Dollar General investors vote to probe worker safety, after years of employee complaints
and overrun with merchandise. The problem has gotten so bad at some stores that local fire marshals have forced them to close because unpacked merchandise is blocking fire exit paths. Employees have also gotten injured on the job, while others have been murdered while working at the stores, David Williams, an employee at a Dollar General store, said he and his colleagues at other locations go to work scared of the dangers that they will encounter there.
"We're scared because we know that the leaders of Dollar General are not looking out for the safety of workers," Williams said."The company has expanded it so fast and so recklessly that on any given day, I might have to deal with a rat infestation, a door they won't lock or someone pointing a gun at me with no security to protect me."
Safety hazards at Dollar General stores have also gotten the attention of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, which has proposed fines on Dollar General of $21 million since 2017. The company's violations are severe and frequent enough that Dollar General earned aThe proposal's passage marks a win for Dollar General workers, Mary Beth Gallagher, director of engagement at Domini Impact Investments, said in a statement.
"Dollar General has a responsibility to provide a safe working environment for its employees, and it now has clear support from its shareholders to do this," said Gallagher. "We hope the company will act quickly to conduct an independent audit, incorporating worker and customer input, so root causes can be identified, and the process can begin to make system-wide improvements to the safety at its stores, so that workers no longer have to worry if they will come home from work safely," she added.
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