Post by WaTcHeR on Dec 16, 2005 14:35:49 GMT -5
New York University has banned the sale and marketing of The Coca-Cola Co. products on its campus to protest the Atlanta beverage giant's alleged human rights abuses in Colombia.
In a release, NYU said its action made it the 12th college in the United States and 20th worldwide to ban Coke products. NYU will beginning removing Coke (NYSE: KO) products from its campus on Dec. 9. The school has more than 50,000 students and 16,000 employees.
The Coke products ban is in protest of the company's failure to submit to an independent investigation of its bottling plants in Colombia, where workers have accused Coke of human rights abuses. Coke has maintained the allegations by the Colombian union SINALTRAINAL are "completely false," has noted that the company was dismissed from a 2001 lawsuit the union filed in federal court in Miami and said an independent investigation found no evidence of human rights violations.
NYU said students at more than 70 colleges and universities across the country have called for an investigation into allegations made by members of SINALTRAINAL. Over the last 16 years, seven Coca-Cola workers affiliated with SINALTRAINAL allegedly have been murdered, harassed, intimidated, threatened, kidnapped or fired for their union activities.
"The world becomes a better place when students act to end terrible wrongs plaguing our society," said Ray Rogers, director of the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke. "This victory becomes even sweeter when one recognizes that Coca-Cola board member Barry Diller, chairman and chief executive officer of IAC/InterActiveCorp, is on the Board of Trustees of New York University. I hope that students will continue their campaign by seeking to hold Diller accountable."
In a release, NYU said its action made it the 12th college in the United States and 20th worldwide to ban Coke products. NYU will beginning removing Coke (NYSE: KO) products from its campus on Dec. 9. The school has more than 50,000 students and 16,000 employees.
The Coke products ban is in protest of the company's failure to submit to an independent investigation of its bottling plants in Colombia, where workers have accused Coke of human rights abuses. Coke has maintained the allegations by the Colombian union SINALTRAINAL are "completely false," has noted that the company was dismissed from a 2001 lawsuit the union filed in federal court in Miami and said an independent investigation found no evidence of human rights violations.
NYU said students at more than 70 colleges and universities across the country have called for an investigation into allegations made by members of SINALTRAINAL. Over the last 16 years, seven Coca-Cola workers affiliated with SINALTRAINAL allegedly have been murdered, harassed, intimidated, threatened, kidnapped or fired for their union activities.
"The world becomes a better place when students act to end terrible wrongs plaguing our society," said Ray Rogers, director of the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke. "This victory becomes even sweeter when one recognizes that Coca-Cola board member Barry Diller, chairman and chief executive officer of IAC/InterActiveCorp, is on the Board of Trustees of New York University. I hope that students will continue their campaign by seeking to hold Diller accountable."