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| Coke Hit with New Charges of Murder, Rape, Torture at their processing and bottling plants in Guatemala |
| Written by Maryanne Euthalia |
| Thursday, 04 March 2010 20:22 |
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A lawsuit (Case No. 10102514; Palacios et al. v. The Coca-Cola Co. and Does 1 through 10 inclusive) was filed on behalf of eight plaintiffs in the Supreme Court of the State of New York against The Coca-Cola Co. and Coke processing and bottling plants in Guatemala. This case involves charges of murder, rape and torture. The plaintiffs include union leaders and family members. This case has been brought in New York State because plaintiffs and other victims of human rights abuses lack access to an independent and functioning legal system within Guatemala, a country with a corrupt judiciary which has been undermined by the intimidation and murder of witnesses, prosecutors, lawyers and judges. (Read the complaint here.) "Coca-Cola's crimes against union leaders continue. This Guatemala case shows, tragically, that Coca-Cola's Workplace Rights Policy, and its other false claims to the public about respecting the rights of workers to join unions, are nothing more than a public relations campaign designed to deceive the public," said Terry Collingsworth, lead counsel in the case. He continued, "This case also presents evidence of Coca-Cola's direct involvement in trying to suppress the facts. Coca-Cola used the leverage of security for the family of Plaintiff Jose Palacios to try to get him to waive his employment rights and resign from his union. With this case, we finally have the evidence to get to a jury and let them decide if Coca-Cola is produced with the blood of union leaders and their family members. This case will expose the fraud of Coca-Cola's public relations campaign once and for all." This is not something new to Guatemala. "For nine years the 450 workers at the Coca-Cola bottling plants in Guatemala City fought a battle with their employers for their jobs, their trade union and their lives. Three times they occupied the plant -- on the last occasion for thirteen months. Three General Secretaries of their union were murdered and five other workers killed. Four more were kidnapped and have disappeared" according to Mike Gatehouse and Miguel Angel Reyes of the Latin America Bureau (UK) in "Soft Drink, Hard Labour," published in 1987. "This is another example of the kind of atrocities in which Coca-Cola has been involved to prevent and destroy labor unions in Latin America," said Ray Rogers, Director of the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke. "Labor unions are critical to improve wages and working conditions for all workers and for democracies to flourish. But in places like Guatemala and Colombia, a strong union can mean the difference between life and death." The lawsuit coincides with the release of "The Coca-Cola Case," a film documenting similar human rights abuses against union leaders at Coca-Cola bottling plants in Colombia. The film was produced by the National Film Board of Canada and Argus Films. For further information on this case, contact: Terry Collingsworth, Conrad & Scherer: (202) 543-5811 Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites |
