and how i feel about coca cola..
When someone speaks about Columbia, they would conjure up a whole number
of things to believe or disbelieve about the country. But one thing the typical North
American people don’t recognize is that by the products we buy, we ourselves are helping
to exploit those very people who will do anything to work and make money for their
families and even themselves. These people labor so hard each day of their life just to
make not even a fraction or receive the care they need out of the millions of dollars this
company makes each year. This company is Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola is a pretty world wide
and well known company. Not only people in Columbia, but people all over the world are
being exploited by this company’s greedy feelings of wealth and power. But, this will
focus on how it mostly exploits its die hard Columbian workers and their families.
In 2001 the International Labor Rights Fund and the United Steelworkers of
America filed a lawsuit against Coca-Cola, on behalf of SINALTRAINAL.
SINALTRAINAL is a union in Columbia which was victim of many attacks by
paramilitary forces in the area. Isidro Gil was one of the main officers of
SINALTRAINAL and was murdered. This was what caused the first major uproars in the
union communities. As well as the burning of many offices the union owned in Antioquia
and Carepa. Basically, during the time of his murder, Coca-Cola made $4 billion in profit
and the CEO Douglas Daft received $105 million back.
Unfortunately, this lawsuit failed by coca-colas sly ways of getting the suit
thrown out. Finally, CCI, an organization against the Coca-Cola company decided that it
would have to make the public aware of the situation. Once the public was aware, it
would be able to hit coke where it hurts, in its pockets. This has taken sort of a toll on the
Coca-Cola company, and even up till today. Many colleges, high schools, middle
schools, elementary schools, and public businesses are starting to become more educated
on the terrors this company has imposed on one areas people. They are beginning to
realize it by boycotting coke products.
These people also wanted to target the most top people, or board officials of this
company and other companies who fund them or have ties to. This one other company
would be the SunTrust Bank and Warren Buffet. SunTrust Bank has been involved with
Coca-Cola since 1919. Warren buffet, who is a billionaire, served on Governor
Schwarzenegger’s campaign as an advisor and advised Presidential candidate John Kerry,
is one of the largest holder of Coca-Cola stock and is the fifth largest stockholder in
SunTrust Banks.
This isn’t only happening in Columbia, this also happened in Guatemala in the
1980’s During that time people were trying to unionize its workers in Coke bottling
plants. These people were killed. Returning to the discussion about Columbia, up until
even today there have been 179 major human rights violations and 9 murders of Coke
bottling plant workers.
The problem is with the people who are in the paramilitary. They do not want to
ensure workers rights, so they are scaring, kidnapping, injuring even killing people
because they are union supporters in Columbia. A lot of people are told to leave the city
or place that they live, if they are a union supporter, because if they don’t, bad things will
happen. They can stay with no harm, if they renounce the union. “SinalTrainal accuses
Coca-Cola and two of its bottlers with failing to protect workers and using right-wing
paramilitaries of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) to murder and
terrorize them,” as stated in the July 2004 issue of the Dissonant Voice and Columbian
Journal.
“Shortly after FEMSA announced the plant closings last year, armed men
kidnapped the 15-year-old son of labor leader Limberto Carranza in Barranquilla as the
young man rode his bicycle home from school.” FEMSA, is a Mexican bottling
contractor to Coke. “The kidnappers beat and tortured him and stated that his father was
on a list of people whom they planned to murder. During the boy’s ordeal, his father
received a telephone call in which an individual said, “Unionist son-of-a-bitch, we are
going to kill you ... and if we can’t kill you, we will kill your family,” also stated in the
July 2004 issue of the Dissonant Voice and Columbian Journal.
Just like a lot of other corporations, Coke reaps its benefits from the lowered
effectiveness of unions that stem from intimidating its workers. This is because weak
unions pose less resistance to job cuts, lowered wages, reduced benefits and flexible
contracts, and threats, selective assassinations and false accusations serve as tools of
labor management. They also contribute to most of the anti-union “air.” This is because
SinalTrainal is associated with guerrilla insurgencies, with members unable to exercise
their rights to freedom of their own rights. Rights they deserve as workers and rights they
deserve as human beings. But because coke would rather reap in its own benefits and not
allow its works to be paid the amount they deserve Coca-Cola work force is now
composed of non-union, temporary workers, and wages for these individuals are only a
quarter of those earned by those who are in the union.
So when will this exploitation of people stop? These people are people like
anyone else. They are just working to be able to live in this ever growing community. It
is too bad they have to work to make only barely enough to live on, while other people
become wealthy while they do all the hard work and the wealthy ones sit aside and have
other people do things for them. Maybe someday this world will change. But one thing is
for sure, Coke definitely won't be making any money from me.
of things to believe or disbelieve about the country. But one thing the typical North
American people don’t recognize is that by the products we buy, we ourselves are helping
to exploit those very people who will do anything to work and make money for their
families and even themselves. These people labor so hard each day of their life just to
make not even a fraction or receive the care they need out of the millions of dollars this
company makes each year. This company is Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola is a pretty world wide
and well known company. Not only people in Columbia, but people all over the world are
being exploited by this company’s greedy feelings of wealth and power. But, this will
focus on how it mostly exploits its die hard Columbian workers and their families.
In 2001 the International Labor Rights Fund and the United Steelworkers of
America filed a lawsuit against Coca-Cola, on behalf of SINALTRAINAL.
SINALTRAINAL is a union in Columbia which was victim of many attacks by
paramilitary forces in the area. Isidro Gil was one of the main officers of
SINALTRAINAL and was murdered. This was what caused the first major uproars in the
union communities. As well as the burning of many offices the union owned in Antioquia
and Carepa. Basically, during the time of his murder, Coca-Cola made $4 billion in profit
and the CEO Douglas Daft received $105 million back.
Unfortunately, this lawsuit failed by coca-colas sly ways of getting the suit
thrown out. Finally, CCI, an organization against the Coca-Cola company decided that it
would have to make the public aware of the situation. Once the public was aware, it
would be able to hit coke where it hurts, in its pockets. This has taken sort of a toll on the
Coca-Cola company, and even up till today. Many colleges, high schools, middle
schools, elementary schools, and public businesses are starting to become more educated
on the terrors this company has imposed on one areas people. They are beginning to
realize it by boycotting coke products.
These people also wanted to target the most top people, or board officials of this
company and other companies who fund them or have ties to. This one other company
would be the SunTrust Bank and Warren Buffet. SunTrust Bank has been involved with
Coca-Cola since 1919. Warren buffet, who is a billionaire, served on Governor
Schwarzenegger’s campaign as an advisor and advised Presidential candidate John Kerry,
is one of the largest holder of Coca-Cola stock and is the fifth largest stockholder in
SunTrust Banks.
This isn’t only happening in Columbia, this also happened in Guatemala in the
1980’s During that time people were trying to unionize its workers in Coke bottling
plants. These people were killed. Returning to the discussion about Columbia, up until
even today there have been 179 major human rights violations and 9 murders of Coke
bottling plant workers.
The problem is with the people who are in the paramilitary. They do not want to
ensure workers rights, so they are scaring, kidnapping, injuring even killing people
because they are union supporters in Columbia. A lot of people are told to leave the city
or place that they live, if they are a union supporter, because if they don’t, bad things will
happen. They can stay with no harm, if they renounce the union. “SinalTrainal accuses
Coca-Cola and two of its bottlers with failing to protect workers and using right-wing
paramilitaries of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) to murder and
terrorize them,” as stated in the July 2004 issue of the Dissonant Voice and Columbian
Journal.
“Shortly after FEMSA announced the plant closings last year, armed men
kidnapped the 15-year-old son of labor leader Limberto Carranza in Barranquilla as the
young man rode his bicycle home from school.” FEMSA, is a Mexican bottling
contractor to Coke. “The kidnappers beat and tortured him and stated that his father was
on a list of people whom they planned to murder. During the boy’s ordeal, his father
received a telephone call in which an individual said, “Unionist son-of-a-bitch, we are
going to kill you ... and if we can’t kill you, we will kill your family,” also stated in the
July 2004 issue of the Dissonant Voice and Columbian Journal.
Just like a lot of other corporations, Coke reaps its benefits from the lowered
effectiveness of unions that stem from intimidating its workers. This is because weak
unions pose less resistance to job cuts, lowered wages, reduced benefits and flexible
contracts, and threats, selective assassinations and false accusations serve as tools of
labor management. They also contribute to most of the anti-union “air.” This is because
SinalTrainal is associated with guerrilla insurgencies, with members unable to exercise
their rights to freedom of their own rights. Rights they deserve as workers and rights they
deserve as human beings. But because coke would rather reap in its own benefits and not
allow its works to be paid the amount they deserve Coca-Cola work force is now
composed of non-union, temporary workers, and wages for these individuals are only a
quarter of those earned by those who are in the union.
So when will this exploitation of people stop? These people are people like
anyone else. They are just working to be able to live in this ever growing community. It
is too bad they have to work to make only barely enough to live on, while other people
become wealthy while they do all the hard work and the wealthy ones sit aside and have
other people do things for them. Maybe someday this world will change. But one thing is
for sure, Coke definitely won't be making any money from me.