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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE

Anthony Hardwick, a part-time employee at a north Omaha Target store, poses for a photo in front of his place of employment, in Omaha, Neb., Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2011. Hardwick launched a petition asking Target department stores to drop plans to open at midnight on Thanksgiving Day , when he learned of the chain's plans to have employees report to work at 11 p.m. Thanksgiving Day to work 10-hour overnight shifts. Merchants are competing for shoppers on a weekend that can be critical for their annual sales and profits, and a growing number fear opening at 4 a.m. or 5 a.m., as they have in recent years, may be too late in this challenging economy.

Petition against early shopping arrives at Target

November 21, 2011 2:44 PM

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MINNEAPOLIS — A petition of 190,000 signatures has been delivered to Target Corp., asking the retailer to drop its plans to open at midnight on Black Friday.

The Star Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/uCUEjq ) that Target employee Seth Coleman delivered the paper petition with 190,000 signatures in three plastic Target shopping bags on Monday.

It was received by Anahita Cameron, Target's director of human resources for Northern region stores. Cameron tells the newspaper the decision to start early wasn't made lightly and it was imperative that the company stay competitive with other retailers.

The petition drive on the activist web site Change.org was started by a Target store worker in Nebraska, Anthony Hardwick, who said the early opening would force many employees to spend part of Thanksgiving away from their families.

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Information from: Star Tribune, http://www.startribune.com

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