“We Ain’t Buying It” boycotts target these Pa. retailers during holiday shopping season

The “We Ain’t Buying It” boycotts are aimed at Target, Home Depot and Amazon for their adherence to right-wing politics.

With the holiday season ramping up, the “We Ain’t Buying It” campaign is asking Pennsylvanians to boycott some of the country’s largest retailers from Black Friday through Cyber Monday. 

Retailers overall are expected to earn 20% of their sales between Nov. 28 and Dec. 1, with some companies expecting to make 30 to 40% of their annual sales over that five day period. 

But a progressive movement seeks to encourage shoppers to buy from small businesses instead of pouring their money into major retailers who have, since the Trump administration took office, chosen to bend the knee to right-wing politics.

“If corporations think they can play both sides — cozy up to a dangerous administration and still expect working people to bankroll their success — they’re dreaming,” April Verrett, SEIU International Union President, said in a statement.

“We’re choosing our people and our democracy. Corporations need to get on the right side or get left behind.”

The “We Ain’t Buying It” campaign is composed of national progressive organizations such as SEIU, Indivisible, No Kings, Black Voters Matter, and other groups. They are targeting Amazon, Home Depot, and Target in particular for their relationships with President Donald Trump’s administration. 

Advocates are targeting the retailers for different reasons. 

• Target rolled back major diversity, equity and inclusion efforts following Trump’s election victory. 
• Home Depot allegedly colluded with Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) crackdowns across the country, which Home Depot has denied participating in.
• Amazon, whose founder Jeff Bezos donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund, has employees working in poor conditions around the country. 

“When corporations align with cruelty and authoritarianism, they must understand that our purchasing power matters,” LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter Fund, a member of the We Ain’t Buying It coalition, said in a statement.

“Economic noncooperation is a powerful, nonviolent tool for a free people, and we plan to use it to make America better for all of us – not just the wealthy few.”