printer-friendly

Coca-Cola Sued in U.S. by Guatemalans Over Anti-Union Violence
Business Week
2/27/2010

By Patricia Hurtado

Feb. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Coca-Cola Co. was sued by Guatemalan workers who say they endured a "campaign of violence" by people working on behalf of bottling and processing plants Coke owns or owned there after they engaged in union activities.

Jose Armando Palacios of Guatemala and eight other plaintiffs filed the complaint Feb. 25 in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, alleging negligence, deceptive practices and other claims against Coca-Cola, the world's biggest soda maker.

The plaintiffs said they were the victims of violence and retaliation by individuals associated with Industria de Cafe SA, or Incasa, which operates an instant coffee and Coca-Cola bottling plant in Guatemala City. The plaintiffs said Incasa "is or was previously owned by Coca-Cola."

"Incasa is Coke's agent," the plaintiffs said in the lawsuit. "At the time of the events alleged, Coke knew or was substantially certain that it and its bottlers were doing business in an environment in Guatemala where their unionized workers were at great risk of being tortured and/or killed by groups responsible for violence against trade unionists in Guatemala."

Kerry Kerr, a spokeswoman for Atlanta-based Coca-Cola, declined to comment on the lawsuit, saying the company hadn't received a copy of the complaint. She said yesterday in an e-mail that, while Incasa is independently owned, Coca-Cola has a minority share in the business.

Saul Arriega, who identified himself as a supervisor at Incasa's offices in Guatemala, said he wasn't aware of the lawsuit and declined to comment further.

The plaintiffs, according to the complaint, were engaged in union organizing, recruiting and collective bargaining.

Shootings, Threats

Palacios, an Incasa employee for 27 years who worked as a security guard, said he quit a company-based union in 1991. He said he received threats and that there were multiple attempts on his life after he re-joined the union in January 2004.

On June 18, 2004, two men shot at him several times from the plant's parking lot, Palacios said in the complaint. He said his family members were the victims of a home invasion in April 2005 in which two armed men threatened to kill his son and wife if he continued his union activities. He was fired without cause in May 2005, he said.

After he sought assistance from the International Union of Food Workers in December 2005, Incasa representatives told him he would receive protection from Coca-Cola only if he accepted his discharge from Incasa and waived reinstatement, Palacios said.

Man Shot

On Jan. 28, 2006, the day after he refused reinstatement, another attempt was made on his life, he said. This time, another man was shot in front of his home. He said he fled Guatemala for the U.S. and that he couldn't take legal action until his family was safely out of Guatemala.

Another Incasa employee, Jose Vincente Chavez, was threatened by the company's management during collective bargaining negotiations, the plaintiffs said in the complaint. After he was summoned in March 2008 to a meeting on union- related business, his family was attacked by armed men, Vincente said. His son, Dennys Alberto Vincente Santiago, and nephew were killed, he said in the complaint.

Terrence Collingsworth, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said Vincente remains in Guatemala and fears he may face more violence in retaliation for joining the lawsuit.

Guatemalan Courts

The plaintiffs said in the complaint that they filed the lawsuit in New York because Coca-Cola has offices there and because remedies in Guatemala are "inadequate and would not afford the complete relief" available in U.S. courts.

"Coca-Cola has done more misrepresenting of their record in the state of New York than anywhere else," Collingsworth said yesterday in a phone interview. "Coke assures the public and investors they have told their bottlers and suppliers to comply with international human rights standards and yet they will say in court they have nothing to do with these bottlers and can't control them."

Collingsworth of Conrad & Scherer in Washington "specializes in litigating cases that seek to hold multinational firms accountable for human rights violations in their global operations," according to the law firm's Web site. Companies that he has sued include Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chiquita Brands International Inc., according to the Web site.

The case is Jose Armand Palacios, v. The Coca-Cola Co., 102514/2010, New York State Supreme Court (Manhattan).

printer-friendly