Killer Coke? Students push for removal of Coca-Cola

by Misha Karbelnig and Vrinda Manglik

Tuesday November 15, 2005

Next time you reach for a bottle of Cherry Coke at the Pub or fill your glass with Fanta at Bates, you may want to think again. The Coca-Cola Company’s serious human rights violations have now caught the eye of Sarah Lawrence student activists along with activists worldwide.

On Oct. 26, a group of students met with a representative of United Students Against Sweatshops, Camilo Romero, to discuss Coca-Cola’s heinous acts and proclaim V-Day— Victory over Coke.

The vice-president of a labor union (Sinaltrainal) in Colombia, William Mendoza, would have attended; however, immigrations officials suspiciously delayed his visa—which was required for his speaking tour. The U.S. government’s knowledge of his anti-corporate message may have caused the delay.

Romero outlined the nature of Coca-Cola’s human rights violations in Colombia and India. He specifically discussed workers’ continually failed attempts to unionize at Coca-Cola bottling plants in Colombia.

In 2001, a lawsuit was filed against Coca-Cola for its alleged use of Colombian right-wing paramilitary death squads to intimidate, imprison and murder union organizers. In recent years, nine union leaders have been murdered by paramilitaries and dozens of worker leaders have been subjected to threats and acts of violence.

In one gruesome incident, a paramilitary group murdered union leader Isidro Gil within the gates of a Coca-Cola factory in broad daylight "as an example" to the rest of the workers. The following day, the factory workers were forced to resign from their union by signing paramilitary-supplied documents printed on Coca-Cola letterhead. The company denies its connection with the right wing paramilitary groups, but international groups affirm that there are strong connections between Coca-Cola and the Colombian military.

Although Coca-Cola does not directly prohibit unionizing, the company benefits from the suppression of worker unions and organizing groups: Coca-Cola maximizes profits and maintains its image by denying workers’ rights and wages. As the website for Students Against Sweatshops reads, "According to numerous credible reports, [Coca-Cola] and its business partners have turned a blind eye to, financially supported, and actively colluded with paramilitary groups in efforts to destroy workers’ attempts to organize unions and bargain collectively."

Coca-Cola’s destructive practices have also been documented in other countries, including a number of Sub-Saharan African nations where Coca-Cola products have "displaced local products like coconut milk, fruit juices and even water." Advertising, availability, and subsidies have made Coca-Cola increasingly popular in Third World countries—particularly among low-income households.

In India, protests have erupted in the southern state of Kerala where a Coca-Cola bottling plant has severely depleted groundwater and contaminated other water sources through irresponsible disposal of factory sludge. Coca-Cola was banned from India in the 1970s, but re-entered in the 1980s when the country began to open the floodgates to transnational corporations.

In the United States, the company has dealt with lawsuits of racial discrimination and hostility against African-American workers. As of 1998 the median salary of African-American employees was $36,296 and for Caucasians, $55,020.
Coca-Cola’s practices should be of particular concern to the international community because of the corporation’s enormity. Coca-Cola holds 21 percent of the world’s non-alcoholic beverage market. In 2003, its revenues from nearly 400 products in over 200 countries amounted to more than $21 billion.

Romero’s presentation was part of the International Week of Action, uniting student activist groups in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada. The United Students Against Sweatshops hosted discussions with students, labor unions and community groups.

They revealed the endless ist of Coca-Cola’s offenses: unforgivable human rights violations, breaches of environmental law, inundation of third-world countries’ economies and blatant racism in the workplace.

As an institution, Sarah Lawrence should ask whether Coca-Cola’s record reflects our values. What can we DO?

Widespread movements where students called the attention of college administrators have successfully kicked Coca-Cola off many college campuses in the United States and worldwide. These colleges include Smith, Oberlin, Lake Forest, Rutgers University and the University of Michigan, with more than 80 campaigns additionally occurring on other campuses.
Although some of these colleges have merely replaced Coca-Cola with Pepsi, many have been able to secure contracts with independent and locally-based soda companies, including Polar, Mecca, Faygo Beverages and Hank’s Beverages. A meeting with Flik representative Marco Morales revealed that our school’s contract with Flik binds us to either Coca-Cola or Pepsi.

Our school currently sells Coca-Cola brand beverages which include Coke, Sprite, Odwalla, Dasani, Minute Maid and Fanta. Morales indicated that any attempt to sever ties between Flik and Coca-Cola would have to come directly from the students.

Although kicking Coca-Cola off the SLC campus would not hurt the company financially, Coca-Cola’s public image would suffer. Given their record, our campus must seriously consider the worldwide effects of our consumption. We don’t have to give our support to this corporation.

Once we band together with other colleges and communities to send a clear message to corporations like Coca-Cola, our actions can affect future corporate practices. We have the power to ensure that our college does not support a company like Coca-Cola which has violated multiple human rights. The very presence of Coca-Cola products here defies all that Sarah Lawrence stands for. Take up the call and banish Coca-Cola’s products from our campus.

Senior Dana Frasz contributed research to this article.
For more information, visit: www.studentsagaintssweatshops.org, www.killercoke.org