Once we have reduced every American worker's salary to a point where they can no longer afford to buy our merchandise without governmental assistance, our goals will have been accomplished.
I'm not going to bet on that one. It's a foregone conclusion yes? Perhaps not in the most sectors of a city, but in the rural sections of the country? Have no fear, MAGA is here!
That would not be true in the area where I live, and the stores I have shopped in. I talk to the employees (not about politics, but I get a sense of them). By the way back when Covid19 hit, supermarkets ran out of toilet paper--Dollar Stores were the only place to buy toilet paper. I used to thank them for being there...
I live in Georgia and as I travel into the rural areas the Dollar Store model is everywhere. And they are always busy. These people are ignored by retail and fast food options…and Dollar General saw the opportunity. DG has a captive audience and the outside world doesn’t understand what slimy tactics they are using against their customers and employees. Thanks again for shining the flashlight into the dark corners. Wasn’t David Perdue the former CEO?
Our rural town in northern NY is the perfect example. We have two retail choices, a gasoline/convenience store and Dollar General and two small hardware/ag outlets. The next closest markets are 18 miles and 17 miles. With limited choices, DG gets a significant amount of business. You do what you have to do.
Living in a rural area, we have 4 in our big county. Truth about the merch is most always in the smaller store aisles. Usually 2 employees on duty. We have 2 Dollar General Markets Ala groceries, too. On Mondays, I can get discounted meats. Bought a $20 roast for $10 and I can get 5 chicken thighs for $2.50.
The point of this is they fill a need and they save folks money during hard times. I can boycott Kroger more easily as they don't do much to save me money. Those same thighs are $6.99.
I agree they should do more for employees. Every corporation could. They put in self checkouts just like the rest. However. The cost of gas is real. Most of the employees here live close to the store. I have asked in my friendly banter. They are not driving 25 to 30 miles each way to the city to work. DG found their nitch. Love them or hate them, the rural areas are greater in size in American miles than the cities. Food deserts are real in rural areas. Poor huddled masses especially Seniors like me, enjoy the $5 big pack of toilet paper and my cheap chicken and a short drive to get them.
I grow veggies and freeze them. I recycle jars and tubs and bread bags for storage purposes, too. My parents were Depression Era.
Got 5 big Tyson chicken thighs this morning marked down for $2.63 DG market. Temptations chicken kitty treats marked down to $1. You do what you have to do is right.
REALLY? Like that isn't the definition of anti-intellectualists. If you don't like what I have to say - then don't read anything I post.
By the way - LOVE the "quite" arrogant. Why don't you just call me a b***tch and call it a day.
Here's the thing - I don't care what your opinion is of me. I don't take ANYTHING anyone says personally. EVER. This is ALL you - so, if you feel threatened, demeaned, or intimidated - ALL YOU. Have fun trolling - and carry on!
Anti-intellectualism is often misunderstood as mere hostility towards acquiring knowledge, or the byproduct of the lack of a formal education. However, this definition ignores how anti-intellectualism has been wielded by those with power, as a means to uphold the ideas and systems that benefit them, and thus enabling the continued expansion of these attitudes through society over time.
Even so, not cool. Don't read the posts or move on. I don't agree with everything I read here. If I don't find something of value to me - then it is my responsibility to "privately" question that person. Not openly judge someone who, as we all are, desperately trying to conquer the misinformation, hate, and challenges that Racism, Fascism, and collective narcissism have done to destroy us - and our planet.
We should be supporting each other here - in any way we can. Even if that means being uncomfortable with someone else's opinions or ideas.
I don't always get it right - but we would all like to be given the opportunity to have our voices heard and hope that we can make a difference.
I've been in this fight since the 60's - and believe me, I'm old and tired.
We have got to teach our children and their children how to collaborate, questions, and respect our differences - because our fight is their fight.
It seemed to me that Cathy had solutions. You are too critical. I am a senior in a rural area with a garden and a canner and snow shovels. DG still fills voids. Stop the judging.
The only form of protest I have against corporations, like Home Depot, Hobby Lobby, Dollar General, Kroger, Chick-fil-A, etc., is to spend my money elsewhere. I choose companies that treat their employees fairly and avoid involvement in religious or political matters.
Kroger employees filed suit against the company in January alleging wage theft. This is an ongoing issue with Kroger and it’s subsidiaries. I avoid their stores like the plague.
I shop at Aldi and Costco here in South Carolina. Both take good care of their employees by providing above-average wages, excellent healthcare, and company-sponsored retirement plans. I work for Costco so I have first-hand knowledge of their pay and benefits.
I like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. I agree, they both seem to take good care of their employees. Would shop with them, just don't have either near me!
Dawna, we don’t have a Kroger within reasonable driving distance to us. We do, however, have a HyVee. We very rural, small town living, population 7600. I don't buy store brands, never have.
This is a tough one. In a perfect world, Dollar General would perform the desired corrections with a smile and an apology. It is not a perfect world. Dollar General provides a service that very few other companies offer. In the real world, this allows them to become a "Colonel Jessup" company. Paraphrased below.
"I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it! I would rather you just said "thank you" and went on your way..."
Can a replacement or competitor company offer better service, employee compensation and employee work environment while providing the public the same price points and providing the owners reasonable profits?
Dollar General has competition in suburban areas, but not so much in food scarce areas. I believe there is a reason for that.
Someone smarter than I am needs to build a better mouse trap.
Anyone who wants to penalize me 15 yards for using too many metaphors, go ahead. :-)
Precisely. Instead of undercutting the competition and keeping the profits, undercutting the competition and sharing out a generous portion of the profits in the form of customeer savings, would build brand loyalty unlike any other.
Oh, if only the corporations in our "Capitalist" country could be less greedy (and pass those savings down), we'd have a kinder gentler world and less inflation to boot!
This is shameful and unethical. How can we or Congress put more teeth into OSHA fines to make it hurt this and any other company that starves its personnel while the CEO waltzes off with Million$? Disgusting; thanks for this story, Judd.
There is a DG less than 3 miles from me. I stopped shopping there although their brand name paper goods are very low cost and affordable, and came in handy when I ran out of milk, butter or cheese. I stopped going exactly for the reason the article quotes. 1-2 employees only who although very nice to customers, couldn't manage the clutter.
The U.S. "free market", where tax payers subsidize the labor force wages... that actually has a different name as an economic system, but in this backwards nation corporate socialism is allowed to just be labeled something else entirely.
The article on murders I mentioned above is free on ProPublica. Just search for “Dollar General murder”. It also found that the murder problem is specific to Dollar General; it for NOT happen at Dollar Tree or Family Dollar, their two big rivals. I don’t know if that is also true of wage theft and on-the-job accidents.
But I agree with Cathy b. That a consumer boycott is not the answer. More rigorous law enforcement would be more effective.
At a packed law school event last week, the report’s co-authors cited numerous U.S. breaches of international agreements designed to protect workers’ access to a living wage, along with basic needs such as food, healthcare and housing. The U.S. is a signatory to most of these accords, but has not ratified all of them, which means they’re not legally binding.
The failure to abide by these international standards, while keeping subminimum wage laws intact, “exposes the gap between our democratic values and what our laws and regulations actually do in practice,” said Clinical Professor Laurel Fletcher, director of IHRLC.
1. Employers are constantly making wage errors & no one is aware. Sometimes it results in over payments but more often it’s wage theft. There are few checks & balances and companies are not incentivized to avoid errors.
2. Minimum wage used to indicate the job was meant for a new worker for training purposes - or a student earning money on the side while completing their studies. Now, minimum wage is for the poorest workers and it needs to be adjusted to a more livable wage. In SF, the minimum wage is over $17/hr but few people (& no families) can live in SF on $36k annually. Housing alone is equivalent to $36k Ann and likely much more.
I agree. I've been involved in Sarbanes Oxley audits - and payroll is miserable (and complicated). And, the rules change - now, sick leave is PTO. Can't we have both? And there are other issues. Salaried workers being mis-categorized so they don't have to pay overtime. And complaints to the State Labor Boards don't accomplish anything. You're on your own, unless it's a big enough violation you can get a Labor Attorney involved. Good luck with that.
And minimum wage in the 60's wasn't that awful compared to "real" wages. If you made $3.00 per hour and the Manager made $5.00 per hour - not so heinous. When I see the stats on how much you have to make now just to eek by it's just mind numbing.
The only other issue I see is that even illegals, mowing lawns are making upwards of $15 an hour in some places in Florida. So, that really hurts the low-end service people.
These stores prey on the poorest Americans--deceptively selling goods at inflated prices, and engaging in despicable business and labor practices. They fly under the radar, because most people who care about predatory business and labor practices don't shop at dollar stores. We drive right by them.
In June 2020 a ProPublica/New Yorker article showed that Dollar General stores have an anomalously high level of murders in their stores and parking lots, basically because the understaffing includes not hiring security guards.
Once we have reduced every American worker's salary to a point where they can no longer afford to buy our merchandise without governmental assistance, our goals will have been accomplished.
Dollar General /s
Adam, prize winning comment of the day! 👍🏼
Shhhh. You gonna get me in trouble!
I'm not going to bet on that one. It's a foregone conclusion yes? Perhaps not in the most sectors of a city, but in the rural sections of the country? Have no fear, MAGA is here!
That would not be true in the area where I live, and the stores I have shopped in. I talk to the employees (not about politics, but I get a sense of them). By the way back when Covid19 hit, supermarkets ran out of toilet paper--Dollar Stores were the only place to buy toilet paper. I used to thank them for being there...
I live in Georgia and as I travel into the rural areas the Dollar Store model is everywhere. And they are always busy. These people are ignored by retail and fast food options…and Dollar General saw the opportunity. DG has a captive audience and the outside world doesn’t understand what slimy tactics they are using against their customers and employees. Thanks again for shining the flashlight into the dark corners. Wasn’t David Perdue the former CEO?
https://www.rcfp.org/perdue-dollar-general-unsealing/
Thanks for the link. Sadly, no surprise that Perdue would be finding ways to increase reprehensible and inhumane selfishness.
Wow. Good info.
Our rural town in northern NY is the perfect example. We have two retail choices, a gasoline/convenience store and Dollar General and two small hardware/ag outlets. The next closest markets are 18 miles and 17 miles. With limited choices, DG gets a significant amount of business. You do what you have to do.
I agree.
Really seems like a microcosm of the state of American labor today.
That is why it isn't funny even though I tried to express my sentiment in a humorous manner.
Living in a rural area, we have 4 in our big county. Truth about the merch is most always in the smaller store aisles. Usually 2 employees on duty. We have 2 Dollar General Markets Ala groceries, too. On Mondays, I can get discounted meats. Bought a $20 roast for $10 and I can get 5 chicken thighs for $2.50.
The point of this is they fill a need and they save folks money during hard times. I can boycott Kroger more easily as they don't do much to save me money. Those same thighs are $6.99.
I agree they should do more for employees. Every corporation could. They put in self checkouts just like the rest. However. The cost of gas is real. Most of the employees here live close to the store. I have asked in my friendly banter. They are not driving 25 to 30 miles each way to the city to work. DG found their nitch. Love them or hate them, the rural areas are greater in size in American miles than the cities. Food deserts are real in rural areas. Poor huddled masses especially Seniors like me, enjoy the $5 big pack of toilet paper and my cheap chicken and a short drive to get them.
Such is life in the sticks around the US.
Thanks for the story.
Our story precisely, minus the fresh food.
I grow veggies and freeze them. I recycle jars and tubs and bread bags for storage purposes, too. My parents were Depression Era.
Got 5 big Tyson chicken thighs this morning marked down for $2.63 DG market. Temptations chicken kitty treats marked down to $1. You do what you have to do is right.
I bet you don’t realize that you come across as lecturing others and quite arrogant.
REALLY? Like that isn't the definition of anti-intellectualists. If you don't like what I have to say - then don't read anything I post.
By the way - LOVE the "quite" arrogant. Why don't you just call me a b***tch and call it a day.
Here's the thing - I don't care what your opinion is of me. I don't take ANYTHING anyone says personally. EVER. This is ALL you - so, if you feel threatened, demeaned, or intimidated - ALL YOU. Have fun trolling - and carry on!
https://www.studioatao.org/post/understanding-anti-intellectualism-in-the-u-s
Anti-intellectualism is often misunderstood as mere hostility towards acquiring knowledge, or the byproduct of the lack of a formal education. However, this definition ignores how anti-intellectualism has been wielded by those with power, as a means to uphold the ideas and systems that benefit them, and thus enabling the continued expansion of these attitudes through society over time.
My comment was about Dawna...
Even so, not cool. Don't read the posts or move on. I don't agree with everything I read here. If I don't find something of value to me - then it is my responsibility to "privately" question that person. Not openly judge someone who, as we all are, desperately trying to conquer the misinformation, hate, and challenges that Racism, Fascism, and collective narcissism have done to destroy us - and our planet.
We should be supporting each other here - in any way we can. Even if that means being uncomfortable with someone else's opinions or ideas.
I don't always get it right - but we would all like to be given the opportunity to have our voices heard and hope that we can make a difference.
I've been in this fight since the 60's - and believe me, I'm old and tired.
We have got to teach our children and their children how to collaborate, questions, and respect our differences - because our fight is their fight.
And our lives depend on it.
Well said. Couldn't agree more.
It seemed to me that Cathy had solutions. You are too critical. I am a senior in a rural area with a garden and a canner and snow shovels. DG still fills voids. Stop the judging.
This is the libertarian free market Milton Friedman philosophy of how companies should be allowed to run.
The only form of protest I have against corporations, like Home Depot, Hobby Lobby, Dollar General, Kroger, Chick-fil-A, etc., is to spend my money elsewhere. I choose companies that treat their employees fairly and avoid involvement in religious or political matters.
Kroger employees filed suit against the company in January alleging wage theft. This is an ongoing issue with Kroger and it’s subsidiaries. I avoid their stores like the plague.
I shop at Aldi and Costco here in South Carolina. Both take good care of their employees by providing above-average wages, excellent healthcare, and company-sponsored retirement plans. I work for Costco so I have first-hand knowledge of their pay and benefits.
What about Trader Joe's and LIDL? They both seem to treat their employees well, and their prices and quality offer good choices.
I like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. I agree, they both seem to take good care of their employees. Would shop with them, just don't have either near me!
And you're not wrong about the stranglehold greed has on all aspects of our daily life!
Dawna, we don’t have a Kroger within reasonable driving distance to us. We do, however, have a HyVee. We very rural, small town living, population 7600. I don't buy store brands, never have.
I shared the link to Judd's story on the Dollar General Facebook page (in the comments of one of their posts). Perhaps others can as well.
This is a tough one. In a perfect world, Dollar General would perform the desired corrections with a smile and an apology. It is not a perfect world. Dollar General provides a service that very few other companies offer. In the real world, this allows them to become a "Colonel Jessup" company. Paraphrased below.
"I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it! I would rather you just said "thank you" and went on your way..."
Can a replacement or competitor company offer better service, employee compensation and employee work environment while providing the public the same price points and providing the owners reasonable profits?
Dollar General has competition in suburban areas, but not so much in food scarce areas. I believe there is a reason for that.
Someone smarter than I am needs to build a better mouse trap.
Anyone who wants to penalize me 15 yards for using too many metaphors, go ahead. :-)
One competitor strategy could be to be less greedy at the C Suite level and pass those savings down.
Precisely. Instead of undercutting the competition and keeping the profits, undercutting the competition and sharing out a generous portion of the profits in the form of customeer savings, would build brand loyalty unlike any other.
Oh, if only the corporations in our "Capitalist" country could be less greedy (and pass those savings down), we'd have a kinder gentler world and less inflation to boot!
Indeed. But that would be too much like "socialism!" Amirite?
This is shameful and unethical. How can we or Congress put more teeth into OSHA fines to make it hurt this and any other company that starves its personnel while the CEO waltzes off with Million$? Disgusting; thanks for this story, Judd.
There is a DG less than 3 miles from me. I stopped shopping there although their brand name paper goods are very low cost and affordable, and came in handy when I ran out of milk, butter or cheese. I stopped going exactly for the reason the article quotes. 1-2 employees only who although very nice to customers, couldn't manage the clutter.
Unregulated capitalism is a rigged game. Dollar General is the poster child for anemic regulation and paltry fines compared to its profits.
The U.S. "free market", where tax payers subsidize the labor force wages... that actually has a different name as an economic system, but in this backwards nation corporate socialism is allowed to just be labeled something else entirely.
Yes. Again my mantra: profits privatized, costs socialized. This has become our capitalist system throughout all sectors of the economy.
The article on murders I mentioned above is free on ProPublica. Just search for “Dollar General murder”. It also found that the murder problem is specific to Dollar General; it for NOT happen at Dollar Tree or Family Dollar, their two big rivals. I don’t know if that is also true of wage theft and on-the-job accidents.
But I agree with Cathy b. That a consumer boycott is not the answer. More rigorous law enforcement would be more effective.
And it's not just Dollar General. Just another part of the dismantling of human rights and democracy.
https://www.law.berkeley.edu/article/subminimum-wage-violates-international-human-rights-standards/
At a packed law school event last week, the report’s co-authors cited numerous U.S. breaches of international agreements designed to protect workers’ access to a living wage, along with basic needs such as food, healthcare and housing. The U.S. is a signatory to most of these accords, but has not ratified all of them, which means they’re not legally binding.
The failure to abide by these international standards, while keeping subminimum wage laws intact, “exposes the gap between our democratic values and what our laws and regulations actually do in practice,” said Clinical Professor Laurel Fletcher, director of IHRLC.
Two things that I think are key:
1. Employers are constantly making wage errors & no one is aware. Sometimes it results in over payments but more often it’s wage theft. There are few checks & balances and companies are not incentivized to avoid errors.
2. Minimum wage used to indicate the job was meant for a new worker for training purposes - or a student earning money on the side while completing their studies. Now, minimum wage is for the poorest workers and it needs to be adjusted to a more livable wage. In SF, the minimum wage is over $17/hr but few people (& no families) can live in SF on $36k annually. Housing alone is equivalent to $36k Ann and likely much more.
I agree. I've been involved in Sarbanes Oxley audits - and payroll is miserable (and complicated). And, the rules change - now, sick leave is PTO. Can't we have both? And there are other issues. Salaried workers being mis-categorized so they don't have to pay overtime. And complaints to the State Labor Boards don't accomplish anything. You're on your own, unless it's a big enough violation you can get a Labor Attorney involved. Good luck with that.
And minimum wage in the 60's wasn't that awful compared to "real" wages. If you made $3.00 per hour and the Manager made $5.00 per hour - not so heinous. When I see the stats on how much you have to make now just to eek by it's just mind numbing.
The only other issue I see is that even illegals, mowing lawns are making upwards of $15 an hour in some places in Florida. So, that really hurts the low-end service people.
It's getting tough out there.
These stores prey on the poorest Americans--deceptively selling goods at inflated prices, and engaging in despicable business and labor practices. They fly under the radar, because most people who care about predatory business and labor practices don't shop at dollar stores. We drive right by them.
In June 2020 a ProPublica/New Yorker article showed that Dollar General stores have an anomalously high level of murders in their stores and parking lots, basically because the understaffing includes not hiring security guards.
Far as I know the only murder in a DG parking lot in this area was in the next door city that has one of the highest murder rates in the state.
It’s another example of the effects of understaffing at DG Storrs.