A poor person's take on boycotts

Why I'm still patronizing Starbucks and Amazon amid worker strikes

This article will hold some unpopular opinions, especially from other social justice practitioners; I am okay with that, and in fact, count on it. My analysis is my own and in no way reflects the opinions of the organizations I work for.

Workers’ Rights

I remember as a young child seeing workers strike outside a favorite clothing store of mine, Ross Dress For Less. I was with my mother, and we were making a trip to downtown Seattle, which at the time was a special treat as we lived 80 miles south in Olympia, Washington. The Ross store downtown Seattle in the early 00’s was noticeably better stocked than any other store I’d been to, and I was excited to get to shop at this seemingly luxurious discount store. As we approached, we noticed several people standing outside with a large banner than read something like, “Ross has unfair wages” (though I don’t remember specifically).

“We can’t cross the picket line, hon,” my mom said, turning us away from the store. I didn’t quite understand what it meant for workers to go on strike, and was bummed — even mad. Sixteen years later this same woman votes for Donald Trump, so the lesson here was really diluted for me, as you can imagine.

Jump forward ten or so years, to the first time I saw the musical Newsies… I was floored— not only because the choreography in that show is incredible, but also because it had such a feel-good message about banding together and fighting the man as early unions were born from a newspaper worker strike.

But, watching this show again, it’s funny— because the newsies don’t actually win. They broker a deal with the “bad guy” who has been monopolizing the paper distribution and ripping off the newsies who work for them. The Newsies do not actually get the original deal they’re fighting for, and instead, their leader, Jack, gets offered a better job that allows him to accept the sub-standard deal he lands on behalf of the Newsie union. They consider this a win.

Fast forward again to today. Unions are a mess, not only because they are largely compulsory for anyone who accepts a job that has a union, but also because they strongarm their members who have little to no voting power within their union. Unions are also the only mechanism we’ve seen work against those who hold the means of production, so it plays out in the world as a catch-22.

Can we boycott the systems while supporting the daily lives of workers? If so, how?

After grad school, I was working for a medium nonprofit organization in Seattle that worked on behalf of substance users in the criminal-legal system who were often homeless. We heard news that the nearest coffee shop to the office (one I frequented almost daily) was in the news because the owner fired some employees who were giving away leftover food, gift cards, and coffee to homeless people. An email chain went out with this news org-wide, and some responded with, “well I’ll never support them again, that’s awful.” Obviously I agree that this is awful. However, my reply to this was, “Actually, the people who work at our shop are largely BIPOC and trans, and count on our tips to stay employed… So I will continue to patronize them because I support the workers who will ultimately suffer from the org-wide boycott.”

People were floored by my analysis, because it added a messy nuance to their perception of what was right in this situation. My approach is the same here.

Workers need to work in order to earn money and rely on tips and sales to continue to be able to work. Not every worker can afford the luxury of striking or finding a new job that aligns with social justice values. Criminal records, gender identity and expression, and a whole host of other factors exclude the working class from viable options that appease the progressive left.

Resource deserts

Even in the most metropolitan of places, there exists pockets of land that have been materially divested from politically and economically (partially due to historical redlining). Industrial areas, as an example, don’t often have grocery stores that serve the workers or residents of that area, forcing people to make tough decisions when it comes to goods, services, and foodstuff. Residential neighborhoods can suffer from this too, where there are not immediate resources for whatever the need is.

I personally live in a food desert in north Minneapolis, meaning there is no viable grocery store within reasonable walking or driving distance even though Minneapolis is a major metropolitan. There are also no viable places to eat unless I want to spend more than my typical eating-out budget OR settle for fast food (which is also crazy expensive in 2024). This means that I rely on big chain stores that can afford to have lower prices for their goods, such as Target, who has been in the news recently for problematic behavior regarding the LGBTQ+ movement. I am not alone in my reliance on Target for my groceries, nor Amazon, Chick-fil-a, Walmart, and Starbucks (as examples).

*Poor people* like me cannot always visibly live into their values because survival is at the forefront of immediate needs.

There is no ethical consumption under capitalism. Workers and consumers both suffer when strikes occur, even though striking is one of the only viable ways to change the minds of the people who hold the means of production.

I don’t have answers, I’m just here to muddle mainstream arguments with nuance. And now, I need a coffee. Find me at Starbucks.