Eugene, OR — October 26, 2025.
On Saturday, a delegation of community members representing a range of local labor and community organizations carried out a non-violent direct action at the Bigfoot Beverages Tailgate Party outside Autzen Stadium during the Ducks’ home game. The action aimed to expose Bigfoot Beverages’ ongoing racist and illegal union-busting practices and to make it clear that the community will no longer tolerate companies that exploit workers while pretending to care about their workers and the community.
At the start of the strike, Bigfoot Beverages engaged in the racist union-busting tactic of importing out-of-state replacement workers and private security, all of whom were Black workers from states such as Mississippi. This practice has a long and shameful history in union-busting efforts: when a strike occurs in a predominantly white community, companies intentionally hire Black scab labor and security to provoke racial tension, then exploit any resulting conflict to paint striking workers as racist. Not only were the replacement workers and guards brought in from out of state, but the intent was clear, to divide the workforce and the community along racial lines and weaken worker solidarity.
Fortunately, both the striking workers and the Eugene-Springfield community refused to take the bait, recognizing this as a manipulative and racist ploy used by corporations like Bigfoot Beverages to divide and weaken worker unity. By staying united and refusing to engage in the company’s racist narrative, the workers and community achieved a victory for solidarity, forcing Bigfoot Beverages to eventually end payments to the out-of-state scabs and private security once it became clear that their tactics had failed. The workers’ discipline and solidarity proved stronger than the company’s attempts to divide them.
Even though the out-of-state scabs were eventually sent home, Bigfoot Beverages continued to undermine the strike by hiring local scab labor, and several workers chose to cross the picket line and side with management. Now, more than a year later, many of those same scabs are discovering that Bigfoot has no loyalty even to the workers who stood with them against their own co-workers. The company has begun transitioning to AI-based ordering systems, putting many of those replacement and strike-breaking workers at risk of losing their jobs. This underscores what union supporters have said from the start “Bigfoot Beverages’ only loyalty is to profit, not people.”
That is why the protesters entered the tailgate with bullhorns, banners, and signs calling out Bigfoot Beverages’ hypocrisy and demanding accountability from owners Eric Forrest and Andy Moore, who have spent millions cultivating an image of community-minded business leaders while, in reality, undermining unions, intimidating workers, and suppressing the right to organize.
Despite the peaceful nature of the protest, University of Oregon Police chose to side with Bigfoot Beverages, a major university donor by attempting to silence the protesters. Officers prohibited the use of amplified sound by protesters while allowing Bigfoot Beverages to continue blasting music and announcements over their speakers in an effort to drown out the protest.
Police also failed to intervene when Bigfoot employees and supporters destroyed protest signs and property and committed minor assaults against demonstrators. In the face of aggression and threats of violence, the protesters remained disciplined and non-violent, demonstrating a higher standard of conduct than those attempting to silence them.
“We were there to send a message,” said one protester. “Bigfoot Beverages wants to profit off our community’s loyalty while attacking the very people who make their profits possible. We won’t be silent while they engage in racist and anti-worker practices.”
The protesters emphasized that this is only the beginning of a broader accountability campaign to expose and oppose Bigfoot Beverages by calling for a boycott of any business or organization that chooses to support a company that believes it has the right to attack workers, unions, and the rights of community members to protest.
Lonnie Douglas, a board member of ESSN Jobs with Justice, said: “This is the second time we’ve crashed Bigfoot’s tailgate party, and it won’t be the last. We told them we’d be back, and we meant it. We’ll keep showing up until everyone that does business with Bigfoot Beverages finds a better partner, one that actually respects workers and the community.”
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