Exhausted Target worker's Black Friday crash defies Star Tribune's bizarre "be happy you have a job" editorial

Working the graveyard shift can kill you. Seriously. Working nights turns your body clock upside-down and everything is out of whack. Most people can't sleep 7 or 8 consecutive hours when it's daylight outside so arriving at work exhausted is the norm. I worked 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. for two years and rarely got more than 4 hours of decent sleep during the day, even with sleeping pills and ear plugs. I also gained 75 pounds (I had to eat constantly at my desk all night to stay awake) and wound up with high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. Bad, bad, bad.

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This employee might not be the only casualty.  There were reports and some speculation that lots of customers were hitting the roads after a day of partying.  It was too tempting go out and get the bargains rather than staying at home to sleep off the booze.

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If anyone actually cares to read the "news" article...it's here:http://www.palmbeachpost.com/n... where...NO where does it mention that she was tired, exhausted, worn out, worked to death.  NO WHERE...  she could have been as alert as anyone else.  I am not on anyone's side on this thing but shouldn't the start of any argument be based in fact?

Rant away if you want about Target being evil or whether a person should be thankful and prepared to work a late shift.  Just know that it has nothing to do with this article or event.

I think Eric said it best...the details surrounding the accident were not provided.  It could be a simple excuse for making a stupid mistake (ex. texting, radio, eating, etc.) that has now been blown out of proportion or she could have just fallen asleep and crashed.  She could just as easily been "exhausted" going to work at 3am (had Target kept their original black Friday hours) or 5pm coming home from her normal shift.  No matter where you work you are given a schedule and you plan around it if you'd like to receive a check.

This is RIDICULOUS! We are not going to stimulate the economy by sitting on our asses, decorating Christmas trees and eating like pigs. Seriously people, for some reason dinner on thanksgiving is at 2PM! I don't know why, but it is. We all know that by six every one is done and either going to bed to work on the NEXT BUSINESS day or at a bar. Saving Thanksgiving? please, retail workers, like the star tribune says, need to stop complaining and be grateful they have a job! All in all, I agree with a lot of these posters, she should've/could've taken a nap before work. Geez it's not like they made her work thanks giving DAY!  and like one said a couple posts back, what about nurses, doctors and all the people that work OVER 12 HOURS on a holiday DAY. I rather spend time with my family than get double the pay, but as a nurse and having worked AT TARGET ON THANKS GIVING NIGHT a couple years ago I say... somebody has to do it! oh and shame on you, city pages for vilifying the star tribune!

MAYBE OBAMA was Right when he said American's ARE LAZY...... thats all Im gonna Say!

I can tell by the virulence and number of conservatives swarming this thread -- then again, it could just be the same two guys putting on new online identities like sock puppets over and over again -- that it's hitting them right where it hurts, the poor things.

Nice journalism...did you actually READ the news article or did you read the headline from another editorial?

No where in the article did it say WHY she drove into the water.  How do we know she wasn't texting?  Changing the radio station?  She never once says that she was so tired from working that she drove into the water...damn guys...at least pretend to be responsible.

So let's say that she actually did fall asleep.  Do we know how much sleep she had before she went to work?  Do we know if she was on medication?  

How many people worked Friday/Night Saturday morning at Target across the US?  Somewhere around a bajillion I would think.  By your logic, there should be 20 or so of these extremely wet car stories all over the nation.

Here is what the story said.  

A woman drove her car into the water.

She works at Target.

A brave deputy saved her.

What you report the story said:

Target tries to kill little old woman and sheriff.

Find another job.S I M P L E

No one made them work at target.

She should be thankful she has a job...MN laid off 7500 people last month. In this particular instance, the STRIB does not lie.

I fucking hate Target Corp. Red Commy A$$holes! Their logo says it all!

What kind of cocksucker coward writes something like that editorial and doesn't put a name to it?

This such a poorly written article.  And I find it amusing how Citypages just couldn't resist throwing a shade at the Star Trib. 

Ugh.  A bad Strib editorial followed by a bad CP aricle about the Strib editoria followed by a bunch of bad comments about the bad CP article about the bad Strib editorial. Kinda early for the Minnesota Winter Crazies, isn't it? 

My co-workers sister was so exhausted she fainted on an escalator and hit her head so badly she had to under go brain surgery.

All so someone could get a deal on a tv

the great bear in the east is no longer sleeping.wake up you will be in bread lines soon.

there,i'm so pissed at you ignorant americans i cant type.

did you know the russian navy is sending ships to syria,or do u just pay attention to ur consumer world.way bigger issues out their people

Thank you Kevin Hoffman and looney tune bloggers for making my afternoon. You all make Bachwoman look smart. Your stupidity is what "the greedy corporations" get rich on. Now to come up with a useless item to get you idiots to buy...

I for one am totally SICK of big greeedy corporations. Enough is enough.true-anon.au.tc

For those people pointing out that fire/PD/EMT work every holiday - yes, they do.  And we all know that fires, crimes, and medical emergencies can't be told to 'wait until normal business hours.'

I commend our first responders - who put their lives on the line EVERY DAY (and not just on Black Friday in front of a seething mob), but you have to admit, this year's hottest X-Box game is quite content to stay on the shelf until the store chooses to open its doors.  You can't say the same about Aunt Edith's myocardial infarction.

Whatever happened to personal responsibility?  Why should it be Target's fault that an employee had a car accident on their personal time?

If you don't want to work crazy hours, don't work in retail during their peak season and don't work in the 24/7 service industry.   There are a lot of people who would be happy to work those jobs and work those hours. I did because those were excellent hours to work while putting myself through college.

The Star Tribune featured a live on-line chat with editor Doug Tice, and I had to forcibly restrain myself from logging in to it because the only thing I could possibly have done was posted "Why are you such a right-wing tool?" over and over again.

Corporate is not the only one to blame, your peers were out shopping at the same time. When you get your schedule in advanced (weren't they complaining well OVER a week ago?) then you should have time to prepare. EMT's and Fire Fighters and our boys serving overseas do not have this luxury and they all chose these jobs and work the hours given to them to make ends meet. You have the freedom to quit and look else where if you don't agree, unfortunately the jobs are sparse and you get what you get (or lack there of).

We're gonna blame Target for some woman crashing her car? What ever happened to personal responsibility? She could have gotten a cup of coffee or an energy drink to help her stay alert. She could have pulled over when she felt herself starting to nod off. She could have asked a coworker to give her a lift home. But she didn't do any of those things and she put herself and every other driver on the road at risk that day.

This article is SO poorly written, it's not really even worth commenting about, but since lots of people will be using it as an excuse to trash Target, I'll take a minute to offer some common sense in rebuttal.

Shift work is tough, no doubt about it, but the fact is, it is not Target's responsibility that this woman drove when she was incapacitated.  I haven't been to Florida in a while, but I'm pretty sure they have public transit there.  Many years when I worked two jobs on a regular basis, I was thankful to be able to take the bus home and snooze on the way.  If you know you're not used to staying up late, take precautions!  Drive to the "park and ride" if the local bus doesn't stop nearby.  Take responsibility for your own safety, as well as the others on the road with you. 

And, Mr. Hoffman, I wish for Santa to enrole you in a journalism class...hopefully before you inflict another biased, inflammatory article such as this one on CP readers.  Sheesh!

People need to shut the hell up about all this!!  Boo whoo you had to work on thanksgiving, i dont feel sorry for anyone!  im in the service industry and have to work holidays, late nights and weekends.  Get over it!!