Secondary boycotts refer to boycotting actions taken against an organization or company that does business with another organization with whom the primary dispute exists. Secondary boycotts mainly arise in labor disputes where a labor organization or other entity unsuccessfully boycotts an employer, and in order to increase pressure, the groups pressure suppliers or buyers to discontinue business with the employer. Under Section 8 of the National Labor Relations Act, labor organizations are not allowed to use or support secondary boycott practices because Congress fears the instability it may cause to the economy and its effects on unaffiliated secondary parties. Section 8 is a complex regulation which tries to encompass all the ways in which labor organizations can indirectly pressure an employer. For more information on Section 8, click here.
[Last updated in July of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]