Dority's involvement with the union began in the 1960s, when he organized the grocery store where he worked in Lynchburg, Virginia.

As a field organizer, Dority worked on extended campaigns in both the United States and Canada, and Quebec and southern Ontario in particular.

[3] Dority intensified the UFCW's comprehensive campaign against Walmart, investing significant resources in the public relations campaign against the retailer, culminating in a "national day of action" in 2002, where UFCW and other unions held rallies in more than 100 communities throughout the United States.

[4] From 2003–04, Dority led the UFCW through one of the largest work stoppages in its history, involving tens of thousands of grocery store workers in protracted strikes in California, Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia.

[5] Upon retiring from the UFCW in 2004, Dority became the president of America’s Agenda: Health Care for All, a labor-backed interest group dedicated to "winning guaranteed access to affordable, high quality healthcare for every American.