Brewing a Boycott: How a Grassroots Coalition Fought Coors and Remade American Consumer Activism (Justice, Power, and Politics)

In the late twentieth century, nothing united union members, progressive students, Black and Chicano activists, Native Americans, feminists, and members of the LGBTQ community quite as well as Coors beer. They came together not in praise of the ice cold beverage but rather to fight a common enemy: the Colorado-based Coors Brewing Company. Wielding the consumer boycott as their weapon of choice, activists targeted Coors for allegations of antiunionism, discrimination, and conservative political ties. Over decades of organizing and coalition-building from the 1950s to the 1990s, anti-Coors activists molded the boycott into a powerful means of political protest. In this first narrative history of one of the longest boycott campaigns in U.S. history, Allyson P. Brantley draws from a broad archive as well as oral history interviews with long-time boycotters to offer a compelling, grassroots view of anti-corporate organizing and the unlikely coalitions that formed in opposition to the iconic Rocky Mountain brew. The story highlights the vibrancy of activism in the final decades of the twentieth century and the enduring legacy of that organizing for communities, consumer activists, and corporations today. "In the late twentieth century United States, nothing united union members, Chicanos, gay men and lesbians, feminists, black activists, and progressive college students quite so well as Coors beer. Members of these communities came together not in praise of the ice cold beverage but, rather, to unite against a common enemy: the Colorado-based Coors Brewing Company. Wielding the consumer boycott as their weapon of choice, activists targeted Coors for allegations of antiunionism, discrimination, and ties to prominent political conservatives. Over multiple decades of organizing and coalition-building, anti-Coors activists molded the boycott tool into a means of political protest. In Brewing a Boycott, Allyson P. Brantley details the history of this boycott movement - one of the longest such campaigns in U.S. history - for the first time. Drawing from an array of archival collections, as well as oral history interviews with long-time boycotters, Brantley offers a compelling, grassroots view of boycotting, anti-corporate organizing, and the unlikely coalitions that formed in opposition to the iconic Rocky Mountain brew. The story of this boycott, as told here, highlights the vibrancy of activism in the final decades of the twentieth century and the enduring legacy of that organizing for communities, consumer activists, and corporations today"-- Provided by publisher Cover Contents Abbreviations in the Text Introduction. Beer Can Politics Part I Chapter One. Coors Is Trying to Destroy the Union Chapter Two. Chicanos Arriba, Coors Abajo Chapter Three. Cold, New, and Right: Coors-Style Politics Part II Chapter Four. Everyone’s Fight: Boycotting in the Bay Area, 1973–1976 Chapter Five. Givin’ Up This Beer for Sweeter Wine: Brewery Workers on Strike, 1977–1978 Chapter Six. Racing Cockroaches and Boycotting Coast to Coast, 1979–1988 Conclusion. A Hangover from Another Era? Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W X Y In this first narrative history of one of the longest boycott campaigns in US history, Allyson Brantley draws from a broad archive as well as oral history interviews with long-time boycotters to offer a compelling, grassroots view of anti-corporate organising and unlikely coalitions.