Emerson Azevedo is a crew member and union supporter at Trader Joes in Hadley, MA, where he’s worked 3 years.

On May 7, 2025 he would suffer a seizure at work. Initially he was allowed to return within that same week. However, after taking time off due to intermittent nausea that he’s experienced since, he was asked if he'd like to go on a medical leave.

Emerson declined, as he knew he would not be able to see a physician in time to be cleared to return. This would be risking his employment. Management assured him that this was okay and that they would discuss his options when he returned for his next shift.

To Emerson’s surprise, he would wake up the next morning to an email telling him that he had been placed on a medical leave without his knowledge or consent.

As of right now, he has no primary care physician and less than a week to be medically cleared to return. No doctor will clear him unless it goes through workers comp. And Trader Joe’s worker’s comp refuses to return his calls.

Emerson has no source of income and will likely see this medical situation used as an indirect way of terminating his employment altogether. Because of this, he is in need of immediate funds to cover rent, food and continued medical treatment.