Last week, Single Payer Action called for a nationwide boycott of Whole Foods.

Why?

Because with 60 Americans dying every day from lack of health insurance, the CEO of the company, John Mackey penned a diatribe against a single payer health insurance reform — the only health insurance reform that will both control costs and insure everyone.

Mackey took to the pages of the Wall Street Journal and insulted not only many of his customers, but many of his own employees.

The response to that call for a boycott was remarkable.

Thousands of people wrote to us and posted comments on blogs around the web saying that they had no clue that Mackey was a union busting, right winger.

And that they would join with us and boycott Whole Foods.

Today, we announce an escalation of the boycott campaign against Whole Foods.

On Friday, single payer activists will be picketing Whole Foods stores in three cities — Austin, Texas, Washington, D.C., and New York City.

We know that there is tremendous support for this boycott.

And now we want to reach the customers as they enter the stores around the country.

We know that Whole Foods allows non profit public interest groups to set up tables inside their stores around the country to allow these groups to reach Whole Foods’ liberal customer base.

Our demand: That Whole Foods allow single payer advocates to set up shop inside Whole Foods stores around the country and allow them to counter the lies and distortions of their CEO John Mackey on health care.

To let the Whole Foods customers know what the majority of doctors and nurses know.

That single payer is the only health care reform that both controls costs and covers everyone.

The first wave of pickets will take place Friday, August 21, 2009 from 12 noon to 1 p.m. (local time for each location) at:

Austin, Texas

Whole Foods

525 N Lamar Blvd

Austin, TX 78703

Austin, Texas Single Payer Action contact:

Marcus Denton

[email protected]

New York City

Whole Foods

Union Square

4 Union Square South

New York, NY 10003

New York City Single Payer Action contact:

Josh Starcher

718.909.6343

E-mail: [email protected]

Washington, D.C.

Whole Foods

P Street

1440 P Street NW

Washington, DC 20005

Washington, D.C. Single Payer Action contact:

Russell Mokhiber

202.468.8868

e-mail: [email protected]

If you are in the New York, Austin, or Washington, D.C. areas, please contact your local Single Payer Action organizer (listed above) and join us on Friday.

If you are outside of the Austin, Washington and New York areas, and would like to start a picket of your local Whole Foods store, please contact Russell Mokhiber at [email protected].