Wisconsin Dollar General Workers Walk out in Protest

Mineral Point, WI (WorkersCompensation.com) – Following more than a year of OSHA violations, Dollar General Corporation has another headache to deal with – employees walking out in protest.

In Mineral Point, Wis., workers at the Dollar General temporarily closed the store, reopening it about three hours later. Facebook posts and signs from the workers announced the walkout and some of their reasoning behind it.

Since 2017, OSHA has inspected more than 240 Dollar General Corp., and Dolgencorp LLC stores results in nearly $21 million in proposed penalties. Nearly $10 million of those penalties came between Feb. 1, 2022 and April 20, 2023, when OSHA inspected more than 30 stores in Alabama, Florida and Georgia.

In 2022, OSHA added Dollar General to its Severe Violator Enforcement Program, that allows the agency to increase inspections at stores because of the company’s “indifference to their legal obligations to provide a safe and healthy workplace.”

Officials with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommended nearly $300,000 in penalties for a store in Austin, Texas in August 2023. An inspection of the store on East Rundberg Lane said the store exposed employees to blocked exits, as well as provided the store with fire extinguishers that were either not maintained or mounted, as required by federal safety standards.

“Far too often, our inspections at Dollar General stores find exits and pathways blocked by boxes of merchandise, rolling carts and other materials endangering the safety of employees,” said OSHA Area Director Monica Munoz in Austin, Texas. “The company must take immediate action to correct hazards that can prevent workers from exiting quickly during an emergency.”

In Mineral Point, the workers said they were overworked and underpaid, in addition to disagreements over the company’s donation policy.

“The store is closed. The whole team has walked away due to a lack of appreciation, being overworked and underpaid,” one sign read. Another said, "We quit!"

In an interview with Madison TV station WKOW 27, former store manager Trina Tribolet said the workers wanted better working conditions.

OSHA has stepped up its enforcement and inspections of the stores due to years of complaints from store employees and customers.

In the past year, inspectors have found aisles blocked by merchandise in the front of the store, as well as in the back of the store. In one inspection in Florida, aisles were blocked by rolling containers and pieces of shelving.

Other violations have included hazards to employees from exposure to dangerous chemicals. In Minot, North Dakota, inspectors found that some employees needed to be treated after being exposed to a chemical leak, and that the company had not provided the employees with either training or personal protection equipment when cleaning it up.

Last year, Dollar General shareholders voted to an audit of worker safety at the stores during the company’s annual meeting. The proposal asked for a third-party audit of how the company’s policies and their implementation affects worker well-being.

Tribolet said understaffing and unsafe work hours also played a part in their discontent.

The Tennessee-based company said in a statement to USA Today  that the store reopened.

“We are committed to providing an environment where employees can grow their careers and where they feel valued and heard,” the statement said. "We apologize for any inconvenience our customers experienced during the three hours the Mineral Point store was closed this past weekend.”

Dollar General has seen a lot of growth over the last 10 years, especially in rural communities. In 2019, CNN reported about 75 percent of its stores are in communities with 20,000 people or less.

The walk-out comes at a time when dollar stores in general are facing more challenges. Last week, the Dollar Tree announced it would be closing 1,000 stores. Dollar Tree, which also owns Family Dollar, announced it would be closing roughly 600 of its Family Dollar stores in the first half of 2024, and will shutter another 370 within the next few years.

As of January 2024, there were 18,912 Dollar General stores in the U.S located in 48 states and territories and 8,008 cities.

Dollar Tree operates more than 15,000 stores across the contiguous United States and in five Canadian provinces. Dollar Tree operates under the Dollar Tree, Family Dollar and Dollar Tree Canada brands. The company acquired Family Dollar in 2015.

Share This Article: