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, 1966-1970. BCLHC Archives.

The BC labour movement played a crucial 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 BC labour movement responded by asking the public to stop buying California grapes. Churches, some retailers and citizen groups joined the boycott.

The BC Fed’s leader, Ray Haynes thought the labour movement should take the boycott a step further. In 1969, the Federation declared non-union grapes “hot”, and asked union members to refuse to handle them.¹ This was an unprecedented escalation of the years-long boycott.

Haynes explained. “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.”²

Vancouver produce wholesaler Slade and Stewart Ltd. took Haynes and the Fed to court and obtained an injunction against the “hot” edict. Justice J.A. Macdonald wrote that while the cause of the farm workers “may well be a worthy one,” nevertheless the boycott was a breach of contract by the workers.³

During the boycott campaign, informational picket lines ringed retail grocery stores in BC, with a focus on Safeway stores who broke from other retailers by continuing to stock American grapes. On many occasions during the boycott, UFW organizers visited BC, including UFW leader and labour icon Cesar Chavez who attended numerous union conventions and rallies. Chavez forged a lasting relationship with BC labour. During organizing campaigns for the Canadian Farmworkers Union in the 1980s, Chavez visited and encouraged the Canadian workers.

Cesar Chavez, United Farm Workers leader, speaking to a Canadian Farmworkers Union rally in Vancouver, 1983. Pacific Tribune photo, MSC160-812_20.

Just months before he died in 2023, Ray Haynes recalled the grape boycott and the impact of BC’s support. “We were the only labour federation…in North America that did such a job on the grape workers’ strike.”

“Just about anything the UFW asked him to do in support, he would, enthusiastically,” remembered Vancouver lawyer David Yorke.

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 grape-starved British Columbians embraced California grapes bearing the union label. 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 BC New Democratic Party (NDP), who received a delivery at the party’s 1970 convention, called them “a tribute to the non-violent commitment of the leader of the struggle, Cesar Chavez.” ⁴

Bob Fitch photography archive, © Stanford University Libraries

1. A “hot” declaration is a tactic used by labour unions who ask their members to refuse to handle goods or services from a company that is involved in a strike or lockout.[↩]
2. Rod Mickleburgh and Ray Haynes Nov 2022.” YouTube. Uploaded by BC Labour Heritage Centre 14 December 2022. https://youtu.be/6eAuqrhV9Vo?si=HzjOui0tb5Bvc3ff[↩]
3. “Firm wins injunction in ‘hot grapes’ issue.” The Province, 12 June 1969.[↩]
4. Tell your MLA you want a college.” The Chilliwack Progress, 10 June 1970, 2.[↩]