You make a political decision every time you spend a dollar. Not only are you legitimizing and empowering the American government when you respect the power of its currency, but you are empowering the individuals and corporations that are the beneficiaries of your purchase. However, this also gives you, as a consumer, strong economic and political leverage that is all too often ignored. Boycotts are one way of turning activists' purchasing power into a tool to be used for social justice and solidarity. These campaigns can pressure a company to pay better wages, provide medication to workers with AIDS, stop destructive environmental policies or irresponsible investments. Many unions, including the 
AFL-CIO, keep boycott lists in solidarity with workers around the world. Below is growing list of companies who are the targets of boycott campaigns. Please feel free to add to the list, but please provide documentation, links or background information explaining the reason for and goals of the boycott campaign.
Chevron-Texaco! is a campaign organized by indigenous communities of Nigeria and Ecuador using economic leverage to make Chevron and Texaco restore the environment around the present and past operations in those two countries.
Citi Group credit cards have been boycotted as part of a campaign by the Rainforest Action Network to hold Citi accountable for its investment in ecologically destructive "super-development" projects. The current state of this campaign is unclear to me.
Coca-Cola! until Coke stops the murder of union organizers in bottling plants in Colombia and starts providing AIDS drug coverage to its HIV + workers in Africa. More info at http://www.KillerCoke.org
Exxon-Mobil for undermining environmental protection treaties and exploitively using the environment. Exxon also uses its ties to the Bush government to promote the destruction-industrial complex. Exxon-Mobil was also the first company to simultaneously remove the words "sexual orientation" from their anti-discriminatory policy as well as stop giving out any domestic partner benefits. http://www.hrc.org/equalityatexxon/
Gallo of Sonoma Wines refuses to extend health benefits to the 75% of its workers that are farm labor contractors. Click on the link to sign a letter in protest to Director of Operations Matt Gallo.
The GAP! to protest slave labor conditions of workers who make GAP clothing.
The Mt.Olive Pickle Boycott, called by the Farm Labor Organizing Committee of the AFL-CIO, which represents the North Carolina cucumber pickers, has ended.
Nestle for exploitative and violent treatment of its workers in the Phillipines among other things.
Safeway and Kroger's in support of workers striking to save their healthcare. (note: Kroger's and some of the workers have reached a tenative agreement, but it does not cover everyone and has not been voted on yet. Watch the United Food & Commercial Workers site for updates). And make sure when you're boycotting Safeway that you go to other unionized grocery stores like Shoppers or Giant. Boycotting Safeway and going to Whole Foods, another notorious union buster is not cool. Instead, sign the petition the Whole Foods union, Whole Workers Unite! is sending to the CEO and shareholders.
The Taco Bell Boycott in solidarity with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers is over because WE WON. For lyrical information, listen to Hunger Days by Over the Counter Intelligence.
The war: the BBC argues that Bush's biggest campaign donors are getting preferential treatment in contract bids to "rebuild" Iraq. Global Boycott for Peace lists which companies helped put Bush in power with their generous financial contributions and how much money they're now making off the war.
The organized Shell boycott is no longer in full effect even though neither Shell's brutal political and physical control of the Nigerian people nor its abusive pollution of the Niger delta has stopped. Nigeria Indymedia also has a collection of Information related to this struggle.
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