The Coca-Cola Company ADDRESSES “FALSE AND INFLAMMATORY” ALLEGATIONS MADE BY TEAMSTERS
ATLANTA, Feb. 7, 2006 – The Coca-Cola Company said today that it was “greatly disappointed and offended” by “false and inflammatory” allegations made in a press release issued by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters about the Coca-Cola system’s labor relations practices.
“I would stand our Company’s labor relations practices alongside any other company on the planet,” said Ed Potter, director of Global Labor Relations for The Coca-Cola Company. “These unjustified attacks do a disservice to the men and women of Coca-Cola, they mislead the public and impede progress for workers’ rights worldwide.”
The Coca-Cola system is one of the most highly unionized multinational corporations in Colombia and throughout the world. Last year, the Company signed a joint statement with the IUF, the international organization for food and beverage unions, confirming that Coca-Cola workers are “allowed to exercise rights to union membership and collective bargaining without pressure or interference.”
Two different judicial inquiries in Colombia have found no evidence to support allegations that bottler management there conspired to intimidate or threaten trade unionists. An additional independent assessment conducted by Cal Safety Compliance Corporation, an international social compliance auditor certified by the Fair Labor Association and Social Accountability 8000, confirmed that workers in Coca-Cola plants in Colombia enjoy freedom of association, collective bargaining rights and an atmosphere free of anti-union intimidation.
In late January, The Coca-Cola Company announced that it is facilitating the design and development of another credible, objective and impartial independent third party assessment in Colombia during the first quarter of 2006. The assessment will involve international labor organizations and non-governmental organizations and will be conducted with the cooperation of its Colombian bottling partners.
The Coca-Cola Company also has been working to develop a Worker Rights Policy that it expects to adopt by the end of the first quarter of 2006. The policy will contain a commitment to foster an open and inclusive environment based on recognized workplace human rights. It is being developed with input from external human rights and labor organizations.
“I am unaware of the Teamsters ever being involved in productive discussions addressing the issues facing Colombian workers. It is clear that the Teamsters know nothing about our operations in Colombia,” said Potter. “These irresponsible accusations do a disservice to their own membership.”
The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest beverage company. Along with Coca-Cola, recognized as the world's most valuable brand, the Company markets four of the world's top five soft drink brands, including Diet Coke, Fanta and Sprite, and a wide range of other beverages, including diet and light soft drinks, waters, juices and juice drinks, teas, coffees and sports drinks. Through the world's largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company's beverages at a rate exceeding 1.3 billion servings each day. For more information about The Coca-Cola Company, please visit our website at www.Coca-Cola.com.
Media Relations Department
P.O. Box 1734, Atlanta, Georgia 30301
Telephone (404) 676-2121
