Union Leader, Founder of Trader Joe’s United, Illegally Fired

Hi, I’m Jamie Edwards, and I was the founding President of Trader Joe’s United. For the past few years, I kept stocking shelves and ringing up groceries, while going to bargaining sessions in my free time.

Last week, after more than ten years of service, Trader Joe’s fired me.

Let me tell you, I reviewed my termination paper, and I talked to the store manage… and this is a bunch of nonsense.

I am so thankful to have a union that has my back. Trader Joe’s United is fighting back with me to get my job back. But it’s not going to be easy. Can you chip in $X to TJU keep supporting workers targeted by management?

The store management made up an interaction with a customer who says that I overcharged them, but never looked at the sales record to see what was actually charged. The manager provided no proof that any customer had been overcharged. This same manager had falsely accused me of “lunging” at him last year.

My termination is built on top of a foundation of a paper trail of fabricated performance reviews, where I was denied raises for bogus reasons like “scanning groceries too fast.” Now, barely a month after I stepped down as president of the union, Trader Joe’s fired me.

If Trader Joe’s thinks that there won’t be a backlash because I’m no longer president, they’ve got another thing coming. Send Trader Joe’s a message that you stand with union workers by making a donation today!

I’m grateful to have the support of this community. We founded Trader Joe’s United because we want our stores to work, and to live up to the image that our customers have for Trader Joe’s.

In solidarity,

Jamie Edwards
Trader Joe’s United