 Media Credit: Heights Graphic / Marc Andrew Deley; photos courtesy of KillerCoke.org Images of victims that were targeted as a part of the Coca-Cola company´s attempts to curb the organization of unions. [Click to enlarge]
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Its products amply flow from spigots on every fountain, not just at Boston College, but at every McDonald's and Burger King around the world, as well as at every Major League Baseball game in America. Its name is plastered across vending machines, billboards, and on television screens. As far as its image goes, the Coca-Cola Company is as prolific as its multi-billion dollar profits. But the logos and clever slogans don't accurately portray the reality of Coke, according to some BC students who contribute to a larger, global movement against the forerunning beverage maker.
A recently formed BC coalition consists of students from several existing organizations including Ecopledge, the Global Justice Project, the Organization of Latin American Affairs, and the South Asian Students Association. Members of the Black Student Forum and Campus Ministry are also involved. The coalition is founded on what Nick Fuller-Googins, member of the Global Justice Project and A&S '06, called Coke's "long history of documented human rights abuses across the world."
Eric Ares, also of the Global Justice Project and A&S '05, focused on an issue that he found especially disturbing: the company's abuse of child labor in El Salvador. The coalition also draws influence from KillerCoke.org, which claims, "We are seeking to ... stop a gruesome cycle of murders, kidnappings, and torture of union leaders and organizers involved in daily life-and-death struggles at Coca-Cola bottling plants." Accusations of racism also plague the company's record.
While several worldwide organizations fight the alleged inhumane treatment of those who work for the Coca-Cola Company by encouraging national boycotts, initiating petitions against prominent Coca-Cola affiliates, and staging large protests at the entrances to Coca-Cola bottling plants, BC's coalition is starting smaller, right in its own community. Joe Previtera, member of the Global Justice Project and A&S '05, believes that although the most public of Coke's controversial behavior occurs on other continents, the BC campus is intimately influenced. "It affects us as much as anyone cares about anyone else's well-being," he said. "Our fellow brothers and sisters are being exploited due to Coke's neglect."
