[GPSCC-chat] Fwd: SJPJC-Board Fw: "WE FEAR FOR OUR LIVES..." Urgent Letter needed for Coca Cola workers in Colombia
Spencer Graves
spencer.graves at effectivedefense.org
Thu Mar 27 18:08:38 PDT 2014
Will the Green Party of Santa Clara County endorse the letter from Fred
Hirsch asking Coca Cola to negotiate fairly with workers and unions in
Colombia and stop attacking union leaders? For details, see below.
Spencer
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: SJPJC-Board Fw: "WE FEAR FOR OUR LIVES..." Urgent Letter
needed for Coca Cola workers in Colombia
Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2014 17:30:47 -0700 (PDT)
From: Shelby Minister <shelby.minister at yahoo.com>
Reply-To: sjpjcboard at googlegroups.com
To: SJPJC Partners
<sjpjc-community-partner-email-list at googlegroups.com>,
"sjpjcboard at googlegroups.com" <sjpjcboard at googlegroups.com>, San Jose
Community Members <sanjosepeacecenter at lists.riseup.net>
Dear Community Partners and Friends,
SJPJC has recently signed onto this letter from Fred Hirsch pleading
Coca Cola to negotiate fairly with its workers and unions in Colombia
and to stop the attacks against union leaders. Please see his letter
below. I urge your organizations to sign on as well.
Sincerely,
*Shelby Minister
Coordinator
San Jose Peace and Justice Center
48 S. 7th Street, San Jose*
*//*----------------------------------------------------
*Brothers, Sisters and Friends,
We’ve received an urgent message from William Mendoza and Juan
Carlos Galvis in Barranquilla, northern Colombia. They are leaders
in Sinaltrainal (National Union of Food Industry Workers),
representing workers in Coca Cola bottling plants. Their message
says, “We fear for the lives of our union leaders. Please send
protest letters to Coca Cola. The company is making war against us.”
Their words are anything but just a figure of speech.
Their fears are palpable. Sinaltrainal at Coca Cola has endured a
history as terror victims that includes the assassination of eleven
leaders and activists. I met William Mendoza in Barrancabermeja in
2002 when my union, Plumbers and Fitters Local 393, in San Jose, CA,
sent me on a labor delegation to Colombia. Not long ago William’s
young daughter was grabbed into a car in broad daylight. The
abductors were thwarted by his wife, who ran screaming into the
street. She stopped all traffic and managed to free the traumatized
four year old from the kidnap vehicle.
A few years ago masked paramilitaries invaded Juan Carlos Galvis’
home demanding to know his whereabouts. They tied up his wife,
sprayed her with red paint and threatened to kill their little girl.
The thugs were frustrated and fled.
Both men have had to move their families to other cities. William
says, “We have no choice but to struggle. We must protect our
families and children, but struggle is our brother”
With the company refusing to bargain in good faith and demanding to
impose an unfair contract, the workers mounted protests at bottling
plants in various cities. They were attacked by the police in
Barranquilla. A worker with access to a management office found
photos of Sinaltrainal leaders in a copy machine. William says,
“We are very concerned about the intended use of these photos. We
fear for our lives and safety.”
In 2001 and 2006 lawsuits were filed in the U.S. **on behalf of
Sinaltrainalby the United Steelworkers of America and the
International Labor Rights Fund. The lawsuits charged that Coca Cola
bottlers in Colombia “contracted with or otherwise directed
paramilitary security forces that utilized extreme violence and
murdered, tortured and unlawfully detained or otherwise silenced
trade union leaders.”
Labor disputes and collective bargaining for Sinaltrainal have never
been smooth. Their process of serving the needs of the workers has
always been under the gun. Today it seems to be a matter of life
and death again. Juan Carlos Galvis once told the workers,**"If we
lose this fight against Coke, first we will lose our union, next we
will lose our jobs, and then we will lose our lives.”
We can act to prevent that outcome. We can help alleviate the danger
by taking the time to do what they ask of us – send letters to Coca
Cola demanding that the company protect the lives of Sinaltrainal
members, activists and leaders. Urge the company to bargain in good
faith for an orderly and peaceful resolution of the labor dispute.
Demand an end to union busting violence, no more intimidation, no
more threats – no more death! There is no moral, ethical or human
reason to allow the Coca Cola Company to continue to be enriched by
the lifeblood of the workers.
*(There is a wealth of additional information available at
http://killercoke.org) <http://killercoke.org%29/>
<http://killercoke.org%29/> <http://killercoke.org%29/>
*
Please send letters and/or make phone calls to one or all three of
these company officials. Here is a sample letter, but do better,
write your own. If you will send only one letter, please send it to
Gary Fayard, as Director of Coca Cola FEMSA he has the most direct
responsibility for their bottlers in Colombia. Your individual
letter is powerful, but if you can get your union or other
organization to sign on, that would be all the more powerful.
In solidarity,
Fred Hirsch *
(Please forward this request to your lists, contacts and friends)
*------------------------------------------------
/Dear Coca Cola Executive/**/,
I have heard from the leaders of the National Union of Food Industry
Workers (Sinaltrainal) in Colombia. I am writing to you to demand
that the Coca Cola Company take action to bargain with them in good
faith and reach a fair and adequate labor agreement.
It has been charged in open court that Coca Cola has contracted
with or otherwise directed paramilitary security forces that
utilized extreme violence and murdered, tortured and unlawfully
detained or otherwise silenced trade union leaders. We also have
learned that the company has dodged any objective investigation of
such charges.
Coca Cola’s union busting intimidation continues to this day in
Colombia. Such uncivilized corporate behavior must stop. There is no
justice in imposing an unfair contract. The company must sit down
and negotiate a fair contract with Sinaltrainal workers so they and
their families can work and live in peace. Until that happens, I
will spread the word to my friends, my union, my church and my
community to boycott the products of the Coca Cola company. It is up
to you to allow justice to prevail.
Sincerely,
/
_______________________________________________________________________
*Muhtar Kent
Chairman & CEO
The Coca-Cola Company
P.O. Box 1734
Atlanta, GA 30301-1734
Telephone 404-676-2121
Gary Fayard
Chief Financial Officer & Executive VP
The Coca-Cola Company
Director, Coca-Cola FEMSA
P.O. Box 1734
Atlanta, GA 30301-1734
Telephone 404-676-2121
Ed Potter
Director
Global Workplace Rights
The Coca-Cola Company
P.O. Box 1734
Atlanta, GA 30301-1734
404-676-2379
email: _epotter at na.ko.com
_
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