Dollar General Store Closes After Entire Staff Quits on Same Day Over Being Overworked and Underappreciated 

Overworked and underpaid 

The staff of the Dollar General in Mineral Point, a city in Iowa County, Wisconsin, left a message on the window explaining their decision to quit collectively. The seven team members left a message on the window where they cited being overpaid, overworked, and underappreciated. 

A small gesture of kindness

The staff also left a message for their customers. They expressed their love, shared that they would miss them, and even called their customers amazing. NBC affiliate KSDK confirmed that the store was closed for around three hours Saturday morning before reopening. 

The staffers called out alleged corporate greed

In a letter, the former Dollar General workers noted their opposition to corporate greed and disapproval of the company’s food donation policy. One former employee spoke to Spectrum News 1, explaining that throwing away food is immoral. Dollar General responded by claiming they were following Feeding America guidelines. 

Dollar General on donation policy 

The company, which has almost 19k locations across the US, said in a statement that they proudly served Wisconsin communities through their partnership with Feeding America. They added that they donated 7,500 pounds of food to local food banks. 

Poor working conditions 

According to the Economy Policy Institute’s Wage Tracker report, 92% of Dollar General’s nearly 12k employees earn less than $15 an hour. The same report cited companies like Dollar General as being known for poor working conditions and low wages. The report was based on data from 2021. 

Dollar General quickly recovered

Apart from three hours on Saturday morning, the store quickly recovered, and things went back to normal with an entire staff of new and transferred workers. It is still not confirmed if the workers who walked out faced any consequences and if they were making Wisconsin’s minimum wage, which is $7.25 per hour.

Seven-day workweeks 

The staffers also complained about seven-day workweeks, with the manager, Trina Tribolet, telling Spectrum that she did not have any weekends off since Christmas. She also said she would take a break to care for her mental health while other workers already had other jobs lined up. 

Dollar General apologized to the customers 

Dollar General also apologized to customers following the walkout, saying it was dedicated to providing an environment where staffers could expand their careers and feel valued and seen. The statement included an apology for the three hours the Mineral Point store was closed. 

Suspicious sign 

Photos shared on social media suggested that Dollar General already had a sign in the window that it was looking for employees before the store’s team quit, but this was not confirmed. 

Previous walkout 

Last February, a Dollar General store in Michigan closed after every worker quit due to understaffing, safety concerns, and low wages. But this is not where the company’s troubles end. According to Insider, former workers complained they were forced to choose between helping customers and stocking shelves after reducing worker hours.

Burger King employees pulled a similar stunt 

In 2021, Lincoln, Nebraska, went viral over a Burger King sign. The restaurant near 59th and Havelock said that the employees decided to quit, and the former manager, Rachael Flores, said that employees worked in the kitchen with no air conditioning for weeks. 

The consequences 

Flores told KLKN  that she ended up in the hospital for dehydration, to which her former boss said she was acting like a baby. Others also complained they were understaffed and believed other locations faced similar difficulties.