The flier caught Emiliano Aguilar’s eye as he walked through an antique store. 

A parody of the iconic Andy Warhol painting, the image of a soup can was a stark contrast of black, white and red, the word “Condensed” replaced with “Condemned.” At the bottom, “Cream of Exploitation Soup” adorned the label. 

Aguilar, an assistant professor in Notre Dame’s Department of History, had his interest piqued. Quick research revealed that the flier was created in the early 1980s by the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) to support better working conditions and wages for Midwestern farm workers. As he dug in further, the historian was surprised to find a connection between Notre Dame and the movement that garnered nationwide attention. 

“This is a campus story that breaks that campus and community barrier,” he said. 

Aguilar shares that story in the latest Rare Books and Special Collections spotlight exhibit, Building a Campus Boycott to Support Midwestern Farmworkers. Using pieces primarily from the University Archives, it tells the story of how Notre Dame became the first major university to enact a campus-wide boycott of Campbell’s Soup products to support better working conditions and wages for Midwestern farm workers. The student-led effort lasted six years, from 1980 to 1986. 

“Putting together the exhibit was a really fun opportunity to pick through some of these items [in the archives] to highlight both campus history and a broader regional story with national significance,” Aguilar said.

Behind the boycott

The movement on campus started small, with just half a dozen students from Notre Dame and Saint Mary's College. They aimed to support workers who labored on the tomato and cucumber farms that sold produce to Campbell’s. 

“It was really rooted in putting faith into practice and faith into action,” Aguilar said. “More so than racial identity or national identity. It's about doing what they thought was right.”

Demanding fair wages, improved living conditions, and healthcare for farm workers regularly exposed to dangerous toxins and pesticides, the movement grew. Then, in 1980, after forming a FLOC support group at the University, more than half the students at Notre Dame took a campus-wide vote. The majority approved the boycott of Campbell’s products. As a result, Campbell’s products were pulled off the shelves at the Huddle, and the dining halls ceased their relationship with the company.

After Notre Dame enacted the boycott, Campbell’s directly appealed to students. A yellow flier from the University Archives displayed in the exhibit features the headline, “FLOC Responds to Campbell’s Observer Letter.” The left portion displays the company’s letter to the student newspaper. On the right is FLOC’s long-form response.

The exhibit also displays advertisements created by Campbell’s. In a blog about the exhibit, Aguilar writes, “Campbell Soup also crafted materials to dissuade the boycott. A contemporary advertisement, for example, invoked the company’s popular ‘Labels for Education’ school fundraising promotional program—as well as its support for Catholic education across the United States—to leverage Campbell’s Catholic identity against FLOC and the increasing support the farmworkers found within the Church. Featuring two young children, the ad hoped to emphasize that the pictured students were both the recipients of the company’s corporate philanthropy and victims of the boycott.”

Despite the company’s efforts, Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s students continued the boycott for the next six years.

“Sustaining a boycott is difficult work, let alone when you consider that a fourth of the student body graduates each year,” Aguilar said. “I want people who visit this exhibit, particularly students, to gain an understanding of the sort of work, dedication, resilience and time that went into building this movement.”

In 1986, a three-way deal was reached between FLOC, Campbell’s Soup and tomato and cucumber growers in Ohio and Michigan. With the agreement, students finally allowed Campbell’s products back on campus.

During the six years Notre Dame sustained its boycott, universities nationwide enacted their own. However, Aguilar sees Notre Dame’s status as the first major university to be successful in their effort as an illustration of how faith can serve as a catalyst for change. 

“A small, dedicated cohort of students saw an injustice, tapped into a regional network and did something to foster change here on their campus and in their immediate community,” he said. “It demonstrates our rich history of solidarity with labor, putting faith into practice and enacting the values of Catholic social teaching.” 

Building a Campus Boycott to Support Midwestern Farmworkers was created in conjunction with Somos ND, a campus-wide initiative to honor the history and legacy of Latino and Hispanic contributions to the University. It is generously supported by the McBrien Special Collections Endowment and will remain on display in 102 Hesburgh Library, Rare Books and Special Collections, through May 2025.