NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A civil rights advocate says he and two Dollar General store workers were denied access to the company’s shareholder meeting in Tennessee where they had been outside protesting for better pay and workplace safety improvements.

The Rev. William Barber II told The Associated Press he and the two workers sought to enter the meeting Wednesday inside Goodlettsville City Hall with their proxy paperwork, but were told they could not go in after the meeting’s start time.

In a statement, Tennessee-based Dollar General said the meeting began “promptly” at its start time and no one was denied who showed up early or at the start time. Barber said he saw nothing ahead of time that made entering late unallowable.

Barber lives in Goldsboro, where for 20 years he has pastored at Greenleaf Christian Church.