Los Angeles Boycott Strategy ~
Thank You, Betsy Goldman 1970
By LeRoy Chatfield
I showed up at the Ralph’s store on a weekday morning, shortly before noon. I watched from the sidewalk on the street so that Betsy would not know I was there. There she was, hustling from car to car as they drove into the lot to park. She approached the car, leaflet in hand, and talked to the driver, frequently a woman. After a few seconds, the car would move on and exit the lot or no, the driver would get out of the car and walk to the store. But when that happened, Betsy was already hustling to another newly parked car to talk to its driver. And so it went.
It was obvious to me that Betsy was turning away dozens of would-be Ralph’s customers, but did Ralph’s know it and even care? Not even an hour had passed when I noticed two well-dressed executives standing in front of the huge superstore; one had his arms folded over his chest and the other was pointing—both were looking at Betsy turning away their customers. They couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe it either. A soft-spoken, non-threatening, and attractive 17-year-old young woman was throwing a wrench into the gears of one of the largest supermarket chain stores in the Los Angeles basin. They could not have been more displeased than I was pleased.
This was my kind of boycott: at least one person, every day of the week, nine hours a day, pleading one-on-one but not confrontational, and taking its cumulative financial toll week after week. We settled with Ralph’s and they could not have been nicer or more helpful. Not only did they not sell grapes, we had complete access to their stores and distribution centers for inspection, and they gave us valuable feedback and gossip about the effectiveness of our grape boycott.
Hard work? You got that right! Thank you, Betsy Goldman.