Why was I working on Labour Day?  It seems to me to be the ulitimate insult that I had to work on a day that is meant to celebrate the contribution of the working class.  I realize that I have the legal right to refuse to work on a statutory holiday, but I am paid so embarassingly and stifflingly low wages that I am literally desperate for money....and working on Labour day seems to me that this company is exploiting my desperation.

After work, I drove around looking for food and gas, and was shocked to learn that even 24 hour gas stations and grocery stores were closed....all day.  What essential service does Chapters/Indigo/Coles provide?  It seems to me that if grocery and fuel services were shut down for the day, there is no reason to have a bookstore open.  Even all the other stores in the area were closed (nevermind the fact that they typically are closed at reasonable hours, such as 6:00 on sundays, and 9:00 during the week, and Chapters is open far later than we need to be).

I have suffered countless indignations from the corporate level in the past and I implore you, change this policy, of staying open on certain statutory holidays.  Labour Day, Thanksgiving, Easter and New Years should be added to Christmas so that us underpaid employees can spend time with our loved ones rather than work in a bookstore devoid of customers.

Thank you.

 UPDATE - September 5th
To Mrs. Reisman's credit, she responded to my email, an enormous feat considering her position, and the inherent (but civil) hostility of my email.  Here is what she wrote (I am deleating the name of one of our HR representives mentioned in her reply):


Dear Steve

Thank you for sending me this note.  The last thing we would want is for
an employee to feel undervalued, pressured and basically unhappy about
work.

There are a few things I would like to share.

As a company we have worked hard to continually raise the amount of
money we spend in total on store employees - wage rates, benefits,
training, small perqs.  We know based on surveys that we are well within
the middle of the pack of retailers.  Given that the book industry tends
to be meaningfully less profitable that others, being in the middle of
the pack is I feel understandable.

But that isn't where we will end.  Every year as we get stronger we will
look to do more.  And this has been our track record. 

Still, it is clear you are deeply unhappy about the situation.  I have
forwarded your note to [NAME DELEATED], who as you may know heads our
Retail Field Organization.  I expect you will hear from [EDIT] shortly.  I
have encouraged [EDIT] to have a meaningful discussion with you to try work
through your concerns.

Heather


So yeah.