Boycott Union Busting Coca-Cola!
[Please write, folks. The only way we’ll be able to preserve our rights here at home, is to support the rights of workers in other countries to organize and defend themselves. -Thomas]
Coke Workers on Hunger Strike in Colombia
From: StopKillerCoke@aol.com
(Please share this action-alert with others; and stay
tuned for more communications.)
Dear Friends,
This morning, Monday March 15, Coca-Cola union workers
in Colombia began a hunger strike in front of the Coke
bottling plants in Barrancabermeja, Bogotá,
Bucaramanga, Cali, Cartagena, Cúcuta, Medellín, and
Valledupar. Juan Carlos Galvis, vice president of the
local union in Barrancabermeja, has said, “If we lose
the fight against Coca-Cola, we will first lose our
union, next our jobs and then our lives.”
On September 9, 2003, Coca-Cola FEMSA, Coca-Cola’s
largest Colombian bottler, closed the production lines
at 11 of their 16 bottling plants. (The Coca-Cola
Company shares several board members with Coca-Cola
FEMSA and owns 46.4 % of its voting stock.) Since then,
they’ve pressured more than 500 workers into
“voluntarily resigning” from their contracts in
exchange for a lump-sum payment. Most of the union
leaders have refused to resign and the company has now
escalated the pressure against them. On February 25,
the Colombian Ministry of Social Protection (Labor)
authorized Coca-Cola FEMSA’s plans to dismiss 91
workers - 70 percent of whom are union leaders. This is
Coca-Cola’s effort to essentially eliminate the union.
The Campaign To Stop Killer Coke supports the union’s
call for Coca-Cola FEMSA to relocate those workers to
other positions within those plants or to transfer them
to other plants. This is what the company is required
to do, according to Articles 18 and 91 of the current
collective bargaining agreements. In January, a
Colombian judge also ordered the company to do this for
the workers at the plants in Barrancabermeja and
Cúcuta.
On behalf of the workers and their families, please
send the strongest possible message to The Coca-Cola
Company in Atlanta and Coca-Cola FEMSA in Colombia.
Here are sample messages and contact information, along
with a communication that was issued by the union this
morning.
In Solidarity,
Ray Rogers
Director
Campaign To Stop Killer Coke
212-979-8320
http://www.killercoke.org
StopKillerCoke@aol.com
*******************************************************
Douglas Daft
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
The Coca-Cola Company
1 Coca-Cola Plaza
Atlanta GA, 30313
404-676-3808
Steven Heyer (FEMSA Board Member)
President and Chief Operating Officer
The Coca-Cola Company
404-676-2121
E-mail c/o:
Lori Billingsley
Issues Director, Media Relations
The Coca-Cola Company
lbillingsley@na.ko.com
Dear Ms. Billingsley,
Please forward this message to Douglas Daft, CEO and
Chairman of the Board of the Coca-Cola Company, and
Steven Heyer, Coca-Cola FEMSA board member and
President & Chief Operating Officer of The Coca-Cola
Company:
On March 15, union workers in Colombia began a hunger
strike in front of the Coke bottling plants. They’ve
taken this action to protest Coca-Cola FEMSA’s plans to
dismiss 91 more workers from the bottling plants in
Colombia. Seventy percent of those workers are union
leaders, so that would essentially eliminate the union.
On September 9, 2003, Coca-Cola FEMSA closed the
production lines at 11 of their 16 bottling plants in
Colombia. Since then, they’ve pressured more than 500
workers into “voluntarily resigning” from their
contracts in exchange for a lump sum payment.
These massive dismissals are part of an ongoing
campaign by the Coca-Cola bottlers to eliminate the
union in Colombia. Seven leaders of SINALTRAINAL have
been murdered - including Isidro Segundo Gil, who was
shot to death by paramilitaries inside the plant in
Carepa. Sixty-seven union leaders have been threatened
with death. Now, more than 88 percent of the Coke
workers in Colombia are temporary employees or
contractors - many of whom earn just the minimum wage
of $120 per month and don’t have any benefits.
Mr. Daft, as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
The Coca-Cola Company, which owns 46.4% of Coca-Cola
FEMSA’s voting stock, and Mr. Heyer, as President and
Chief Operating Officer of The Coca-Cola Company and a
member of Coca-Cola FEMSA’s board, I demand that you to
tell Coca-Cola FEMSA to relocate the workers to other
positions within those plants or to transfer them to
other plants. This is what the company is required to
do, according to Articles 18 and 91 of the current
collective bargaining agreements. In January, a
Colombian judge ordered the company to do this for the
workers at the plants in Barrancabermeja and Cúcuta.
I will spread the word about the ongoing repression
against the Coke union workers in Colombia and about
the hunger strike. Please let me know how you intend to
address these matters.
Sincerely,
*******************************************************
Juan Manuel Arbelaez
Director de Recursos Humanos
Coca-Cola FEMSA
Fax: 011-57-1-401-1687 (011 is the international access
code, 57 is the country code for Colombia, and 1 is the
city code for Bogotá)
English translation follows
Estimado Sr. Arbelaez,
El 15 de marzo, los trabajadores sindicalizados
comenzaron una huelga de hambre en frente de las
embotelladoras de Coca-Cola FEMSA en Colombia. Ellos
han tomado esta acción en respuesta a los planes de
Coca-Cola FEMSA para despedir 91 trabajadores más de
las embotelladoras en Colombia.
El 9 de septiembre de 2003, Coca-Cola FEMSA cerró las
líneas de producción en 11 de sus 16 embotelladoras en
Colombia. La empresa ha logrado hacer renunciar, por
presiones, a más de 500 trabajadores. Estos despidos
masivos forman parte de una campaña dirigida a eliminar
al sindicato. Siete líderes del sindicato han sido
asesinados y 67 líderes han sido amenazados. Ahora, la
subcontratación de los trabajadores de la Coca-Cola en
Colombia es más de 88 por ciento, y muchos de ellos
sólo ganan el sueldo mínimo de 120 dólares mensuales y
no reciben ninguna prestación.
Le exijo que Coca-Cola FEMSA se siente a negociar con
el sindicato, y que capacite y reubique a los 91
trabajadores. Según los artículos 18 y 91 de las
convenciones colectivas de trabajo, la empresa tiene la
obligación de hacer esto. En enero, un juez ordenó a la
empresa a hacer esto con los trabajadores de las
embotelladoras de Barrancabermeja y Cúcuta.
Me estoy comunicando con todos mis amigos y familiares
sobre la represión en contra de los trabajadores
sindicalizados de la Coca-Cola en Colombia y la huelga
de hambre. Voy a seguir muy cerca a esta situación, y
espero recibir su pronta respuesta.
Atentamente,
Dear Mr. Arbelaez,
On March 15, the union workers began a hunger strike in
front of Coca-Cola FEMSA’s bottling plants in Colombia.
They have taken this action in response to Coca-Cola
FEMSA’s plans to dismiss another 91 workers from the
bottling plants in Colombia.
On September 9, 2003, Coca-Cola FEMSA closed the
production lines at 11 of its 16 bottling plants in
Colombia. The company has been able to pressure more
than 500 workers to resign from their contracts. These
massive dismissals are part of a campaign directed
towards eliminating the union. Seven leaders of the
union have been killed and 67 have been threatened.
Now, 88 percent of the workers are subcontracted, and
many of them just earn the minimum wage of $120 per
month and don’t receive any benefits.
I demand that Coca-Cola FEMSA negotiate with the union,
and train and relocate the 91 workers in other
positions. According to articles 18 and 91 of the
collective bargaining agreements, the company has the
obligation to do this. In January, a judge ordered the
company to do this with the workers in the bottling
plants in Barrancabermeja and Cúcuta.
I’m communicating with all my friends and family
members about the repression against the Coca-Cola
union workers in Colombia and the hunger strike. I’m
going to follow this situation very closely, and I’m
awaiting your quick response.
Sincerely,
*******************************************************
Communiqué from the Coke workers’ union
WORKERS ON NATIONAL HUNGER STRIKE
FOR THE RIGHT TO WORK AND
AGAINST THE VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AT COCA-COLA
Starting at 6 A.M. on March 15, we, the workers, have
initiated a Hunger Strike in front of the Coca-Cola
plants in Barrancabermeja, Bogotá, Bucaramanga, Cali,
Cartagena, Cúcuta, Medellín, and Valledupar. We’re
doing this to denounce, nationally and internationally,
that nine Coca-Cola workers have been killed and 67
have been threatened with death; and that we’ve been
the victims of attempted murder, kidnappings, forced
displacement, and the burning of one of our union
offices by the paramilitaries. This has forced many
workers to resign from the union. We’re also denouncing
the unjust termination of employment contracts, the use
of illegal confinement to force workers to resign, the
subcontracting of more than 88 percent of the workers
and the impact this has had on living conditions, and
the attempt by Coca-Cola to eliminate rights in the
negotiations of collective bargaining agreements as has
been occurring since March 1 of this year.
Coca-Cola has imported sugar which affects the
production and economy of Colombia. The company has
taken advantage of the irrational use of water - the
vital resource for humanity, has refused to commit
itself to not using raw materials and products that are
genetically modified, and has refused to agree to
social investment for the communities. It must also be
said that Coca-Cola is being denounced for abuses in
other parts of the world.
We’re struggling for truth, justice, and reparations.
That’s why we filed suit in Southern District Court in
Florida, United States, against the Coca-Cola bottlers.
On March 31, 2003, Judge José E. Martínez, ruled that
the cases filed under the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA)
for violations of human rights could proceed for, among
other reasons, the symbiotic relationship that exists
between the paramilitaries and the Colombian state. But
Coca-Cola has tried to criminalize various leaders of
SINALTRAINAL, falsely accusing them of insult, slander,
conspiracy to commit a crime, terrorism, rebellion,
sabotage, property damage, and theft. In this way,
Coca-Cola stigmatizes the unionists in order to justify
their persecution and repression by the government
through the legal system. Various leaders of
SINALTRAINAL have been unjustly imprisoned, in spite of
having shown that we’re innocent and were falsely
charged.
Since September 9, 2003, Coca-Cola has kept the
bottling plants in Barrancabermeja, Cartagena, Cúcuta,
Ibague, Montería, Neiva, Pasto, Pereira, Popayán,
Valledupar, and Villavicencio illegally closed.
Previously, they illegally closed the bottling plants
in Bogotá, Buenaventura, Girardot, and Mariquita. To
complete this panorama of injustice, on February 25,
2004, the Social Protection Ministry authorized the
dismissal of 91 workers. This was done without taking
into account that the company had already pressured
more than 500 workers to resign, which is more than the
300 workers that the company initially wanted to
dismiss. Coca-Cola has not respected the law, nor does
it want to fulfill the legal resolution (”tutela”) that
ordered it to relocate the workers in other positions.
It is refusing to abide by articles 18 and 91 of the
collective bargaining agreements that require it to not
dismiss workers in the case of a reduction of
activities, closure of plants, or restructuring; but to
train the workers and relocate them in other positions.
With all this, the company is trying to destroy
SINALTRAINAL, finish off the collective bargaining
agreements, eliminate direct and long-term employment
contracts, reduce costs, and increase its profits, by
producing in just five megaplants and supplying the
market from distribution centers.
We, the workers affected by the closure of the
production lines, are continuing to resist. But, given
the grave aggression that we’re continuing to suffer,
there’s no other recourse but to declare a hunger
strike and demand that Coca-Cola respect the law, and
fulfill the legal resolution passed by the judge in
January 2004 to protect the right to work and require
Coca-Cola to relocate the workers in other positions.
We’re also demanding the fulfillment of the collective
bargaining agreement by relocating the workers in other
positions, an end to the repression, and respect for
our human rights.
LUIS JAVIER CORREA SUAREZ
President
SINALTRAINAL
