Chicano Boycotts

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Boycotts have been an integral protest tactic since the early 1800s. The word stems from the name of Charles C. Boycott, an English land agent in 19th-century Ireland who refused to reduce the rent for his tenant farmers. However, the act of boycotting has long existed since 494 BC, when the plebs of Ancient Egypt protested harsh treatment from patricians by packing their belongings and leaving. More modern examples include the infamous Montgomery Bus Boycott, the 1993 Taco Bell Boycott, and the Stolen Beauty boycott campaign. In the labor movement, boycotts are used to protest low wages, unsafe working conditions, long hours, discriminatory practices, union busting, and more. Boycotts have various strengths and weaknesses, but overall, they …show more content…

Another major concern with boycotting is the unintended consequences and harm it can do to unsuspecting parties. Small businesses or individuals associated with the business involved in a boycott can be open to critique and may be put in harm’s way, financially and sometimes physically. Another critical drawback of boycotts is the lack of alternatives if the industry being boycotted is monopolistic. Despite the numerous weaknesses associated with boycotts, the UFW boycott became of one the most successful protests in U.S. Labor history. Within the Chicano movement, strikes and boycotts were often used due to their prominence in the labor force and their use in bringing communities together. One of the most notable boycotts in history was the United Farm Workers’ Delano Grape Boycott of 1965, which was led by Caesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta. The two Mexican American activists founded the United Farm Workers Union, which defended the rights of farmworkers by employing nonviolent organizing tactics rooted in Catholic social teaching, Chicano identity, and civil rights …show more content…

By 1970, the grape boycott was a success. Delano grape growers signed their first union contracts which granted workers better pay, benefits, and protections. One of the most relevant applications of this tactic in the 21st century is under the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement which is working to end the international support for Israeli oppression of Palestinians and pressure Israel to comply with international law. McDonald’s has been on the receiving end of a boycott from this organization which caused the corporation to miss out on their quarterly sales for the first time in over four years McDonald’s. The Israeli franchisee has supported the IOF with over 1 million free McDonald’s meals during the ongoing genocide in Gaza. This prompted the Palestinian BDS National Committee, the largest Palestinian coalition, to endorse the organic, grassroots-led worldwide boycott campaigns targeting McDonald’s to end complicity in apartheid Israel’s crimes. Due to BDS endorsing and boosting this boycott, the corporation missed out on its quarterly sales for the first time in over four years in less than 6

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