Thursday, January 26, 2006
Twelve universities have suspended contracts with The Coca-Cola Company after allegations surfaced about abuse to workers and the environment at the company’s foreign plants.
One of the schools leading the charge is the University of Michigan, which, after being contacted to take action by factory workers in Colombia, suspended its contract with the company.
A group at the university called Coalition to Cut the Contract with Coca-Cola claims the company was behind the deaths of eight union members in Colombia through its partnership with paramilitary forces. The Coalition also claims that in India, Coca-Cola depleted the groundwater supply, causing an increased number of pesticides found in the water and soil. Coca-Cola denied any of this happened.
Lindsey Rogers, University of Michigan sophomore and member of the Coalition to Cut the Contract with Coca-Cola, said, “Coke likes to say that they’re not responsible for the action in their bottling camps, but somehow when paramilitary blockade the roads they find a way to get through.”
The University of Kansas has a contract with Coca-Cola worth $15.7 million over a 10-year span. In the 2004-2005 school year, a total of 28,563 Coke products were sold in vending machines throughout campus.
Theresa Klinkenberg, chief financial officer of the University, said no specific concerns about the subject from students had been brought to her attention. She said she couldn’t speculate about the action the University would take.
Kerry Kerr, Coca-Cola spokeswoman, said the company plans to hire an impartial, independent third-party to access the situation in Colombia. Coca-Cola also wants to meet with the University of Michigan to address the boycott, she said.
“We are committed to work with all those schools so they have the facts and we can continue to have a partnership with them in the future,” Kerr said.
Rogers said Coca-Cola sent the coalition a letter explaining what the company was going to do, but she wasn’t satisfied.
“I don’t think that’s good enough,” Rogers said. “There have been investigations in the past. The real issue is whether or not they are going to fix these problems.”
Nolan T. Jones, Pittsburg junior and communications director for KU Student Senate, said the allegations against Coca-Cola need to be fully investigated before any decision regarding the stance of the University can be made.
“At the end of the day, unless you’re a Pepsi fan, I highly doubt most members of the student body want their Senate to jump up and lead a charge against Coke unless something substantial in terms of humanitarian issues was proven,” Jones said.
— Edited by Jodi Ann Holopirek
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