Coors Brewery Workers Strike as a Broad Boycott Coalition Grows

In April 1977, members of Brewery Workers Local 366 struck Coors in Golden, Colorado, beginning a 21-month labor-management confrontation. The dispute joined an older Mexican American and union boycott of Coors with support from civil-rights, women’s-rights, and gay and lesbian organizations. The coalition made beer purchasing a form of political participation and linked workplace conflict to discrimination and civil liberties. The strike ended in 1978, while elements of the boycott continued until a 1987 agreement.