Stores open on Thanksgiving, forcing some to give up holiday

Tukwila, Wash. — The doors opened promptly at 6 Thanksgiving night at the Best Buy store in Tukwila. Thousands of people had waited in line for hours to get a door-buster bargain. "Laptop, got to get a laptop," said local rap musician Duranged Pitt.

But for every big retail store that is open on the holiday, there are dozens of workers who have to give up their holiday. "I can't choose not to go, I will lose my job," said retail associate Tasaya Kumpholpakdi, who has to show up for work at a mall Thanksgiving night. "I'm very grateful for my job, it's not that I don't want it or I don't need it because I do. It's just that this one day that should be about family to me."

Even some shoppers in the Best Buy line empathize with the workers. "I think it's kind of selfish because people aren't with their families," said Jennifer Flores. "They should be at home and spending time together that way." Flores was in a line of hundreds of people waiting to get into the Tukwila Best Buy. So despite the protests of employees, retailers appear to be right about one thing: People do want to shop on the holiday.

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