Coke: Boycott Continues One Year Later

international | worker & community struggles and protests | news report

Tuesday July 20, 2004 14:57

by Lasc - Lasc

Sinaltrainal renews boycott

The boycott which was called last year has been renewed for another year as Coke have not moved on the issue.

THURSDAY 22 JULY 2004 - FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF THE INTERNATIONAL COCA-COLA BOYCOTT

MAKE YOUR FEELINGS KNOWN

One year ago today, Sinaltrainal (the Colombian Food and Drink Workers Union) called for a boycott of Coca Cola and all its products, in response to a brutal policy of terror and repression that Coca Cola had unleashed against their own workers in Colombia. Since 1994, 8 Coca-Cola workers and Sinaltrainal union leaders have been assassinated by paramilitaries, who the evidence suggests, were hired by Colombia?s Coca-Cola management. Hundreds of other workers and union members have been imprisoned, tortured, threatened, disappeared or forced into exile.

The first year of the boycott has been a success in many ways. Individuals and social and trade union organisations all around the world have pledged their support of the boycott (including the Scottish Socialist Party and Unison in the UK). However Coke have refused to abandon their hard line, have refused to negotiate with Sinaltrainal, and the repression against the workers has continued. Since the boycott started on 22 July 2003,

* Coke workers in Colombia had to go on hunger strike to fight mass sackings.
* Union Vice President Juan Carlos Galvis was injured in an assassination attempt.
* Union leader Luis Eduardo Garcia?s son escaped from a paramilitary kidnap.
* 4 members of union leader Efrain Guerrero?s family were slaughtered in their beds by paramilitaries
* Coke launched their seventh libel case against a Sinaltrainal leader.

When the union launched the boycott campaign, they knew there would be a price to pay, and are relying on international support and solidarity to see them through to the end of their fight for justice. We have a moral obligation to support the workers of Sinaltrainal.

SEND PROTEST MESSAGES THIS THURSDAY

On 22 July this year, please send messages of protest to Coca-Cola (an example is included). Fax, email or telephone (or all 3) to make your feelings known.

The addresses are: Tim Wilkinson Director of Public Affairs and Communications Coca-Cola GB. Telephone (020) 8237 3000 Fax (020) 8237 3700. E-mail twilkinson@eur.ko.com

In Ireland Coca Cola Ireland
Telephone 01 6694201
Fax 01 6613206
Freephone 1800317318
Dear Coca- Cola,

The International Boycott of all your products has been going for one year, and people across the world now know about Coca-Cola?s crimes in Colombia. However, I am very worried that instead of negotiating with Sinaltrainal, Coca-Cola seems to have increased the repression against their Colombian workers. I will continue to boycott all your products, until Coca Cola has

* Mitigated the pain of the victims by making reparations for damage caused.
* Publicly recognise that it benefited from crimes carried out by paramilitaries against Coke workers.
* Committed itself to not making any new attacks on the workers, and hand over to justice those criminals who carried out attacks on their behalf.
* Negotiated with the union, a code of conduct to safeguard workers? lives, in the presence of international observers.

Yours Sincerely

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Comments (5 of 5)

It hasn't been very successful

by Marco

Wed Jul 21, 2004 02:32

You haven't convinced many people.

WE support

by member - NIPSA

Wed Jul 21, 2004 08:10

Following a conference motion Northern Irelands largest trade union, NIPSA, supports the boycott of Coke.

US activity

by Dermot L - Labour Youth - UCD

Thu Jul 22, 2004 06:29

Currently on holidays in the Northeastern United States and am delighted with how well known the boycott on products of Coca-Cola products is over here - several student friends in NYU claim there is considerable activism organised against Coke's complicity in anti-trade union violence and initmidation in Colombia, while students in other colleges have also taken it on board, most notably the likes of Rutgers. Have even seen Killer Coke graffiti on the streets of New York, along with antiwar sentiment galore.

Coke increase profit

by Newshound

Fri Jul 23, 2004 13:34

Weak dollar helps Coke increase profit

Coca-Cola has reported a 16 per cent jump in quarterly net profit amid a weak US dollar and strong North American sales of diet Coke and noncarbonated drinks.

But the world's largest soft drink maker, led by new CEO Neville Isdell and a restructured management team, had its sails trimmed by poor results in Germany, Mexico and the Philippines.

Coca-Cola, which grew its worldwide sales by only 1 per cent in the three months ended June 30th, 2004, said it expected the environment in these three key markets to remain difficult for the remainder of the year.

Shares of Coca-Cola climbed in after hours to $49.29 on INET from a close of $48.97.

In the second quarter, Coca-Cola earned $1.58 billion, or 65 cents a share, compared with a profit of $1.36 billion, or 55 cents a share, in the same period last year. Revenue rose to $5.97 billion from $5.70 billion.

The company got a bounce from continued weakness in the US dollar and other currency fluctuations, which added 6 per cent to the company's operating income in the period. A falling dollar improves financial results when overseas earnings are converted into dollars.

Need any more reasons to boycott...

by Elaine

Sun Jul 25, 2004 04:09

....apart from the fact that it rots your gut!

Coca-Cola is indirectly benefiting from the use of child labor in sugarcane fields in El Salvador, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch (HRW), which is calling on the company to take more responsibility to ensure that such abuses are halted.

http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=11379

Excellent article on Human Rights Watch website which includes sample e-mails which you can send directly from their page to;
E. Neville Isdell
(Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
The Coca-Cola Company)
and
Julio César Arroyo
(Coordinator, International Business
Salvadoran Sugar Association)

http://www.hrw.org/children/labor/elsalvador/

>The Coca-Cola Company buys sugar refined at the Central Izalco mill, a representative of the mill told us. “We sell directly to Coca-Cola,”

http://www.hrw.org/reports/2004/elsalvador0604/9.htm#_Toc73509097

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Coke: Boycott Continues One Year Later

Comments (5 of 5)