Boycott

I

Introduction

Boycott, refusal of a group to trade or associate with another group, an individual, an organization, or a nation. The purpose of a boycott is to bring about some change desired by its initiators. Although the most frequent use of the boycott is in labor disputes, it has also been used as a weapon in consumer affairs, social problems, personal relations, and international affairs. Boycott initiators often attempt to enlist the support of friendly or neutral sections of the population, as, for example, when democratic groups in various countries refused to purchase goods from National Socialist Germany before World War II.

The term boycott first appeared in the late 19th century, after Irish tenants objected to the oppressive rent-collection policies of a British land agent, Captain Charles Boycott. The angry tenants refused to work the lands and isolated him both economically and socially.

II

Types

When a boycott is instituted against an employer by a stoppage or slowdown of work by employees it is called a strike. When one nation officially boycotts the products of another nation, it is said to have instituted economic sanctions. Boycotts are also used by companies and by consumers in an effort to lower prices of products. Product boycotts were common in the late 19th century, when unions attempted to discourage the public from buying goods made by nonunion companies with unfair labor policies.

III

Legal Restrictions

British law regards the boycott as legal unless accompanied by violence. In the United States the Supreme Court has ruled that a boycott is illegal when it results in restraint of trade. The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 legalizes the primary boycott, which is directed solely at an employer by the employees; however, it makes illegal the secondary boycott, by which pressure is exerted on parties other than employees to join in the boycott (see National Labor Relations Act).

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