Auxvasse location becomes first Dollar General in country to unionize

AUXVASSE - After about a month of conversations, the Dollar General store workers in Auxvasse won a vote to unionize Friday night.

It took less than five minutes to tally the votes, six "yes" and four "no,"making the Auxvasse location the first Dollar General store in the country to unionize.

Adam Price is one employee who voted to join the union.

“You know, we all love working here and it’s a fun place to work, we enjoy the customers and we like Dollar General," Price said. "It’s just that we haven’t really had a voice at the company and we think the company can do better for us and for itself."

Dollar General released the following statement: “We are very disappointed in the vote and continue to believe that a union is not in our employees' best interests. In the coming days, we will evaluate next steps.”

The workers will be part of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 655.

The union's director of organizing, Billy Myers, attended the vote.

“UFCW Local 655 believes, if an employee wants to better themselves, and their coworkers, and reach for the middle class status, we should help.”

He noted many employees shared Price's opinion, that the company is a good place to work, but could improve.

"After all, we go to work to make a living wage," Myers said. "People need to stand up and believe they’re worth more.”

Price said the extra pay that the union brings wasn't "specifically what we’re going after.”

“It’s just, just in general to be able to have our voices heard, really, so that we can have a more consistent and fair and competitive pay and environment to work in,” he said.