Dollar Store

Court Decision Opens Door For Communities To Reject Dollar Stores

April 28, 2024 Kennedy Smith, Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Resist! Dollar Store, Legal System, Local Economy, Louisiana

Towns and cities have broad authority to reject dollar store development if they believe it is not in the best interest of the health, safety, and welfare of residents, according to a court ruling in a little-noticed case last November. This could be welcome news to communities pushing back against the explosive growth of dollar stores. Chains like Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Family Dollar are targeting communities all over the US, expanding at an unprecedented pace. The number of chain dollar stores has soared over the past decade, putting one within a five-minute drive of almost every American.

Overworked And Understaffed Dollar General Workers Rally Against Cuts

June 2, 2023 People's Dispatch. Resist! Dollar General, Dollar Store, Tennessee, Worker Rights and Jobs, Workplace Safety

On May 31, Dollar General workers rallied and marched towards the annual meeting of company shareholders to demand safe working conditions in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. As workers mobilized, shareholders voted to approve a resolution put forward by a progressive-leaning investment firm to conduct an independent worker safety and well-being audit on the company, despite Dollar General advising shareholders to vote no. The company argues that it already performs its own safety checks and audits, while the investment firm claims that Dollar General is unclear if employee feedback at all informs its safety policies.

The Movement To Stop Dollar Stores From Suffocating Black Communities

May 23, 2023 Aallyah Wright, Next City. Resist! Black America, Dollar Store, Food and Agriculture, Food Insecurity

For years, the Rev. Donald Perryman wondered why the formerly thriving Black downtown of Toledo, Ohio, couldn’t get a grocery store. His suspicions were confirmed after a city study found in 2020 that the opening of new Dollar General stores drove other companies out of business, deterring potential grocers from investing there. He, along with a group of ministers, knew that in order to get a supermarket, they had to stop new chain dollar stores from plaguing their communities. They made great strides when the Toledo City Council passed a moratorium the same year that required new small-box retail stores to apply for a special-use permit.

New Report: The Dollar Store Invasion

March 6, 2023 Stacy Mitchell, Kennedy Smith, and Susan Holmberg, Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Educate! Communities, Dollar Store, Finance and the Economy, Poverty

Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Family Dollar are targeting vulnerable communities, opening stores at a breakneck pace in urban and rural areas alike. It’s tempting to assume that these chains simply fill a need in cash-strapped places. But the evidence suggests that dollar stores are not merely byproducts of economic distress; they are a cause of it. Through predatory tactics, the dollar chains are killing off grocery stores and other local businesses, leaving communities with fewer jobs, diminished access to basic goods, and dimmer prospects for overall well-being. As these losses mount, dollar stores are facing a rising tide of grassroots opposition.

Dollar Stores Are Being Robbed At Gunpoint More Days Than Not

September 11, 2022 Paula Pecorella, More Perfect Union. Educate! Class Struggle, Dollar Store, Violent crime, Worker Rights and Jobs

When you imagine a person whose job involves putting their lives on the line at work, you might think of firefighters or military personnel. But there’s a new sector of employees who are risking their lives and facing rampant violent crime on the job — dollar store workers. In August, dollar stores in the United States were robbed at gunpoint most days of the month, according to an analysis of local news reports by More Perfect Union. Dollar store workers faced armed robberies while on shift last month in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Alabama, Michigan, Mississippi, Louisiana, Colorado, Texas, North Carolina, Florida and Illinois. At least four people were shot.

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