April 2, 2007: Coca-Cola has been stepping on Teamsters’ rights—attacking members’ healthcare and pensions and threatening to eliminate union jobs. Now our union is stepping up a corporate campaign against Coke.
Teamsters have rallied at NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament games through the March Madness playoffs to pressure the NCAA to drop Coke as an advertising partner. Teamsters have leafleted fans to inform them about Coca-Cola’s labor, environmental, and human rights violations here and abroad.
Examples include:
- Coke’s possible contamination of water and farmland in India;
- A current lawsuit that alleges the company allows death squads to murder pro-union employees in Colombia;
- The record-breaking $192 million Coke paid to settle a case involving widespread racial discrimination.
In Southern California, Coca-Cola Enterprises is threatening to go nonunion at its new distribution facility in Oceanside.
The company is refusing to let long-time Teamster employees transfer to the new facility and is forcing them to reapply for their own jobs.
As Convoy goes to press, Teamsters are gearing up for a demonstration in New York’s Times Square on April 2.
The Teamster Brewery and Soft Drink Conference has reportedly talked with local unions about possible coordinated strike action.
We urge all Teamsters to be prepared to lend solidarity and support to build Teamster action to win at Coca-Cola.