“Live rodents, dead rodents in various conditions of decay, feces and urine of rodents, evidence of rodents, nesting and odors of rodents throughout the facility, dead birds and bird droppings.” Unpleasant odors and odors and feces “too much to are counted. “
A federal review of company records found that more than 2,300 rodents were found in 2021, “demonstrating a history of infection.”
“No one should be subjected to products stored under unacceptable conditions that we found in this Family Dollar distribution facility,” said Judith McMikin, FDA Assistant Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs.
The FDA’s discovery prompted Family Dollar to voluntarily withdraw dozens of groceries, cosmetics, drugs and other products and temporarily close more than 400 stores in six southern states.
But the picture of the distribution center, which delivers products to stores, came as no shock to many in Memphis, where Family Dollar temporarily closed more than 60 stores, clustered in mostly black and low-income neighborhoods. The closure left a gap in residents’ access to buy food and basic necessities.
The conditions are part of what city leaders describe as a Family Dollar story, ignoring concerns about the health and safety of their clients and employees in Memphis. Some community leaders have revived calls to boycott the chain. The West Memphis Distribution Center was not the only Family Dollar to have had rodent infections in recent years. Family Dollar stores in Las Vegas, Sacramento, Richmond, Miami Gardens, Pittsburgh, Canton, New York and other areas have had to close in recent years due to rodent infestations.
Some experts say these problems point to a broader pattern of neglect in Dollar Tree, the parent company of Family Dollar, which acquired the chain in 2015 and has a long history of worker safety violations.
A company spokesman said in a statement that it is committed to quality products and a safe environment for customers and workers.
Dollar Tree said the most effective way to seize the affected products was to temporarily close stores that had received shipments from the distribution center. The distribution center is reopened and has limited capacity, and the company is gradually reopening Family Dollar stores.
The company takes “this situation very seriously” and is cooperating with regulatory agencies and “in the process of fixing the problem,” the spokesman said.
“They don’t treat us like family.”
Family Dollar, with about 8,000 stores in the United States, is particularly important in Memphis because of limited retail opportunities for customers in the city who are poor and do not have easy access to cars or public transportation.
“I don’t think it’s going to happen in a wealthy neighborhood,” said Vicki Terry, executive director of the NAACP division in Memphis. “I don’t think things would get that bad.” The NAACP is handing out free $ 150 gift cards to buyers who have purchased dangerous items from Family Dollar and are struggling to find other options.
The family dollar is a lifeline for many in a city where more than a quarter of the population lives below the poverty line. In some neighborhoods, Family Dollar is the only store nearby where shoppers can buy food – albeit a small selection of fresh groceries – and everyday goods.
“Most of the customers in these stores are disadvantaged blacks who don’t have good transportation to go elsewhere,” said Rev. Leonard Dawson. “They need the same quality and safety as everyone else.”
A group of church leaders in Memphis, community activists and other city and county officials are fighting to improve conditions in the 2019 Family Dollar.
That same year, Dawson and other pastors and local leaders protested against the Family Dollar for garbage, boxes and debris piling up outside stores, rodents, overcrowded items and other problems.County health officials then ordered the closure of at least one Family Dollar store due to unsanitary conditions, including rats in the store. The District Environmental Court has repeatedly cited Family Dollar stores for quality of life violations, such as garbage collection, according to news reports.
At the time, local Memphis staff met with Family Dollar and the company promised to improve.
Public activist Patrick Rodgers, who spearheaded efforts to pressure Family Dollar with actions such as posting pictures of stores in disarray on her Facebook page, said things had improved shortly after the promises.
But they quickly got worse again.
“That’s the way they do business in our community,” she said. “They don’t treat us like family, but they want our dollars.”
The company did not respond to conditions in Memphis stores or complaints from city leaders.
History of violations
Family Dollar’s parent company, Dollar Tree, also has a long history of workplace abuse.
In 2021, the Department of Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Dollar Tree inspections over the past five years had resulted in fines of more than $ 9.3 million.
Dollar Tree has a “history of not taking the safety of its employees and customers seriously,” said Danel Gindra, an OSHA employee in Florida, last year.
David Michaels, a former OSHA administrator from 2009 to 2017, said in an interview that the agency’s inspectors found that the stores were often understaffed and had insufficient storage space for goods. The boxes piled up in the back rooms and blocked the exits, creating a “fire trap,” he said.
A company spokesman said it was “committed to complying with all applicable federal, state and local laws on health and safety at work and relevant industry standards.”
Some of the conditions stem from the company’s work model, which relies on low-staff stores and low overheads, said Scott Muskin, a retail analyst at R5 Capital.
The company pays some of the lowest wages in the retail sector and is more vulnerable to staff turnover and employment challenges in narrow labor markets such as the current one, analysts say.
Family Dollar stores were in poor shape when Dollar Tree acquired the business in 2015, he said. Although Family Dollar has renovated thousands of stores in recent years, many stores under the two banners are still poorly maintained.
“It seems that the control over the business is not where it should be.