Author: Benjamin Zucker, Co-Director/Co-Founder, Step Up Louisiana (Southern Workers Opportunity Fund)
Date: 01/04/2024
Across the country, and in particular the US South, national dollar store chains like Dollar Tree and Dollar General have cropped up and grown into a multibillion dollar industry, generating substantial profits to their shareholders. But while these companies thrive financially, their workers endure harsh conditions, poverty wages, an unsustainable pace of work, and health hazards. We are changing these unjust realities workers face through our work at Step Up Louisiana.
Step Up Louisiana is a community-based organization that campaigns for education and economic justice. We work across racial and generational lines, organizing from a racial justice perspective and holding public officials accountable. Our organization is composed of parents, workers, students, and community members, all united by a common mission: to disrupt systemic oppression in schools and workplaces. Through voter education, advocacy, and direct action, we challenge the structures of injustice.
The alarming working conditions at national dollar store chains like Dollar General and Dollar Tree have raised serious concerns about employee safety and labor practices. Many of these chains have a track record of safety violations that include blocked exits, understaffing, and horrific rates of in-store violence. Employees have reported being stabbed, shot, held at gunpoint, punched, and pistol-whipped while on the job. Some have had to work by flashlight during regional power outages. Too often workers are left alone in stores for hours, struggling under a corporate-driven understaffing regime that leaves workers and customers at risk. This has led managers to work long hours of unpaid overtime stocking shelves, a cost-cutting practice that has sparked multiple class-action lawsuits. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Dollar General repeatedly, even adding the company to its ‘Severe Violators’ list in 2023.
Because of these ongoing issues, worker leaders and Step Up Louisiana launched a campaign to hold national dollar store chains accountable, and we have won some meaningful wins as a result. After years of relentless advocacy efforts and mounting pressure to improve store safety, in May of 2023 Dollar General shareholders approved an independent audit into worker safety and well-being. This was the first time in U.S. corporate history that shareholders passed a safety resolution over the company’s objection. Dollar General’s Ceo Jeff Owen also resigned later that year. This past July, Dollar General agreed to a $12 million settlement with OSHA following another massive Dollar Tree OSHA settlement in 2023. Importantly, the companies agreed to implement significant safety measures that align with worker demands. These changes include hiring more safety managers, reducing inventory to prevent blocked exits, improving stocking practices, and providing enhanced safety training to all employees. The agreement is seen as a victory for the nationwide worker justice movement led by groups like Step Up Louisiana. Workers in New Orleans have also seen some gains as a result of these efforts. Local Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Family Dollar employees in the city have received across-the-board raises of $3/hour.
While these recent wins represent significant victories, for worker leaders like David Williams, a Dollar General stocker in Hollygrove, the fight is not over. Williams, who has become a key spokesperson for our national campaign for store safety, has been vocal about the need for continued progress. Last year, he delivered a statement at Dollar General’s annual shareholder meeting and was honored with the Health and Safety Activist Award at the National Conference on Worker Safety and Health. Speaking at a Step Up Louisiana action this past July, David shared, “The message has always been the same and is very clear—we just want better for all workers, all workers who go through the grind, all workers who put their blood, sweat and tears into this thing. This year, I had a closer interaction with the [Dollar General] CEO—he shook my hand twice. I told him, this isn’t about bravery—I’m not doing this for me. I’m doing this for my people. We’re trying to survive and be better in life, and we can’t do that while we’re looking over our shoulders at work, praying for safety, and all the while we’re getting paid so little. We really need to see results moving forward. We want to see better in the company we’re working for–better for the customers, better for the employees.”
The goals of our campaign are bold but necessary: workers are pushing for safety demands to be met and for base wages to rise to $25 per hour. Workers deserve to work in an environment where they don’t have to fear for their safety and to have the wages and benefits they need to support themselves and their families. Step Up Louisiana, along with worker leaders like David, are at the forefront of this critical fight for dignity, respect, and justice. As the movement grows, it’s clear that the voices of workers will not be silenced. Change is coming, and it’s powered by the relentless determination of people standing together for a better future.