Killer Coke
A Never-ending Story of Exploitation, Greed, Lies, Cover-ups and Complicity in Kidnapping, Torture, Murder and other Gross Human Rights Abuses

Killer Coke Update | October 29, 2010


Full House at Resistance Cinema for "The Coca-Cola Case"

Contents of the Newsletter:

  1. Powerful New www.KillerCoke.org Website
  2. "The Coca-Cola Case": The Film Coke Tried to Censor
  3. See 'The Coca-Cola Case' Uncensored in Dorchester, MA, hosted by IBEW Local 103 — Free Admission, Beverages & Parking
  4. See 'The Coca-Cola Case' Uncensored at Columbus Convention Center Ballroom in Columbus, GA, During Shut Down SOA Activities
  5. International Day of Action: Saturday, December 11, 2010
  6. Stop Killer Coke Activity Update:
    1. Full House at Resistance Cinema for 'The Coca-Cola Case'
    2. University of Bangor, UK, Kicks Coke out of the University
    3. South Carolina AFL-CIO Convention Backs Campaign
    4. Legal Service Workers National Convention Passes Resolution to Boycott Coke

1. Powerful New www.KillerCoke.org Website

The Campaign to Stop Killer Coke has just put our new www.KillerCoke.org site online. It has been redesigned and will be much easier to navigate to find information that you need. You can still find "Breaking News" either by going to the Main Menu on the left or the top button on the right. We are still perfecting the site adding more information and looking for dead links, but the most important information currently exists on the site. If, at any time, you would like to return to the home page, simply click on the Killer Coke can in the upper left.

Campaign to Stop Killer Coke

We have now broken down "Coke's Crimes" by country — the third option on the left. These countries in which deplorable human rights and environmental abuses proliferate include China, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, India, Mexico... We will be adding additional countries.

Another option that now exists is a "Translate" button at the bottom of each page. If there is something written in another language, a click of that button will translate the page into one of some 30 languages. This is especially needed for our supporters in non-English speaking countries. We hope that those of you with friends in other countries will inform them of the site and the translation option.

In addition, there is a link to a number of the social networking sites, like Facebook and Twitter, also at the bottom.

Researchers can link to news articles, newsletters, reports, lawsuits, videos, interviews and more on the left hand menu.

For campus activists, you'll find information on the Campaign, including a step-by-step organizing packet to Campaign for a Coca-Cola Free Campus. For labor activists, you'll find sample resolutions to make your labor unions and councils Coca-Cola Free. In addition, there is a link to "Upcoming Events" in the top menu.

If you would like to receive our email newsletter, please go to "Join," fill in your info and you'll receive our periodic newsletters and bulletins. To help expand our campaign, we ask you to urge others to sign-up using our "Join" button.

Donations to the Campaign are always welcome. You can go to "Contributions" on the menu at the top and make a contribution through PayPal. For a contribution of $25 or more, you will obtain a copy of the controversial film, "The Coca-Cola Case," a film that Coca-Cola tried to censor by threatening legal action if it were shown. You can preview the film by clicking on the second button on the right, "Movie Trailer."

If you find text too small (or too large), you can change the size of the text by pressing Control and the plus (+) or minus (-) sign if you use a PC or by pressing Command and the plus (+) or minus (-) sign if you use a Mac.

Please email us with new ideas and information. Send us video clips, photos and reports of your group's efforts in support of the Campaign for us to publicize.

There will be more information and improvements to come including high-resolution images that can be downloaded and printed.

If your school, labor union, coop or other organization has an active campaign or wants to initiate one, or has removed or banned Coca-Cola products and your involvement is not described on the website, please contact us.

Hopefully, you'll be checking out and exploring the site... and of course, standing up for labor and human rights and the environment by actively supporting the Campaign.

2. "The Coca-Cola Case": The Film Coke Tried to Censor

See a 2-minute trailer or a 6-minute synopsis at the website for "The Coca-Cola Case."

Coca-Cola Workers in Colombia

They make $1 an hour and work 15 hour/day shifts.
They rent the trucks, buy the gas and their uniforms,
and pay out-of-pocket if bottles are broken or stolen.
They fear for their lives, especially if they ask for
better working conditions or join the union.

"'The Coca-Cola Case,' a legal thriller about the soft-drinks titan..."
(The New York Times -- May 20, 2010)

"The Coca-Cola Case is a fascinating portrayal of corporate irresponsibility and greed... Remember that slogan -- Have a Coke and a smile? Well, this doc will leave you UN-smiling."
(Rabble.ca -- April 8, 2010)

"Coca-Cola does not want this particular documentary to gain a significant viewership."
(theSheaf.com (University of Saskatchewan) -- February 11, 2010)

"You'll never look at Coca-Cola the same..."
(GreenMuze -- February 7, 2010)

"the explosive new film..."
(The Boston Herald -- February 5, 2010)

"Killer Coke? Controversial film The Coca-Cola Case draws fire from soft-drink giant."
(Canwest News Service -- January 21, 2010)

A DVD of this film can be obtained with a donation in the U.S. using this link. The film is in English and Spanish and can be viewed with French subtitles.

  • For Home Use: $25 donation (this DVD is licensed for private home use only. Any public screening, commercial or noncommercial, is prohibited by US copyright law.)
  • For Activist Use: $99 donation (this DVD is licensed with Public Performance Rights for noncommercial public screenings where no admittance fee is charged.)
  • For Libraries: $250 donation (3 DVDs licensed with Public Performance Rights for noncommercial public screenings where no admittance fee is charged.)
  • Theaters in the U.S. interested in showing the film should contact Corporate Campaign, Inc, U.S. film distributor, at (718) 852-2808 or via email at: info@corporatecampaign.org

For those ordering from outside the U.S., instructions to order the film from the National Film Board of Canada can be found at "TheCoca-ColaCase.org.

3. See 'The Coca-Cola Case' Uncensored in Dorchester, MA, hosted by IBEW Local 103 -- Free Admission, Beverages & Parking

Wednesday, November 10, 2010, 7 pm
Film: "The Coca-Cola Case" and speakers
IBEW Local 103 Union Hall
256 Freeport Street, Dorchester, MA
Seating capacity is about 1,200
LETS PACK THE HALL!

Please attend and help promote this event in your schools, unions and communities.

Contact Bill Corley with any questions at bcorley@ibew103.com.

Read about IBEW Local 103 at www.the103advantage.com.

This is an invitation to a unique event on the evening of Wednesday, November 10 to both view the highly controversial film, "The Coca-Cola Case," and to meet and dialogue with Michael Blanding, author of "The Coke Machine--The Dirty Truth Behind the World's Favorite Soft Drink," and Ray Rogers, who is featured in the film and described by Business Week as a "legendary union activist" and the Financial Times as Coca-Cola's "fiercest foe." Earlier this year, Coca-Cola's lawyers threatened legal action if the film was shown. No one, including the National Film Board of Canada, caved in to Coke's bullying and intimidation tactics.

The event is being hosted by, and held in the auditorium of, Local 103 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers at 256 Freeport Street in Dorchester. It is open to the public and press and admission and beverages are free.

Local 103 has a large parking lot, seating for 1,200 guests and welcomes everyone to this event to decide for themselves which description is most appropriate: Coca-Cola, American Icon or Coca-Cola, American Criminal!

For drivers, parking is free in the union's large parking lot. For those taking mass transit, the closest T subway stop is the Field's Corner Station on the Red Line. It is a bit more than a 1/2 mile walk to Local 103.

Directions from Field's Corner Station to Local 103:

Head east toward Dorchester Ave.
Turn left onto Dorchester Ave.
Turn right onto Greenwich St.
Turn right onto Freeport St.

It is about an 11-minute walk from the T to Local 103.

Download the 8x10 Flyer

4. See 'The Coca-Cola Case' Uncensored at Columbus Convention Center Ballroom in Columbus, GA, During Shut Down SOA Activities

Saturday, November 20, 2010; 5 pm
Film: "The Coca-Cola Case" and speakers

Columbus Convention Center Ballroom
Columbus, Georgia
LET'S PACK THE PLACE!

Looking for volunteers during the Shut Down SOA activities in Columbus and Ft. Benning, GA, to help organize a full-house. If you can help us distribute thousands of leaflets and posters, contact us at info@KillerCoke.org.

This is an invitation to a unique event on Saturday, November 20 to both view the highly controversial film, "The Coca-Cola Case," and to meet and dialogue with Campaign to Stop Killer Coke/Corporate Campaign, Inc. Director Ray Rogers, who is featured in the film and described by Business Week as a "legendary union activist" and the Financial Times as Coca-Cola's "fiercest foe." In addition, others from the Campaign's New York City office will be present to answer your questions.

Earlier this year, Coca-Cola's lawyers threatened legal action if the film was shown. No one, including the National Film Board of Canada, caved in to Coke's bullying and intimidation tactics.

The event is being hosted by the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke at the Columbus Convention Center Ballroom. The seating capacity is about 3,000. Admission is free to all.

Download the 8x10 Flyer

CLOSE THE SCHOOL OF THE AMERICAS/SCHOOL OF ASSASSINS

"The School of the Americas (SOA), renamed the "Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation," is a U.S. military training school for Latin American soldiers. The school is synonymous with torture and military repression around the world. Its graduates have a long history of military coups, human rights abuses and the suppression of popular movements. Hundreds of thousands have been tortured, raped, murdered and "disappeared" by those trained at the School of Assassins.

For over a decade, thousands from across the Americas have been converging every November at Fort Benning to speak out for justice. Protestors will gather again this year to continue the struggle until the SOA is closed and the policies it represents are changed.

For more information about the vigil and the nonviolent direct action, visit or call (202) 234-3440 or www.soaw.org.

5. International Day of Action

Saturday, December 11, 2010
International Day of Action

On the International Day of Action, there will be 24 hours of programming on the "Stop Killer Coke" streaming channel. The programming will include interviews, protests, music and discussion throughout the world and it will be broadcast at the LaborTech 2010 conference being held at the University of San Francisco. The programming will be integrated with the conference and the channel will be embedded in other channels throughout the world. Visit www.labortech.net for more info.

We will soon publicize how you can become involved.

6. Stop Killer Coke Activity Update

a. Full House at Resistance Cinema for 'The Coca-Cola Case'

A full house at Resistance Cinema in New York City watched 'The Coca-Cola Case' and had a lively discussion with Campaign to Stop Killer Coke Director Ray Rogers on October 10. The screening was held in the Community Church of New York, Unitarian Universalist
Gallery Room.

Photo credit: Bruce Kerner, New Zealand filmmaker

Photo credit: Myrna Charry

b. University of Bangor, UK, Kicks Coke out of the University

We received the following email on Saturday, September 25, 2010, from Amnesty International at the University of Bangor:

"The Amnesty International group at Bangor University has managed to successfully kick Coca-Cola out of the University and get the University to change its catering contract to Britvic instead, hopefully not the last time this is done at a British University."

Congratulations, University of Bangor!

Petition used by the University of Bangor Campaign to Remove Coke from campus

Facebook site used by University of Bangor Campaign to Remove Coke from campus


c. South Carolina AFL-CIO Convention September 9, 2010

South Carolina AFL-CIO President Donna Dewitt is standing at the center of the banner behind the word "Killer." AFT Colorado Organizing Director Russell Bannan, who took this photo, is kneeling at the far right next to Campaign Director Ray Rogers who addressed the Convention. Note the slogan "Shut Down SOA!" on the signs in the background. This refers to: "The U.S. government has trained over 10,000 of Colombia's military troops at the School of the Americas ("SOA") in Fort Benning, Georgia. And, SOA training manuals which the Pentagon was forced to turn over in 1996 show that the U.S. encouraged these troops to engage in torture and murder of those who, inter alia, do 'union organizing and recruiting'; pass out 'propaganda in favor of the interests of the workers'; and 'sympathize with demonstrators or strikes.' As a consequence of the official vilification of trade unionists by the Colombian and U.S. governments as well as corporations operating in Colombia, Colombia has led the world in the number of murders of trade unionists." [From the 2001 lawsuit describing Coca-Cola's human rights abuses in Colombia.]

A resolution to ban Coca-Cola products from the facilities of the South Carolina State AFL-CIO, representing 78,000 workers, was passed unanimously at their 2008 convention. The resolution called upon affiliates and their members to avoid purchasing Coca-Cola products.

"THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that South Carolina State AFL-CIO ban Coca-Cola products from its facilities and functions in solidarity with our union brothers and sisters fighting a life and death struggle to secure basic democratic and trade union rights, and

"RESOLVED that South Carolina State AFL-CIO, calls upon affiliates and their members to avoid purchasing Coca-Cola products, including Dasani, Fanta, Minute Maid, Nestea, Odwalla, Powerade and Sprite, until the violence against union leaders and organizers stops and the lawsuits are resolved."


d. Legal Service Workers National Convention Passes Resolution to Boycott Coke

National Organization of Legal Service Workers, UAW Local 2320
Resolution to Boycott Coca-Cola Beverages Because of Widespread Labor, Human Rights & Environmental Abuses, Passed unanimously at National Convention, June 2010.
Read Resolution

RESOLVED, that the National Organization of Legal Service Workers, UAW Local 2320 will ban all Coke products from all its meetings and events;

RESOLVED, that the National Organization of Legal Service Workers, UAW Local 2320, calls on its members to initiate and support campaigns in schools, labor unions and public institutions, etc. to similarly hold The Coca- Cola Company accountable by removing all Coke machines and Coke beverages and banning the sale and advertising of Coke products;

RESOLVED, that the National Organization of Legal Service Workers, UAW Local 2320 calls on the United Auto Workers (UAW) and all other unions to adopt a similar Resolution;

RESOLVED, that until The Coca-Cola Company can prove that it has taken genuine remedial actions to become a responsible corporate citizen, the call for this ban on Coca-Cola products by the National Organization of Legal Service Workers, UAW Local 2320 will remain in effect.