Existing comment:
Dolores Huerta wearing a "There is blood on those grapes" shirt
To supplement the strike, farm workers launched a grape boycott in 1966. Union members and supporters followed truckloads of grapes and prevented them from being unloaded. They also picketed urban storefronts, asking consumers not to buy grapes, and eventually lettuce. Secondary boycotts were also launched in which the union requested consumers to refrain from buying at chain stores that carried fruit without the union seal. Huerta was a main strategist in this effort, which became a popular international benchmark of social justice. Far from the California fields, in cities like Chicago, Boston, Montreal, and London, people stopped buying grapes. Heading New York City's boycott office in 1968, Huerta built a coalition of church, labor, student, and other liberal groups and picketed A&P, the biggest chain in the city.
Thousands of shoppers turned away until A&P's stores stopped carrying grapes. Huerta then tackled the independent stores to the same effect.
Chris Sánchez (lifedates unknown)
Gelatin silver print, 1973 |