The J.P. Stevens boycott started in 1977 from the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU) on behalf of the workers of the Stevens Textile mills in the South. This was a national campaign to both raise awareness of the labor law violations that took place at the textile mills and the company’s alleged policies against unionization.
Boycotting J.P. Stevens was a pretty significant move on the part of the ACTWU and also got support from the AFL-CIO since it was the first national boycott against a massive retailer. A win for Unions in the south could be a step in the right direction for the textile workers. The textile industry had moved down South for a handful of reasons but one of them being that there were weaker labor laws than in New England. And the AFL-CIO had been working for decades on unionizing in the South.
And this campaign was a major success. The boycott successfully tarnished the J.P. Stevens reputation with a massive campaign, starting with the slogan “Don’t Sleep with Stevens” (since one of Stevens biggest items was sheets). The campaign was necessary because Stevens had been successfully sued several times, but was willing to continue to break labor laws, so the hope was that the attention would cause them to stop.
The success of this campaign is due to the national attention that was raised. And this was seen in multiple ways in the Boston Teachers Union (BTU). In the June 1978 issue a teacher writes in a letter to the editor explaining why J.P. Stevens should be boycotted and putting out a call to action.
The success of this campaign is due to the national attention that was raised. And this was seen in multiple ways in the Boston Teachers Union (BTU). In the June 1978 issue a teacher writes in a letter to the editor explaining why J.P. Stevens should be boycotted and putting out a call to action.
On the same page is an advertisement for a Picnic and March on the Boston Commons in support of the J.P. Stevens boycott. The BTU showed up and turned out in support of the J.P. Stevens boycott, helping ensure its national reach (especially in a state where textile mills were important to its original production) and eventual success.
On the same page is an advertisement for a Picnic and March on the Boston Commons in support of the J.P. Stevens boycott. The BTU showed up and turned out in support of the J.P. Stevens boycott, helping ensure its national reach (especially in a state where textile mills were important to its original production) and eventual success.
Alongside the letters to the editors and marches the BTU continued to show its support through publishing articles about the boycott to inform the BTU membership, with the next biggest one running several months after the rally in February 1979.
The Boston Teachers Union continued to show their support for this boycott by continuing to run ad campaigns to boycott J.P. Stevens. These ads show up all the way through March 1980 over two years after the boycott started.
Boycotting J.P. Stevens was a multiyear endeavor that required national support. And the BTU turned out stepping up to support the textile workers even when dealing with school closures and shortly before the 710 teachers were laid off. Workers like the BTU are why this campaign was as successful as it was.
