I've already talked about the other tactics currently being used by the people in Wisconsin (elections, recall petitions, legal challenges, and protests). It's time to talk about boycotts.
I first heard the idea of a boycott come up on February 24th, after Scott Walker's call with a fake David Koch was published. The initial calls were for a boycott of all companies owned by the Koch brothers. At the time, there was a huge outpouring of conspiracy theories involving Walker planning to give away our state to the Koch brothers (to paraphrase in a cynical sort of way).
Eventually, the conversation shifted to boycotting all Walker campaign contributors, or all major contributors. A police union issued a letter to M&I bank (http://www.thewheelerreport.com/releases/March11/0310/0310wppa.pdf), as well as one to Kwik Trip, requesting that they clarify their position on collective bargaining, lest a boycott begin. Now, there are some definite problems with M&I, as there are with many banks that took stimulus funds and still somehow managed to very nicely compensate their executives with paychecks that are substantially larger than what the overpaid state workers make. That said, in the case of M&I and most other corporations, money is *technically* given by individuals, not by the company. Obviously, when several of the executives or board members at a major corporation give money to a conservative cause, it's pretty clear that the company is conservative...but they can honestly deny that the company supported a candidate. (Note: This will all change as a result of Citizens United, I daresay).
The two major forces behind the boycott effort seem to be unions and social networking sites. There are several Facebook groups, each with links to websites that provide instructions of how to find out who supported Walker (or, simply list those companies), and how to boycott. See an article at http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_5bab503a-4aab-11e0-ae93-001cc4c03286.html.
Several of the companies (Kwik Trip and M&I, at least) that were specifically asked to comment publicly in support of collective bargaining, were not willing to do so, but said that they were not taking a stance one way or another: http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_2f1e9c9e-51a3-11e0-b7d2-001cc4c002e0.html. And also, http://host.madison.com/business/article_85d909a8-4c4d-11e0-a141-001cc4c002e0.html.
This opened up a very practical argument from the conservative side of things, which is that in a time of recession, we actually need to support our businesses, lest the Wisconsin economy collapse (subtext: collapse further, so that we no longer seem open for business. personally, i think it might be a bit late for that...). Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, a business interest group (who hosted a speech by Scott Walker shortly after this all started...) was particularly vocal: http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/article_dae2c8dc-514b-11e0-9a2f-001cc4c002e0.html.
They brought up the idea of a "buycott", where instead of refusing to support businesses, we insist on supporting businesses we like (which, for them, means supporting Walker donors). They also tried to cast the movement as union intimidation: this is always a theme with conservatives, just as on the left, we cast everything as controlled by corporate interests.
The most recent piece of the boycott story comes from my own union, WSEU/AFSCME Council 24. Sometime last week, one of their field organizers, speaking on behalf of the union, sent a letter to businesses in southeastern WI, saying that if they did not hang signs in support of unions, they would be targeted for boycott. He explained that they had all been offered signs, and had refused them. (The signs, by the way, apparently had an AFSCME logo: I'm a *member* and I still feel weird about having their logo in my window!). The Journal Sentinel reported on this: http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/118963234.html. The interesting part, or one of them, is that even though I'm a member of this council, theoretically one of the people who would be *doing* the boycott, this was the first I'd heard of this.
And another interesting part is that for many small business owners, taking a political stance in any direction can have a devastating impact on their business. Depending on the location, they could potentially end up losing just as many customers for supporting unions, as for not supporting unions. Regardless, many of these were small businesses, which in my mind are incredibly important to our economy: these are the very businesses that we could support with our purchasing, and with small businesses, it is much easier to have a conversation with an owner or worker to find out what their thoughts are, without needing a public declaration. Finally, a boycott has the intention of economic harm. It seems highly counterintuitive to focus that on local businesses - if you don't like the politics of a local business, simply don't shop there. It doesn't have to be a full boycott.
Finally on Friday, the WSEU leadership said that there was not actually a threat, that this was not sponsored by the union, and that it was just one staff member's campaign. http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_6bee6a90-5c99-11e0-a0d5-001cc4c03286.html. And that may be...and that may not be. And we'll never really know.
Some time in between the last week of February and the second week of March, a friend asked me to take on the issue of boycotts. I think she was hoping that I'd provide links and resources, but instead, I'm going to write a guide.
Here it is:
The Rek Tangle Guide to Boycotts and Buycotts
1. Clarify why you are boycotting, and WHO you are boycotting. This is important because you will need to be able to explain it both to the targets of your boycott, and to the people who you hope will join your boycott. Stick to a list of points that are as straightforward as possible. Remember that there are people who may not agree with all of your politics but who may agree with your boycott in this specific instance. (For example, there are plenty of people who aren't too concerned with the negative impact of globalization, but they may be interested in boycotting a company that takes advantage of free trade zones to operate sweatshops).
Do research into the various subsidiaries of the companies you are boycotting so that you don't accidentally break your own boycott. Many companies own unexpected brands and companies. There are some very useful "Who owns?" charts on the internet.
2. Get people or organizations to sign on. The point of a boycott is to have an adverse financial effect on a business which will force it to consider your point of view. Therefore, the more customers (or more major customers) who sign on, the better. However, do not sign on people without their agreement. If you are talking to an organization, make sure that the person you are talking to has the authority to do so, and get their commitment to help get their individual members signed on.
3. Notify the company that you are boycotting, why you are boycotting, and who you are. This is a critical but often forgotten step. There's nothing wrong with simply not shopping somewhere, but it's unlikely to have any impact on a company's business practices or politics. A boycott necessitates that you inform the company of what you would like them to do differently.
4. Spread the word, and remind other people to practice Step 3.
5. At some point, it is worth discussion what your end-point is. Will you stop boycotting when the company indicates that it is willing to speak with you further about the issues you are protesting? Are there specific actions the company needs to take? And what will you do if they take some, but not all, of these?
6. Find a positive action, too: Choose where you will "buycott." These will be companies that you endorse and where you intentionally spend your money while you are boycotting. This has three impacts: it supports businesses with positive financial feedback, it demonstrates to your boycott target that your boycott is feasible in part because you can obtain comparable goods/services elsewhere, and it makes it easier for people to join your boycott without feeling like they will be deprived.
7. For your "buycott," do the same steps as above. Clarify why you have chosen these businesses. Are there particular positive things you can highlight, such as livable wages, proactive working conditions, strong unions, community involvement?
8. Encourage people to sign on; some people who don't want to formally boycott may be more willing to "buycott."
9. Notify your "buycott" targets. Explain why you are buying from them, and remember to THANK THEM for their specific actions that have made you choose to spend your money at their business. (See step 6).
10. If your boycott is successful, remember to patronize those former boycott targets as a way of thanking them, and making it clear that your boycott was for that purpose. Continue to buy from your buycott targets, too. Divide your purchasing power among however many comparable businesses meet the criteria you have set.
At every step:
At each and every step, think about the impact that your action will have on workers. Look into the ownership structure of a company, look into who specifically has made donations, look into the local economy. If a national corporation donates to conservative causes, but the local franchise owner doesn't, think about whether the adverse effect on the local franchise, and the workers at the local franchise, will help achieve your goal of changing the national level.
In particular, make sure that you communicate your boycott to the people with the POWER. Going in to a big box store and telling the cashiers about your plan to boycott has very little impact. For particularly large corporations, while it is important to communicate to local management, they may have very little control over the corporate policies, so make sure you write to the CEO, CFO, various executives, and the board or shareholders.
Remember that depending on the laws in your area, and whether workers are unionized, regular folks working regular jobs can be subject to adverse effects such as pay cuts, layoffs, work hour reductions, etc. Work *with* these folks - hell, they may even want to join your boycott.
Boycotts have a lot of potential. We have seen this in the Civil Rights movement, we have seen it in farmworker justice movements, and we have seen it in the anti-sweatshop movements. The more we can maximize the efficiency of our boycotts, the more powerful they will be, and the more alliances we can build.
And that, my friends, is the Rek Tangle Guide to Boycotts/Buycotts. (Yes, I have been slightly inconsistent with the use of quotation marks around "buycott" - it doesn't feel like a real enough word to not have quotes. I've also remained with the sexist "boycott" rather than trying to create a new word that doesn't have the word "boy" in it).
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