Legal Definitions - primary boycott

A primary boycott is a type of boycott where union members refuse to do business with a former employer. The term "boycott" comes from Captain Charles C. Boycott, an English landowner in famine-plagued Ireland of the 1870s, who was ostracized by the Irish Land League for his ruthless treatment of Irish tenant farmers.

• A unionized grocery store refuses to buy products from a farm that has recently laid off its workers.
• A group of former employees refuse to purchase products from their former employer in protest of unfair labor practices.

These examples illustrate how a primary boycott involves a refusal to do business with a party to express disapproval of that party's practices. In both cases, the union members are using their purchasing power to send a message to the employer that they disagree with their actions.