Title:Coors Boycott and Strike Support Coalition of Colorado Records Collection.
Dates:
1974-Date [bulk 1974-1977]. Extent:
.25 linear ft.
Historical Note:
Formed in 1977 to support union workers and union supporters during the Brewery Workers Local Union 366 strike of the Adolph Coors Company in Golden, Colorado.
Scope and Contents:
Includes some organizational minutes, newspaper clippings, endorsements, and ephemera documenting the boycott of Coors beer in 1977 and 1978.
Arrangement:
13 folders, maintained as received, including donations file, letters file, handbill file, record orders, endorsements, and newspaper clippings.
Provenance:
Donated in 1986 by Ted Gleichman as part of Institute for Radical Studies collection. Assessions to the collection are still being accepted by the Archives and Special Collections Department of the Auraria Library.
Finding Aid:
Printed descriptive guide available in repository. Electronic finding aid available on the internet at:
http://www.cudenver.edu/public/library/archives/coors/coors.html
Access Points:
Adolph Coors Company. AFL-CIO. Brewery, Bottling, Can and Allied Industrial Union Local No. 366 Coors, Joseph. Coors Boycott and Strike Support Coalition of Colorado. Coors Brewery. Industrial relations--Colorado. Kahn, Kathy. Trade-unions--United States.
Document Types:
Clippings. Donor lists. Ephemera. Letters. Minutes. Phonograph records.
Coors Boycott and Strike Support Coalition of
Colorado Records Collection, 1974-Date [bulk 1974-1977]
Collection Number MSS-042
The Institute for Radical Studies Collection of newspapers, pamphlets, and ephemera documenting alternative movements in the 1960s and 1970s in Colorado and around the country was donated in 1986 to Auraria Library Archives and Special Collections by Ted Gleichman of Denver. The Coors Boycott and Strike Support Coalition of Colorado Records, 1974-1977, was extracted from the larger collection because the items formed a distinct series of non-periodical material. The records were processed by Alisa Jansen (University of Colorado at Denver student intern) under the direction of Rutherford W. Witthus, Head of Archives and Special Collections, during the Spring of 1991. The finding aid for the collection was updated in 1998 by Eric W. Jones and Francis H. Tapp. Assessions to the collection are still being accepted by the Auraria Library Archives and Special Collections Department.
Property rights are held by Auraria Library Archives and Special Collections. Photocopies may be made for purposes of scholarly research.
Citation format:
Coors Boycott and Strike Support Coalition of Colorado Records Collection, 1974-DATE [bulk 1974-1977].Carton #/Fd # or Box #
Auraria Library Archives and Special Collections, Denver, Colorado.
On April 5, 1977, 1,472 members of Brewery, Bottling, Can and Allied Industrial Union Local No. 366 walked out of the Coors Brewery in Golden, Colorado. The purpose for the walkout was not the usual concern about wages, since the average worker made $19,500 for a forty-two hour work-week. The conflict was over human rights: the union felt that Coors was not an equal opportunity employer, that the mandatory polygraph test questions did not relate directly to their jobs, and that members of the Coors family were union busters. In 1977, the Coors Boycott and Strike Support Coalition of Colorado was formed to encourage and support both Coors union workers and union supporters.
The Adolph Coors Company had been approached by Equal Opportunity
Employment concerning its hiring practices. Coors had promised,
while not admitting guilt for past practices, to be fair to all
people in their hiring. In response to the accusations about unfair
polygraph tests, the Coors family felt that it was necessary to
detect applicant's health problems or malicious intent against
the company or the family. (Joseph and William Coors' brother,
Adolph III, was kidnapped and killed on 1960). In addressing the
accusations of irrelevant questions being asked on the polygraph,
William Coors claimed that prior to 1975, the questions were compiled
by an outside polygraph testing bureau, but that after doubt had
been raised as to the validity of the some of the questions, certain
questions were removed from the polygraph test.
In response to the accusation of being union busters, the Coors
Company admitted freely that it did not support the union. The
Company felt that unions had outlived their usefulness and that
the Coors Brewery should not be a union shop.
While the price of Coors shares went down 12% and the amount of shipping went down 5% between 1976 and 1977, Coors did not credit the boycott as the source of the decline. During the boycott, they made their new ecological tops easier to open, changed their market strategy, and, in the spring of 1978, came out with their first new product in over forty years: Coors Light.
By late 1978, Coors had taken back 75% of the strikers and had hired new employees to replace the rest. In December of 1978, the employees voted the Union out of Coors. The boycott continued until 1987, when an agreement was finally reached between the A.F.L.-C.I.O. and Peter Coors. The union called off the boycott and Coors agreed not to campaign against the union in future elections at the plant.
The Coors Boycott and Strike Support Coalition of Colorado Records contain material collected by a supporter of the cause. While these records do not constitute the "official" records of the organization, they document various fund-raising activities, orders for recordings of Coors boycott songs, newspaper clippings about the strike and its supporters, and Coalition ephemera. If labels on the original file folders were meaningful, they were transcribed exactly. Most of the items in the collection are undated and may assumed to be generated near the time of the strike and boycott. A few newspaper clippings about Coors are dated as early as 1974.
File Folder 6, Coors/Coalition Material, contains the only minutes of Coalition meetings: a general meeting on June 12, 1977, when the Coalition was named, another general meeting in August [1977], and a steering committee meeting to discuss a Labor Day rally [1977?].
Of particular interest are a list of supporters and letters of support for the boycott from around the country, including the Raza Unida Party of Texas and Cesar Chavez of the United Farm Workers of America. Bumper stickers, a Boycott Coors Beer comic book, and a 45 rpm recording of boycott and strike songs by Kathy Kahn ("Ballad of Joe Coors" and "Coors Brewery") complete the collection.
Carton/Folder DATE
1/1 STRIKE AND BOYCOTT BROASIDES, HANDBILLS, AND FLYERS:
"Who is Joe Coors" Anonymous 1977
"Preliminary Fact Sheet" by Local 366 Brewery
workers 1977
"Coors Brewery Strike" by Kathy Kahn 1977
"A Worker's Struggle is Everyone's Struggle"
Letter from the Coors Boycott and Strike
Support Coalition (include draft paste-up) 1977
"Please Don't Buy Coors Beer" English and Spanish
Flyer from Brewery Workers Local 366 c.1977
"Can the Labor Movement be Transformed"
by Reed Anderson c.1977
"Card Carrying Transformed Trade Unionist"
Letter by A. Bernida Pringle c.1977
"The Met=Coors: Is this what Metro is to be?" Mai68
Vigilance Group 1997
"Help Us Win" n.d.
"Brewery Workers #366 On Strike For Human
Rightrs" n.d.
"Build a Class Struggle Union" n.d.
"The Coors Strike Continues" by the New American
Movement n.d.
"Support the Coors Strike" National United Workers
Organization Denver, CO n.d.
"Support Brewery Workers Local #366" n.d.
"The Issue is Dignity" (English and Spanish) AFL/CIO n.d.
"The Coors Strike and Boycott - Fact and Fiction"
the June 7th Committee n.d.
"Unase al Boycoteo Contra Adolph Coors Co." Spanish
language flyer supporting the Coors boycott by
construction industries union locals n.d.
"On Strike for Human Rights" Coors Boycott and
Strike Support Coalition n.d.
"Coors Beer is Scab Beer" New World Liberation Front n.d.
"Boycott J.P. Stevens Textile Products" (English and
Spanish) Freedom and Justice for J.P. Stevens
Workers n.d.
"Please Don't Buy Coor's Beer" Local 888 n.d.
"Trickle Down Homophobia" Flyer displaying where
contributions made by Coors go. n.d.
"Boycott Coors! Now More Than Ever!" Coors Boycott
Committee n.d.
"Why Boycott Coors?" (English and Spanish) Coors
Beer Boycott n.d.
1/2 DONATIONS:
List of donors (several different copies) 1977
Receipts (7) for donations to the Coalition 14
requests for "Warning - Coors Beer is Unpasturized"
bumper sticker ($.35 each), Coors Boycott comic
book ($.35 each), and Coors Boycott Records ($2.00
each) C.1977
Mailing list for Progressive Worker's Organizing
Committee n.d.
List of Labor Organization contacts n.d.
1/3 FUND RAISING LETTERS FILE:
Pledge Card - Coors Beer Boycott 1975
Fund Raising Letters and Flyers c.1977
Rought Draft of Fund Raising Letter c.1977
Sample Mailing Fund Raising Packet c.1977
Pledge Card - Brewery Workers Local #366 c.1977
1/4 CORRESPONDENCE FILE:
Letter from Allan Baird, Teamster Representative from
the Beer Drivers and Salesman's Local Union No. 888 1975
Letter from Allan Baird to the Honorable John F.
Foran 1975
Letter from Chris Perry to Clair 1976
Letter from Union WAGE (Women's Alliance to Gain
Equailty) to The Coors Boycott & Strike Support
Coalition 1977
Letter from John Murillo, Chairman of the New Orleans
Equal Rights Council, to Sam Little 1977
Letter from Ann Green, of the Cross Union Classwide
Caucus, to Sam Little 1977
Letter from the Denver Boycott Coors Committee to the
Stu & Austin Coalition 1977
Letter from Denise D'Anne to Sam Little 1977
Letter from Marge Golden, Asst. Coordinator of "Don't
Mourn, Organize!", to Kathy (Kahn?) 1977
Letter from the Denver Boycott Coors Committee to
Denise D'Anne 1977
Letter from June Hirsh and Hortense Jones, of the
Lake County Coalition for Survival, to Sam Little 1977
Letter from Alice Bush, Representative from the
National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees,
to the Coor's Brewery Employees 1977
Letter from Unity & Struggle informing that they
could not print Coors Boycott information in the
upcoming edition of their newspaper because the
deadline was passed 1978
Letter from The Workers' Advocate, newspaper of the
Central Organization of U.S. Marxist-Leninists, to
the Colorado Coors Boycott 1978
Letter from Stuart Timmons to Bruce Cohen, President
of the Board of Directors for Outfest/Gay and
Lesbian Film Festival 1997
Letter from David C. Fisher to Frank Tapp, Head of the
Auraria Library Archives and Special Collections
Department 1997
1/5 ORDERS FOR RECORDS, COMIC BOOKS, AND BUMPER STICKERS:
Requests for "The Ballad of Joe Coors" (Trad. -
New Lyrics by Kathy Kahn) and "Coors Boycott
Song" (Trad. - New Lyrics by Kathy
Kahn), sung by Kathy Kahn and Danny McMahan.
7 letters 1977
1/6 COORS/COALITION MATERIAL:
Minutes of a general Meeting on Aug 14 c.1977
Minutes of a steering committee meeting, Aug 18
to discuss Labor Day rally c.1977
Coalition meeting minutes June 12. At this meeting
the Coalition was named Coors Boycott and Strike
Support Coalition of Colorado 1977
"Points of Unity" statement (2 pages) as approved
at June 12 Coalition meeting 1977
Security arrangements for the Labor Day 1977 march
and rally (3 pages) 1977
List of boycott sights in Denver and Boulder, CO
on July 1, 1977 and July 4, 1977. (1 page) 1977
1/7 COORS NEWS CLIPPINGS FILE:
An article from the San Francisco Bay Guardian:
"Trouble on Tap for Coors" 1974
An article from the San Francisco Bay Area Gay
Liberation: "Gay to Join Teamsters" 1975
5 Articles from the Washington Post concerning Coors
and their politics/contributions 1975
An article from The Straight Creek Journal: "Joe
Coors and His Right-Wing Connections in Washington" 1975
An article in RMN: "Coors is active member of GOP
platform unit" 1976
3 copies of an article from the Austin-American
Statesman 5/19/77 "Boycott of Coors Beer
Advocated" 1977
An article in RMN 5/10/77 "William K. Coors terms
strikers 'Monkeys'" 1977
An article in RMN 5/7/77 "40 layoffs reported at
Coors Can Plant" 1977
An article in Frontiers: "To Boycott or Not to
Boycott" 1997
An article from 4Front: "To Lift or Not to Lift...
The Coors Boycott is Still an Issue" 1997
An editorial in Gay & Lesbian Times: "Coors: Never
Ever Forget" 1997
An editorial in Frontiers: "Can a Leopard Change Its
Spots?/ Coors: A Win in Our Column" 1997
An article in Frontiers: "Double Income, Holds a
Grudge" 1997
An Article from the Denver Post "Coors Nixes Banana
Gift of 'Gorilla'" n.d.
An article in RMN (Date unknown) "Coors 'monkey'
remark spawns 'gorilla picket'" n.d.
A newspaper ad advertising a program of "The
Psychology of being a factory worker with Coors
Strikers n.d.
An article in the Bay Area Reporter: "Teamsters Seek
Gay Help" n.d.
An editorial by Miller Hudson "Shouldn't the
Coors Brothers agree to a polygraph?" n.d.
Article: "Coors dynasty- A history of racism and
union-busting" n.d.
An article in RMN: "Coors uses Mondale in GOP brew" n.d.
1/8 PUBLICATIONS: (see also Box 1)
Metamorphosis newspaper 1976
Press Release by Local 366 informing public about
the NLRB filing complaints against Coors 1977
Newsletter of AFSCME (American Federation, State,
County, and Municipal Employees) 1977
"Workers Policy: A Labor Journal" Published by the
Cross Union Classwide Caucus 1977
"Don't Mourn, Organize" Published by the United
Struggle Press 1977
"Background paper: History of the Strike" by
Local 366 n.d.
1/9 BOYCOTT ENDORSEMENTS FILE:
List of 42 agencies & people supporting the Coors
strike c.1977
Letter from Paul Velez of Raza Unida Party in
Texas supporting the strike 1977
Letter from Gilbert P. Espinoza Jr., Local Union
2197, supporting the strike with $100.00
donation 1977
Letter to Jim Silverthorn, President of
Local #366 from Cesar Chavez, President of
United Farm Workers of America AFL-CIO,
stating support 1977
Letter to Silverthorn from Ernest Chuck Ayala,
Chairman of the Calif. GI Forum supporting
strike 1977
Preliminary fact sheets about the Coors Boycott
Issued by CBSSCC c.1977
1/10 BUMPER STICKERS:
"Warning--Coors Beer not Pasteurized" (3) n.d.
"Coors Beer... No" (1) n.d.
"No Compre Coors" (10) n.d.
1/11 MISCELLANEOUS MATERIAL:
"Golden Four" Legal Defense - Bills and
Correspondence 1977
Recommendation from the Lesbian and Gay Advisory
Council of West Hollywood to adopt a resolution
that acknowledges Coors' efforts to change its
policies towards Gays and Lesbians 1997
Resolution of the City Council of West Hollywood
acknowledging the efforts made by Coors in its
policies concerned with Gays and Lesbians 1997
Box 1 COMIC BOOK:
"Boycott Coors Beer" by the Coors Boycott
and Strike Support Coalition of Colorado 1977
Box 1 STRIKE AND BOYCOTT BROASIDES, HANDBILLS, AND FLYERS:
"Will Joe Coors Destroy a Brave Union? Boycott
Coors Beer" Anonymous n.d.
Box 1 PHONOGRAPH RECORDINGS:
"Coors Brewery Strike Songs" 45 rpm recording
includes "The Ballad of Joe Coors" by Kathy Kahn
and Danny McMahan; "Coors' Brewery" by Kathy Kahn
and Danny McMahan. Includes information sheet
about the strike and boycott along with song
lyrics. Distributed by Dare to Struggle
Records - Denver, Colorado. 1977
Box 1 PUBLICATIONS:
Frontiers Newsmagazine. Vol.16 issue #13 (10/31/97)
Includes articles regarding the Coors boycott
in Southern California. "Double Income, Holds a
Grudge" by Tracy Sypert, p.51; "Coors: A Win in
Our Column" by David C. Fisher, p.56; "Can a
Leopard Change Its Spots?" by Jerry Sloan p.57 1997
Box 1 AUDIO TAPE - REEL TO REEL:
Interview with Sam Littles, Kathy Kahn, and Anath
White (reel-to-reel tape)