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LOCAL News :: Globalization : Labor : Protest Activity

Protest At Coca-Cola

Report back from an anti-coca-cola action.
Tribune photo.jpg
On the morning of March 22, about 15 activists confronted Coca-Cola in Niles Il. We did this in solidarity with the hunger-striking members of the Colombian labor Union- SINALTRAINAL. Coca-Cola has waged an intensive campaign against the union, using kidnappings, murder and firings to prevent the workers from demanding their rights of a safe, democratic workplace that pays them enough to feed their families.
We organized this delegation as an emergency attempt to pressure Coca-Cola to meet the demands of the hunger strikers. We were able to meet with A Vice President of the Coca-Cola bottling co., John Rosales. We discussed with him our concerns over the labor situation in Colombia. Luis Adolfo Cardona, a Colombian refugee and trade unionist, talked about his experiences as a worker in Colombia, and told Rosales about how he was kidnapped by the paramilitaries. Brother Phil Gerboc O.F.M., discussed the ways in which this kind of behavior can hurt coca-cola in the long run, as the boycott and other actions against coca-cola in retaliation for the union busting, hurt the companies image and profits.
Also there were representatives from Jobs With Justice and some Anarchists as part of this delegation. Students from several local schools were presents, including-

Lake Forest College, where the colleges contract with coke was cancelled in response to the company’s treatment of Colombian workers;

DePaul University, where the university recently requested an investigation by the Workers Rights Consortium, and independent sweatshop monitor, into the claims against Coca-Cola.
Rosales spent most of the time listening to us. He tried to claim that the Niles headquarters wasn’t the same as the bottling company in Colombia. He also tried to say that the Niles offices were Coca-Cola Enterprises, and not the same company as Coca-Cola co. However, upon further questioning about the difference between the two, he admitted that Coca-Cola co. in Atlanta owned his company. He also claimed that they were proud to be a union shop with the Teamsters.
He asked us what our demands were and what we wanted him to do. We gave him a letter signed by us all to send to the CEO of Coca-Cola. We also asked him to pressure his higher ups to improve the situation in Colombia, specifically by meeting the demands of the Colombian workers:

1. End the campaign of murder and terror against trade unionists.

2. Remove managers who incite violence or harassment against trade unionists.

3. Bargain in good faith with SINALTRAINAL, the union representing Coca-Cola bottling workers in Colombia.

4. Negotiate an enforceable Global Agreement with unions to guarantee the
rights and safety of all workers who produce, package, and distribute
Coca-Cola worldwide.

Rosales promised to talk to his superiors about our meeting, and to pass our letter along to the corporate offices in Atlanta.
Many of us felt that the event was positive, and that we applied pressure on Coke that might translate into positive gains for the Colombian workers. Yet we also realize that power concedes nothing with out struggle, and that the fight for global workers democracy and rights is just beginning.

To see some pictures you can go to www.gettyimages.com click on editorial, click on news, and search for coca-cola.

The posted picture is from the north suburbs copy of the chicago tribune.
 
 

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