Shoppers were greeted with a surprising notice when they arrived at a Wisconsin Dollar General store last week, the location was closed because the entire staff had quit at the same time.
A large green sign was posted Saturday morning on the front door of the store in Mineral Point, around 54 miles west of Madison, with the following message:
"The store is CLOSED. The whole team has walked away due to a lack of appreciation, being overworked and being underpaid."
An accompanying sign read:
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"We QUIT! Thank you to our amazing customers. We love you and will miss you."
The signs left outside the store were posted in the "Iowa County Confessions" Facebook group.
A letter on notebook paper was also found near the entrance of the store, elaborating more on the staff's decision to walk away from the store.
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"Take this as a notice that we the team at store 20610 located in Mineral Point, WI all quit! We can not and will not work for a company that does not stand behind in true honest form of what they want the world to see them as. Although we love and adore our customers, we must take a stand for the community and not allow corporate greed to continue preventing people in need of the help they need and could receive. Policies, processes and procedures need to change! Don't make claims about supporting and helping communities when the reality is that it's all about the bottom line and not about support or help!"
According to NBC affiliate KSDK, a statement from Dollar General confirmed that the store was closed for around three hours Saturday morning before reopening.
The Economy Policy Institute's Wage Tracker reports that 92% of Dollar General's 119,904 employees make less than $15 an hour. That's nearly double the number of employees making under $15 at Walmart (51%).
The EPI notes that companies like Dollar General are "notorious for poor working conditions" along with low wages while generating millions in revenue annually and often rewarding their CEOs "with hefty compensation packages."
