The, "battle of Thanksgiving" this year may be more than just prime football games. Some retailers are starting Black Friday on Thanksgiving evening, but it isn't sitting well with some of their workers and others.

Black Friday shoppers
Michael Nagle, Getty Images
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A petition against opening Thanksgiving evening begun by a Target employee has gathered 200-thousand signatures. Some WalMart workers threaten to walkout over the retail giant's Thanksgiving plans. Apparently, traditionalists still see the holiday as a cornerstone of American Tradition. They fear lighting up stores will be the beginning of the end for the holiday.

But Carl Van Horn of the Rutgers Workforce Development Center says with online shopping growing by leaps and bounds, "they're in a tough, competitive environment, and so the cascading effect is that it hits their employees as well."

Indeed, it began with "Cyber Monday," the first Monday after Thanksgiving, when online marketers expect to see a major 'bounce' in sales as Christmas shoppers swarm websites seeking early bargains and selection to purchase gifts with plenty of lead time to insure they arrive in time. But now, online shopping has grown and continued way beyond Cyber Monday and is a major source of competition to "bricks and mortar" stores.

Retailers also see this season in a shaky economy as, "make or break." Van Horn also points out that most people can adjust the time they celebrate Thanksgiving. He says, "I suspect that's what those employees will do."

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