????今天，吃完感恩節大餐之后，數千名沃爾瑪（Wal-Mart ）員工不會走親訪友，看球賽，甚至連刷碗的時間都沒有，因為他們要趕著去工作，迎接想買便宜貨的顧客們。

????但今年與以往不同，這家零售業巨頭的部分員工卻拒絕以這樣的方式過節。葉塞尼亞·亞伯爾便是其中的一位。她是芝加哥沃爾瑪的一名收銀員，她說，雖然自己需要這份工作來撫養五個未成年的孩子，但她已經跟老板說過，自己不能在感恩節上班。

????從黑色星期五開始，美國就開始進入節日購物季。過去兩年里，每到黑色星期五，亞伯爾一大早就要開始在超市的工作。而今年，她說自己被安排輪班，為晚上8點開始的感恩節特購會做準備。對于她來說，它不僅關系到能不能和孩子們一起共進節日大餐，同時也是一個實際的問題。

????她說：“我不能加班。因為我媽媽在幫我帶孩子。其中有兩個孩子需要特殊護理。我媽媽肯定不能熬一整個晚上。”

????而沃爾瑪也有很實際的理由。開門大搶購絕對是一場商業盛宴。去年，僅僅四天的感恩節購物周末，沃爾瑪的銷售額就達到了524億美元，比前一年上漲了16%。搶購大幅打折的平板電視或平板電腦不僅是和其他同樣精打細算的購物者們血拼，同時也是一個象征，可以在別人面前顯擺自己抄底價購物的能力。

????本月早些時候，沃爾瑪及其競爭對手塔吉特（Target）和西爾斯百貨（Sears）等，都宣布特賣會將從周四晚開始，而不是周五的凌晨。

????沃爾瑪通常會在感恩節正常營業。以前，員工可自行選擇在這一天上班，賺些節日加班費，如今卻成為沖突的源頭。今年感恩節，顧客們并不是來這里隨便買些東西，而是要成群結隊地到沃爾瑪大采購。為了應對可能大批涌入的急切的購物者，各大超市不得不增員，保證各個崗位的人員齊備。

????感恩節是一個跨越了宗教、收入、種族和其他界限的節日，各大商家正在一點點蠶食購物季市場，沃爾瑪員工們對公司的對抗行為卻變得越來越明顯，盡管經濟形勢仍充滿了不確定性。

????Thousands of Wal-Mart employees won't be pushing away from the Thanksgiving meal today to visit with family, watch football, or even clean the dishes. Instead, they'll be heading to work to welcome bargain-hunting shoppers.

????But some of the retail giant's employees are opting out this year. One of those is Yesenia Yaber, a cashier at a Chicago Walmart (WMT) store, who says she really needs her job to support her five young children, says she's told her bosses that she can't work on Thanksgiving.

????For the past two years, Yaber, who has protested working conditions as part of the union-backed group OUR Walmart, has worked in the early morning for the store's Black Friday sales, the kickoff of the holiday shopping season. This year, she says she was assigned to a shift to prepare for the store's 8 p.m. Thanksgiving Day opening. For her, it's not only about being with her children for the holiday meal, it's also a practical matter.

????"I can't work overnight," she says. "My mom babysits the kids. Two of my kids are special needs. She can't stay up all night."

????For Wal-Mart, it's also a matter OF practicality, though. The door-buster sale is a commercial juggernaut. Last year, stores racked up $52.4 billion in sales over the four-day Thanksgiving shopping weekend, up 16% over the previous year. Nabbing that heavily discounted flat screen TV or tablet isn't just about jostling with fellow budget-minded shoppers; it is a badge of bargain-hunting prowess.

????Earlier this month, Wal-Mart and its competitors, including Target (TGT) and Sears (SHLD), announced that bargain specials would start Thursday evening instead of the pre-dawn hours of Friday.

????Walmart stores are typically open on Thanksgiving Day, but what was once an optional way for workers to make some holiday overtime cash has now become a source of confrontation. This year, customers will not just be coming in for miscellaneous purchases but are expected to be arriving in droves for serious shopping. To cope with the expected surge of eager shoppers, stores have to be staffed up with a full cadre of employees.

????As commerce nibbles away at the one holiday that cuts across religious, income, ethnic, and other American divides, Wal-Mart workers are becoming bolder about saying no, even in this uncertain economy.