Mr. Schwarz says on his website biography that he lives in the Midwest. (A P.O. box in Ringwood, Ill., is listed on the People’s Union USA website.) On social media, he goes by TheOneCalledJai and has directed supporters of his organization to follow his personal accounts under the same name as he sells merchandise and solicits donations for the People’s Union USA on GoFundMe, collecting more than $93,000 as of Friday afternoon.
The money from the GoFundMe will be used for “building the website, pushing this movement forward, and working toward officially unionizing and forming a nonprofit,” according to the People’s Union USA website.
The site also promises transparency about where the money will go, listing about $5,000 in expenses thus far on largely administrative needs, including website domain costs and a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office fee. The website promises to offer regular updates. It was last updated on Feb. 26.
Mr. Schwarz said on his group’s website that the profits from People’s Union USA merchandise will “go toward future operational costs, including payroll, expansion, and ensuring this movement keeps growing and thriving.”
While the movement has pushed for people to support small businesses in the United States, the merchandise is being sold through a drop-shipping company. Mr. Schwarz said he is working to shift the group’s merchandise operation to a local business in Illinois.
“I have not taken a penny of that money for myself,” Mr. Schwarz said of the GoFundMe money. “We’re selling T-shirts, and I’m using the money for that to pay for the person who needs to go to all the emails that are coming in, because I will not touch the GoFundMe for that, even though I technically could. It says administration and things like that, but I don’t want to. I want all of those funds, the people’s funds, to go right to what we’re building.”
Friday’s boycott is one of several the People’s Union USA has planned for the coming months, according to its website.
Kirsten Noyes contributed research.
