor outside of a festive change to their uniforms.

Obviously some places of work are necessary exceptions, such as hospitals, fire departments, police stations, etc., but there is really no reason for a restaurant server to work a dead closing shift on Halloween because a handful of tables may come in to eat.

So this year, plan ahead of time so that you do not need to do any shopping or eating out on Halloween, and any other holiday that you think service industry employees deserve to celebrate outside of the workplace, too.

If we are a little more conscientious about holiday planning we can make it so that service-industry companies do not need to schedule workers every holiday because it will not be economical to stay open. And then it will be a legitimate holiday for everyone.

Image via AP/NY Post