Grape Boycott
BC labour led a four-year boycott of non-union American grapes
BC labour leaders, including Federation of Labour head Ray Haynes (second from left), picket a Safeway supermarket in 1969 in support of the United Farm Workers’ struggle to organize California grape workers. Competitor Dominion Stores had already joined the boycott nationwide. Ray Allan photo, Vancouver Sun.
Courtesy David Yorke Labour History Collection, SFU Library.
Bumper sticker from the BC Federation of Labour grape boycott. BCLHC Archives.
The BC labour movement played a pivotal role in the international boycott of non-union California grapes between 1966 and 1970.
The United Farm Workers’ (UFW) strike began in 1965 near Delano, California but soon spread. The strike became a struggle for justice and human rights that resounded globally. When the union called for a consumer boycott of non-union grapes, the B.C. labour movement responded..
The B.C Federation of Labour declared non-union grapes “hot” in 1969, and asked union members to refuse to handle them. It was an unprecedented escalation of the boycott. Many other organizations including churches and citizen groups urged consumers to not buy California grapes. The BC Fed’s leader, Ray Haynes thought the labour movement could take the boycott a step further.
“We said, ‘Let’s not handle the grapes’. [The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union] had a couple of produce outfits and we stopped handling them. We convinced the Teamsters to stop handling the grapes. I think that was a contribution, quite a contribution to winning the strike.”1
Slade and Stewart Ltd., a Vancouver produce wholesaler, took Haynes to court and obtained an injunction against the “hot” edict. Justice J.A. Macdonald wrote that the cause of the farmworkers “may well be a worthy one,” but nevertheless the boycott was a breach of contract by the workers.2
Informational picket lines ringed retail grocery stores. On many occasions during the boycott, UFW organizers visited B.C. This included labour icon Cesar Chavez who spoke frequently at union conventions. His presence forged a lasting relationship with BC labour. Chavez gave ongoing support for the Canadian Farmworkers Union in the 1980s.
Cesar Chavez, United Farm Workers leader, speaking to a Canadian Farmworkers Union rally in Vancouver, 1983. Pacific Tribune photo, MSC160-812_20.
BC Federation of Labour Secretary Ray Haynes was a tireless supporter of the grape boycott. “Just about anything the UFW asked him to do in support, he would, enthusiastically,” recalls Vancouver lawyer David Yorke. Just months before he died in 2023, Haynes recalled the grape boycott and the impact of B.C.s support. “We were the only labour federation…in North America that did such a job on the grape workers’ strike.”
Ray Haynes, shown speaking at the BC Federation of Labour’s 2022 Convention, led BC’s grape boycott from 1966-1970. BCFL photo.
When the boycott ended in 1970, thousands of British Columbians had been starved of grapes for four years. As a symbol of their appreciation, the United Farm Workers delivered bushels of California grapes, all bearing the union label, to their BC supporters. Dave Barrett, leader of the B.C. NDP who received a delivery at the party’s 1970 convention, said they were “a tribute to the non-violent commitment of the leader of the struggle, Cesar Chavez.” 3
Bob Fitch photography archive, © Stanford University Libraries
- Rod Mickleburgh and Ray Haynes Nov 2022.” YouTube. Uploaded by BC Labour Heritage Centre 14 December 2022. https://youtu.be/6eAuqrhV9Vo?si=HzjOui0tb5Bvc3ff[↩]
- “Firm wins injunction in ‘hot grapes’ issue.” The Province. 12 June 1969.[↩]
- Tell your MLA you want a college.” The Chilliwack Progress, 10 June 1970, 2.[↩]