Tell Coca-Cola "Every Worker Counts" - April 2 transatlantic Coke protest day

Posted to the IUF website 30-Mar-2007

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On April 2 the IUF is coordinating a transatlantic protest day targeting Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE), The Coca-Cola Company's largest global bottler.

Workers belonging to IUF-affiliated Coke unions in North America and Europe will join together with one voice to demand greater respect and recognition from CCE and the Coca-Cola Company.

Workers at CCE plants and distribution sites in the USA, Canada, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are uniting around a common message: "Tell Coke Every Worker Counts."

Unions representing a number of Coke employees in other bottling companies have decided to demonstrate their support for the CCE workers by joining the Transatlantic Union Day of Action.

A resolution submitted by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents around 14,000 CCE and Coca-Cola workers in the USA was unanimously supported by the recent IUF 25th World Congress .

It has since been strongly supported by IUF-affiliated unions representing close to 200,000 Coke workers around the world.

The resolution demanded that Coca-Cola Enterprises and the Coca-Cola Company:

Recognize the right of their union employees to job security and union representation in cases of restructuring

Bargain with its unions over restructuring and respect rights to information and consultation about company plans without unreasonable delays and before any final decisions are made

Stop opposing workers� rights to union representation and collective bargaining

Stop cutting costs on the backs of workers by slashing employment, pay, healthcare and pension benefits to compensate for poor management and shortsighted planning.

Engage in meaningful dialogue and negotiations with their unions and works councils over a sustainable, long term strategy for growth and employment

The resolution went on to demand that the Coca-Cola Company agrees to sign a Union Rights and Recognition Agreement with the IUF and its affiliates as proposed by the IUF in October 2006 and ensures that the scope of the agreement covers the entire Coca-Cola system.