Why didn the Co-op board consult with its membership before honoring the boycott?
The Co-op has established policy guidelines and protocols for observing boycotts. The Israel boycott fit those guidelines. No previous boycott has ever been presented to Co-op members prior to implementation. In fact, the original request for a boycott was made by a Co-op working member in 2008. If the Co-op had addressed the potential Israel boycott to the entire membership prior to implementation, it would have been instituting a double standard-one in which Israel’s actions are given greater license than those of China, Norway, or even Colorado. The Co-op makes many decisions without conferring with the entire membership. However, those decisions are based on clear policy guidelines. For instance, the Co-op has product selection guidelines that relate to a product’s packaging. According to these guidelines, “[t]he Co-op will not carry products whose retail packaging is deemed exploitive or oppressive. Such determination may be made by the department manager, the merchandising team o
