Submitted by benpinette t3_123p4ib in Maine
kaozennrk t1_jdws5lh wrote
We need employee customer partnership unions. Somebody tell me if this concept already exists. Each employee or union organizes a pledge of sympathetic customers in the local area that agree to boycott a brand or location as a silent strike. When the union or employee organization votes for a customer strike then the group of pledged customers will not shop, buy or engage with service from the company the employees work for. Because most customers are workers too and the company strategy is a divide and conquer for profit deal. I remember Market Basket had a strike and the sympathetic customer boycotted the stores and it really worked.
thesilversverker t1_jdx0pum wrote
Isn't that just a picket line? Or are you proposing the change.org version, so that everyone would feel good but avoid any actual change?
kaozennrk t1_jdxyas8 wrote
No, not a picket line. Organized customer boycotts.
Dimmer06 t1_jdydmjw wrote
This does happen a lot already. As the other commenter mentioned most picket lines are trying to get the public not to buy from the company. Sometimes unions also call for boycotts.
These folks didn't really have the broad base of support or the funding to do that effectively though. That's one of the big risks of forming an independent union.
justtheoddfootnote t1_je0mtvo wrote
Worker-Consumer alliance was a key component of the organizing strategy of the United Farmworkers under César Chávez's leadership. It's one possible path forward.
Edit: Here's a link to a little more information: https://www.zinnedproject.org/materials/beyond-the-fields-cesar-chavez
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