Don't Be A Scrooge! :: 'Tis the Season for Respecting Workers' Rights

The holiday season is here and whether you celebrate winter solstice, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Christmas or some other holiday, winter seems to be a pretty joyous occasion for everyone. It's a time packed with events that revolve around family, friends, food and more often than not, shopping for gifts. Though the holidays are often a truly wonderful time of the year, it can also be a time when workers and their families are disrespected and trampled upon.

There has been a lot of buzz this year about the need to protect holidays for workers and their families, some even calling for an end to the beloved American practice of shopping on "Black Friday." Especially now that corporations are making their employees come to work during Thanksgiving Day.

Progressives have long bemoaned the commercialism and consumerism that has come to be the norm around the holidays. But lately these groans have taken on a political edge, with many questioning why some get to enjoy these special days while others, namely those who provide us with goods and services, are forced to work for oftentimes pitiful wages.

Workers' rights are rarely seen as primetime LGBT issues, but they should be. In many ways, LGBT workers are some of the most susceptible, with many of us concentrated in low wage service sector jobs or care work, leaving us vulnerable to unemployment. Many of us around the U.S. lack basic employment protections. Workers and their families need to be on our minds this holiday season. It is not just for the reason that some get to enjoy the long weekend, or only because some do not get to enjoy theirs.

You may ask, What each of us can do to begin shifting this mentality, so that the holidays are a festive and fun time for all and not just some? For starters, we could all refuse to shop on Christmas or Thanksgiving Day. With a little pre-planning, there is usually no reason we need to be shopping on a holiday that should be time spent with family and friends. Doing so would make it unprofitable for retailers and corporations to be open, which would allow for workers to actually enjoy a holiday.

Another simple action is taking the time to be intentionally kind to the employees you interact with this season who are working in retail, the people who ring up your turkey and other holiday food purchases, gift items or those who wrap your gifts.

Anyone who has had to work in retail or any other service sector job during the height of the holiday season will tell you that it is often thankless, tiring and extremely stressful. As a community, we should all strive to make our interactions with workers positive; be patient, don't talk down to them. Instead talk with them as equals - because they are equals. Many LGBT people, especially our youth, are concentrated in these low wage service jobs. Chances are very good that you are interacting with someone from your own community, so be kind!

Lastly, support better wages and working conditions for all workers. Oftentimes, the people we depend on most during the holiday season and the rest of the year are paid the least. The people who grow and cook our food, the people who clean our homes, the people who sell us clothes and designer soaps are often paid the lowest wages and tend to work terrible hours. We can do better than this, especially because we are so invested in justice and equality.

This holiday season and for that matter, the rest of the year, fight economic injustice and make sure you treat all workers with the respect and dignity they deserve. That would really make the holiday season... special.