Rosalee Daugherty

NEW ULM – Rosalee Daugherty is an overnight team lead at Walmart, and she couldn’t be happier.

She has been with Walmart for 13 years, on top of having spent 33 years with Kmart, and has decided that the night shift is for her.

“I think after all those years of being in retail, I’m not a day person anymore,” she said. “I had my time.”

Daugherty was firm about beginning her employment with Walmart as an evening stock clerk, even though the management was interested in having her in a supervisory position, given all her past experience.

“When I had my interview, they said, ‘Are you sure you don’t want something else, like maybe a supervisor?'” she said. “Nope, nope. I want to learn what the company is about. I don’t want to come in bossing people around when I don’t know what’s going on.”

Daugherty continued in that capacity for her first years at Walmart, happy to be able to go about her business at work.

“And they said, ‘Well, okay, you know, but if you ever want to move up, just let us know.’ And so every year on my interview, they ask: ‘Are you sure you don’t want to supervise?’ No, no, no. I’m very happy.'”

But then right around the time COVID hit, Walmart decided to get rid of the night shift.

“So I had to go back to days, Daugherty said “and so that went for 10 months. And then they’re like, ‘Well, we’re gonna start up the night crew.

But it’s gonna be a small one.’ And my words were, ‘I would kill to get back on overnight.'”

One condition was that she would have to be in charge, at least temporarily, of the night shift, along with another colleague. One month turned into another month, turned into three months, which eventually led to the offer of a lead position.

“And I said, all right, you know, I can do this,” Daugherty said. “And so then they offered me an overnight team lead position. And it worked out beautifully at that particular moment.”

Daugherty supervises around 50 workers on the night shift, doing everything from unloading the trucks to helping with maintenance, all the while making sure everything runs smoothly.

“We unload the meat and the produce that comes in the middle of the night,” she said. “And sometimes freezer dairy will come in, and that’s like 10 pallets. And then meat and produce is anywhere from seven to nine pallets.”

“I’m certified on the walkie stacker and the electric jack and the forklift. And the scissor lift. So I can go all the way up to the ceiling,” she said. “So I don’t have to go to the gym, because I get my steps in. I don’t have to go to the gym, because I get my lifting in. You know, and it’s not as easy as it was 13 years ago.”

Daugherty said she has taken time off just once, when her sister’s health was failing.

“I don’t take time off. In my time with Walmart, I’ve called in once and that was when my sister was dying and I called in,” she said. “I said the Care Center (in Lamberton) just called me, she’s taking a turn, I’m getting in the car, gotta go deal. I’ll let you know. I said I’ll keep calling in every day and I said I’ll be back when, when she dies. It was the hardest thing that I ever had to do in my life and I can honestly say that.”

Daugherty was born and raised in New Ulm, and graduated from New Ulm High School about 50 years ago. She participated in choir and band, and loved history, which is a big reason why she volunteers at the Minnesota Historical Society.

“I do that every other Saturday,” she said. “I’m at their front desk and I greet the people and tell them about what they’re gonna see. And if they have any questions, they can ask me. And I’ve been doing that for about nine years now. And the funny thing is, when I was a little girl, my mother insisted I read.”

Daugherty also helps out at the New Ulm Chamber, delivering calendars and the visitor guides to various businesses in town.

“My mother said I was hyperactive, so she had to keep me busy,” Daugherty said. “Maybe that helps explain why she continues to be so active in the community.