Holly Hill, South Carolina – Since the start of the pandemic, businesses across the state have had to deal with many issues, including closures due to the virus, supply chain issues, increasing operating costs, and last but not least important, worker shortages.
Just as the majority of businesses thought they had most of these issues under control, skyrocketing inflation hit, causing new problems for business owners.The increasing prices and rising cost of living result in many employees seeking higher wages, especially those with low pay.
Holly Hill Dollar General employees are among the latest to seek higher wages, and they are about to go on strike on Saturday to protest unsafe working conditions and low wages.
Keshia Brown, an Assistant Manager at Dollar General in Holly Hill, said that the decision for the strike initially came because the company doesn’t protect its employees. “I was a victim of robbery at work. Right after we got robbed—not even 15 minutes later—management was already telling me to open the store back up. I was shaken,” she said.
The strike is set to start at 11:30 a.m. Saturday. The workers seek three things from the company’s management: a $15 minimum wage per hour for all employees, rehiring a former colleague that allegedly had his contract wrongfully terminated; and improved safety working conditions just when the number of robberies is on the rise.
“I was wrongfully fired by Dollar General the day before we delivered our petition,” said Tara Johnson, a Dollar General worker who plans to demonstrate Saturday. “I had to take my baby to the doctor and I let management know ahead of time. They said it was ok, but when I got to work they fired me on the spot.“
The majority of the workers that plan to protest on Saturday are currently paid around $11 an hour.
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