Tuesday, November 15, 2011

An Omaha man's online petition asking Target to drop plans to open stores at midnight Thanksgiving Day has garnered tens of thousands of signatures in less than two weeks.

Anthony Hardwick works part-time as a cart attendant for a second job. The 29-year-old launched his petition Nov. 3 after learning of the chain's plans to have employees report for work at 11 p.m. Thanksgiving Day.

Hardwick says the midnight opening means he and other Target employees will have to miss Thanksgiving gatherings in order to get
enough rest and come in to work that night.

The petition asks that Target push back the opening to 5 a.m. on Black Friday. It had nearly 100,000 signatures by midday Tuesday.

Target officials say the midnight opening is a response to customer demands.