Coca-Cola workers strike!

Over 2000 Teamsters working for Coca-Cola went out on strike in Connecticut and Southern California, Monday, the 23rd, 2005 after contract negotiations failed. In southern California alone 1700 production and truck drivers throughout San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Orange County, and Riverside are out.

“Coke doesn’t want to make a reasonable contract return offer, and health and welfare is part of it, and they’re trying to shift cost onto there employees.” Frank Sevila, a Teamster manager in the city of Orange, said. “We want a fair contract that provides decent wage increases as well as adequate health coverage.”

Coca-Cola is aiming to raise medical plan premiums, wants to take away many of the workers seniority options, add Sunday as part of the regular scheduled work week, reduce overtime earnings, and end work options when faced with layoffs. One worker said, “Coca-Cola’s negotiator tried to propose that all retirement benefits would be cancelled retroactively…. This while the companies CEOs work two years retire with health care for life and millions of dollars and they’re saying the company doesn’t have enough money, bullshit.”

“My wife has a $700 a month maintenance drug bill, she has lupus, she’s had it for 23 years and that’s why im out there on the line, we need health insurance.” Mike who’s a side loader for coca-cola said.

These coke employees make between $15 - $20 an hour, which are certified and highly skilled. Coke who is hiring scabs and replacements is showing where the companies’ priorities are at by hiring non-certified drivers, at $9-$13 an hour. While reporting at the Orange distribution center I witnessed scabs breaking federal regulations again and again. Drivers who weren’t pre-checking the trucks before taking them onto public roads (a pre-check is where the whole of the truck is checked for cracks or any other safety problem). I was shown pictures of drivers running over curbs and barricades while making deliveries and another of a driver who didn’t pre-check and the whole back fell off as he pulled out. These are workers who are endangering the public and have no right to be doing the jobs given to them.

Contract negotiations resume Tuesday May 31st, and a Rally and press conference have been called for Wednesday, June 1st, at noon at the bottling plant in downtown Los Angeles that’s located off of Pico and Central at 12.

The teamsters are asking that people do not buy any Coke product while the strike is on, these include; Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Vanilla Coke, Canada Dry, Fanta, Dasani Water, Dr. Pepper, Fresca, minute maid, Sprite, and Squirt. If you wish to help you can go to a local distribution center in your area and help with the strike line, or go pick up some leaflet’s and pass them around local markets and to friends urging them to boycott coke.