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"The Grassroots Mobilizing Department
of the U.S. Anti-Sweatshop Movement" 1470 Irving Street, NW, Washington, DC 20010 202-232-5002, [email protected] |
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Coke Unions Fight for Rights in Guatemala and ColombiaPosted October 8, 2002In this Alert: Information in this Alert provided by US/LEAP, www.usleap.org COCA-COLA UNION IN GUATEMALA THREATENEDThe historic Coca-Cola union in Guatemala, STECSA, is deadlocked in negotiations over demands that would erode the conditions currently protected by the existing collective agreement. Eight union leaders are facing firings, which is in violation of the current contract. The company, PANAMCO, an anchor bottler of Coca-Cola, is also threatening the union's legal right to strike and Coca-Cola is threatening to sue the union. STECSA emerged from a violent struggle in the 1980's, which included
surviving systematic extermination of its elected leadership. The struggle
received support from human rights and worker rights supporters across
the United States and Europe and succeeded in forcing Coca-Cola to take
responsibility for respect for worker rights in the Embotelladora Central
plant, which led to the successful formation of the union and the settling
of FIGHTING TO KEEP THEIR RIGHTSThe union and PANAMCO have been in negotiations for a new contract since February 2001. The union has battled proposals by the company that would substantially reduce the rights and benefits previously won by the union. Throughout the negotiations, the workers have suffered intimidation tactics including illegal reductions of salary, wage suspensions, and neglect of machinery maintenance that creates an unsafe working environment. PANAMCO, a bottling company that bottles exclusively for Coca-Cola
in plants across Central America, Venezuela, and Mexico, took over the
ownership of the Embotelladora Central plant in 1998 and the union has
had problems with the company ever since. Coca-Cola owns about a fourth
of PANAMCO's stock and controls the beverage formula and Recently, the negotiations have become deadlocked over core contract demands, including the right to grievance procedures. In an intimidation tactic, the company has initiated legal proceedings that would allow the firings of eight union leaders claiming these workers have been absent from work. The current contract provides time off of work for these leaders to do union business, which is the reason for their absences. When the union declared it would strike over the firing of these leaders, PANAMCO filed a court action asking that STECSA be denied the right to conduct a legal strike, alleging that the workers' vote authorizing strike action should have included confidential and management employees. This is a blatant attempt to interfere with the union's legal right to strike. In another intimidation tactic, on September 19, 2002, the Coca-Cola
company's lawyers threatened to sue STECSA for using the Coke decal
in a sticker produced by the union that advocates for the right to strike.
The company is citing violation of intellectual property rights. The
STECSA and the International Union of Foodworkers (IUF), the secretariat to which the union is affiliated, are calling for international support for this historic union. Sample letters can be found on the IUF website at www.iuf.org. PANAMCO, Coke in ColombiaGuatemala isn't the only place where workers are facing anti-union repression by Coca-Cola and PANAMCO. SINALTRAINAL, the Coca-Cola union in Colombia, is suing PANAMCO and Coca-Cola alleging that local management has used paramilitaries to crush Coca-Cola unions with threats, kidnappings, and murder. The suit has been filed in the U.S. by the International Labor Rights Fund and the United Steelworkers of America. The IUF and the Teamsters have called on Coca-Cola to negotiate and sign a global worker rights agreement that would cover all of Coca-Cola's operations, including bottlers. TAKE ACTION NOW! Contact Coca-Cola: Remind Coca-Cola of
the international fight for STECSA and worker rights in the 1980's.
Notify the company of your knowledge of the threats to the basic rights
of the historic STECSA union. Urge Coca-Cola to take responsibility
for the conduct of its bottlers and Contact: Mr. Douglas Daft, Chief Executive Officer,
The Contact Panamco in Guatemala: Contact the company to express your concern over the treatment of the STECSA union and demand the company
Contact: Mr. Carlos EduardoTrigueros, Panamco Beverage Inc. Fax: 011-502 442 0966; E-mail: |
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