More
Matrix Masters
Blogs
World Events
US News
Science & Health
Earth News
Free Speech
News from Africa
News from Palestine
Bill of Rights Under Attack

Matrix Masters'
SUPPORTERS

Lorenzo's
Random Musings
. . . about Chaos,
Reason, and Hope

 

Blood and Coca-Cola
(Stephanie Ryan, Daily Vanguard, April 6, 2004)
In the past decade, Columbian Coca-Cola employees hoping to unionize have been tortured, assassinated and taken hostage. Some survived murder attempts. Luis Cardona is one of those survivors. . . . According to Lew Church, coordinator of the Progressive Student Union at PSU, the Coke boycott has been going on for over a year. . . . "Columbia's the worst country in the world to be a union organizer," he said. "The government is conservative; they're cooperating with the Bush administration to implement a neo-liberal agenda, which tends to try to downsize, underpay and discourage unions." . . . The International Confederation of Free Trade (ICFTU), which represents 158 million workers, concluded that nearly 200 Columbians had been killed because of their trade union activities. . . . It seems like more and more power in the world is owned by corporations," he said, "and that affects everything from television and elections to whether your job still exists in Columbia ... the union is one way to try to hold those that have power, politically and economically, accountable to the people doing the work and producing the product." . . . He added, "If you're in the middle of a war and your wages are going down and your jobs are disappearing, one of the things in globalization is to have third-world countries bid for the lowest cheapest labor ... if you can maximize profits and extract it out of third-world countries, then that helps profits in Atlanta." . . . Atlanta is home to Coca-Cola, the worlds largest beverage company. . . . According to the Web site killercoke.org, "the influential men who comprise the 'Six-Pack' stubbornly refuse to acknowledge the horrific reality that Colombian Coke workers and their families are facing." . . . We think Columbia is a really important country to focus on, and we think its really important that international speakers get access to venues in the United States and be able to say what's going on as recipients of foreign policy," said Church. "This is an opportunity for people to find out both about union organizing and unions in general."

posted by LoZo 9:47 AM