Trader Joe’s United Solidarity Fund

Who We Are

Trader Joe’s United is an independent labor union 100% founded and powered by Trader Joe’s workers. All of TJU’s leadership roles are filled by crew members currently working in stores. We are bagging groceries and stocking shelves while building this movement, writing bargaining proposals, and helping other stores organize. It’s not just a catchphrase–we literally are the union.

Why We Organize

Over time, particularly the past 10 years, we have witnessed the culture of Trader Joe’s shift from a workplace that is truly an outlier in the industry, with incredible pay, benefits, and atmosphere, to a company with increasing turnover, declining benefits, and stagnating wages. The pandemic put those changes into stark relief as we were called “essential” workers yet treated as expendable.

These two factors–the company’s internal changes and the pandemic–made it clear that we needed to have a say in our workplace, and that a union was the only answer to that need. A union could bring Trader Joe’s back into alignment with the company’s stated core values, which made it a great place to work and shop in the first place. In particular, we sought to bring Trader Joe’s back to it’s #1 value: integrity.

A Brief History of Trader Joe’s United

In January 2022, crew members in Hadley, MA formed an organizing committee, started talking to their fellow crew members about unionizing, and announced their union drive in May of 2022. On July 28th, 2022, the Hadley crew accomplished something no one else had done before. They unionized the first Trader Joe’s, and in the process created Trader Joe’s United.

Just two weeks later, the Minneapolis store voted to join Trader Joe’s United in a landslide 55-5 victory. The Minneapolis and Hadley organizing committees had begun working together since Hadley’s union drive announcement.

Just a few months later, the Louisville, KY store entered the chat. They announced their campaign in December 2022, and voted 48-36 to join TJU on January 26, 2023. One week later, Trader Joe’s filed an objection against the election results. An NLRB ruling on the objections is pending.

On March 22, 2023, TJU went coast-to-coast with stores in Oakland, CA and NYC simultaneously filing for union elections with Trader Joe’s United! We are thrilled to have two more stores joining us.

What’s Next for Trader Joe’s United

This is a pivotal moment for our union. The Trader Joe’s United’s union wave is poised to sweep across the company.

Since the Hadley store announced its campaign, we’ve heard from hundreds of crew members across the country eager to unionize their stores, and we are helping many of them do so right now.

Between our latest campaigns in Oakland and NYC, the many stores that have yet to announce, and our efforts at the bargaining table, we are in an incredible moment for TJU.

As an independent and unaffiliated union, fundraising is a key part of our work. You can help us expand our organizing efforts by making a donation to our GoFundMe.

Trader Joe’s United is worker-powered, and you can help power us with your donation.

Thank you so much for your support and solidarity.