Whole Foods Employees Strike for Thanksgiving Off

Workers in Chicago went on strike Wednesday for a Thanksgiving vacation

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Victor J. Blue / Bloomberg / Getty Images

A handful of Whole Foods workers at two stores went on strike in Chicago Wednesday to protest working on Thanksgiving. A handful of employees walked out of one store in the morning and joined a rally with fast-food and Wal-Mart employees later in the afternoon.

Whole Foods employee Matthew Camp told Salon, “I think it will be disruptive, but that’s kind of the point: to disrupt the flow of things.” Camp said his shift at Whole Foods on the holiday would prevent him from flying home to Texas to see his family.

Whole Foods representatives say their policy is to not force anyone to work on Thanksgiving, that it is purely voluntary. Workers disagreed, saying that there was an expectation everyone would work unless they specifically requested time off.

Whole Foods employees are just some of many workers pushing back against the growing trend of stores being open on Thanksgiving, as well as Black Friday. However, many families depend on grocers being open for last-minute cooking necessities.

[Salon]