Letters to the Editor | Coca-Cola supports workers' rights

We welcome the opportunity to engage in open dialogue with schools on whose campuses Coca-Cola has a presence. In the interest of engaging in fact-based discussion, we hope to have the opportunity to comment on and correct inaccuracies lodged by the activist community and recently cited by concerned students at Vassar College.

It is important to us that students know that we deplore and condemn all acts of violence committed by any paramilitary group in Colombia. The company and our bottlers in Colombia continue to take steps to protect the freedoms and the personal safety of Coca-Cola workers and their families.

It is important to recognize that over the past several decades, Colombia has experienced much internal conflict. Yet despite the volatile environment, Coca-Cola and its bottlers have maintained operations and provided safe, stable economic opportunities for the people of Colombia.

Vassar students should know that the company shares students’ concerns regarding the unfavorable labor environment in Colombia and has taken action to improve it. As one example, in 2005 the Company signed a joint statement with the International Organization for Food and Beverage Unions (IUF) confirming that Coca-Cola workers are “allowed to exercise rights to union membership and collective bargaining without pressure or interference.” In a country where violence against union members has deterred all but four percent of workers from unionizing, 31 percent of Coca-Cola bottler employees belong to unions.

It is important that Vassar students know that credible independent third parties, including U.S. and Colombian courts, have investigated and dismissed allegations of misconduct by the company:

• Two different judicial inquiries in Colombia— one in a Colombian Court and one by the Colombian Attorney General—found no evidence to support the allegations that bottler management conspired to intimidate trade unionists.

• These allegations were the thrust of a lawsuit filed in 2001 against The Coca-Cola Company in a U.S. District Court in Miami; the company was dismissed as a defendant. On Sept. 29, 2006 the court issued a decision to dismiss the two Coca-Cola bottlers in Colombia from all remaining cases as well.

•What’s more, a public statement made by SINALTRAINBEC, a Colombian union representing bottler employers, said that it has “not a single indication” that Coca-Cola or any of its bottling partners have links to anti-union violence. Further, the United Workers’ Confederation of Colombia (CUT), which includes SINALTRAINAL as a member, has repeatedly stated that boycotts against companies in Colombia will not help to address the problem of anti-union violence in this country.

Based on independent requests of the IUF and Coca-Cola, the International Labor Organization (ILO) agreed in late March 2006 to assess the industrial relations practices of our independent Colombian bottlers. Our company and Coca-Cola bottlers in Colombia have pledged full cooperation with the ILO and appreciate its independent, impartial review of our system’s labor relations and workers’ rights practices.

When threats of violence against our employees are brought to the attention of the bottler’s management, Coca-Cola bottlers act immediately to investigate the incidents with competent authorities and provide necessary protection to the individuals and their families. We then activate a host of measures aimed at protecting employees’ safety and security, including emergency cell phones; paid leave of absence from work; installation of security devices at the home of affected workers; flexible working schedules; secure housing; and transportation to and from work.

At the end of the day, it is simply not in our best interest to operate anywhere in the world in a manner that is less than ethical or moral. We have been committed to helping to sustain the communities in which we operate for over 120 years. We are proud of all we’ve accomplished to date. Is there more we can do to help improve the lives of our workers? Of course! In engaging with students and stakeholders, we continue to grow to be a better company and are excited about all that lies ahead.

We sincerely value our partnership with Vassar College and value this opportunity to share our experiences with respect to doing business in Colombia. We encourage you to visit cokefacts.org to learn more about our business practices in Colombia and other places around the world.

—Diana Garza Ciarlante
Director, Issues Management
Coca-Cola North America