The dilemma of workers in the US is that they work for corporations making billions of dollars in profits which are equal to the annual budgets of countries but still the workers get only a few drops out of the gains made by these big companies. This is because most of the juice goes to the top management, especially the CEO and the shareholders and other top managers. The workers only get a pittance out of what the corporations earn from their huge sales in the market. Let us know ‘Vast Majority Dollar General Employees Earn Less Than 15 Per Hour’.
Dollar General Employees Earn Less Than 15 Per Hour
The bitter reality of the Dollar General Workforce is that around 92% of the people work at less than 15 dollars an hour. While the remaining 8% take the biggest chunk of the earnings out of the corporation such as the CEO who is recompensed in millions of dollars each month. This huge gap in the salaries of the top 8% and the bottom 92% is a big question mark on the integrity, earnestness, and professionalism of Dollar General.
Why Should the Employees Struggle Financially When the Company is Thriving?
It is a basic question of reason. Is Dollar General not doing well financially? Is it incurring losses? It is experiencing a dip in sales? Is there not cash enough to pay them all a decent sum of per-hour compensation? When the answer to all of these questions is a big NO then why is it that the employees are being forced to struggle with their lives owing to underpayment per hour from Dollar General? When the company is opening store after store as a result of booming sales and increasing its profits almost every year, then what is the problem with the people who decide how much to compensate a store worker? Why are they forcing the 92% to struggle and the remaining 8% to live a life of luxury where they have much more than they need? This is simply unacceptable because there is not an even spread of the returns earned by the corporation for everyone on board. The 92% are squeezed beyond their limits to make the remaining 8% enjoy and keep on enjoying month after month. This is unfair, this is draconian, and this is unjust! This must be done away with a paradigm shift so everyone can go home happy.
Safety Issues on Top of Salary Issues
This is another point that merits a discussion because the underpaid employees at Dollar General are having to face another issue in addition to their low wages. This is the security issue because several Dollar General Stores have been robbed by criminals time and again as there aren’t any proper security arrangements in place. Many Dollar General Employees have been injured in these robberies and even killed as a result of firing by robbers. There are hardly any security guards in place for each store to prevent such incidents from recurring.
What’s in for the Employees if They Don’t Get a Fair Share out of Their Remuneration?
The thing is that the Dollar General employees work extra hard to help the company make sales. They work overtime, they work even in the light of their smartphone flashlights when there are power cuts in their stores. They make sure that everything is in place for the customers. There are improper facilities for them at the stores, such as broken toilets, lax security, insufficient lighting, health-wise poor conditions, and rodent infestation at times. These are the kind of conditions that they have to work in. Also, they are often asked to work overtime by Dollar General while there is no overtime payment for the employees. Is that fair? Should the Dollar General employees not be paid overtime when they are asked to work as such? They are already working at the minimum rate of 15 USD or less than that per hour. The additional burden of overtime is simply painful for them and they should never be asked to work for a minute over and above what was agreed upon beforehand. That is the only fair and square thing to do. There is no foundation for forcing them to work overtime when they have the right to go home and spend time with their family or take some rest and enjoy their time off.
Lack of Investment in Proper Security
According to former employees of Dollar General who were interviewed, the Dollar General management does not provide sufficient security to the stores that operate in high-crime areas. This is probably because they would have to spend extra money covering the cost of the security guards. This is even though over the years there have been a huge number of incidents in which Dollar General employees have been stabbed, have had a gun pointed to their heads or have even been shot with a gun. The management still refuses to take the lesson from such incidents and instead focuses on cutting costs, while being least concerned about worker safety at Dollar General Stores. Many times, only one person is running the store, and that also while there is a power cut, because the store still has to be kept open.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be said that 92% of employees have to pass through some very tough times while working at Dollar General Stores and they are in dire need of improvement in work conditions. The government needs to step in to ensure better work conditions so they can earn their income without hurting their self-esteem. They also need to have the security that they need such as proper lighting and security guards and other related things.
