[iason

_ When 460 Coca-Cola workers in Guatemala
City occupied the plant to block attempted
ncsure by the owners,it was an action that
Mspired solidarity in trade unionists in this
Country and around the world. The Canadian

Labor Congress sent a delegation to Guate-
Mala which met with the workers. On May

_. 12, Marta Torres, representing the National

Union Committee of Guatemala,

r Council and called for support,
mphasizing that a victory for those occupy-
Ng the plant would “make workers stronger
thr Oughout the world.” Two weeks later, that
“ctory came. This story, by Daily World
"porter William Allen, appeared in that
Paper June 28.

A worldwide boycott campaign against
ca Cola in support of Guatemalan

_ Workers has succeeded. The boycott was

°rganized by the International Union of
00d and Allied Workers Association
(UF) and its. affiliate in Guatemala,
| STEGAC. See
Up until six weeks ago, Coca Cola would
Concede nothing to the embattled workers
ats Guatemala bottling plant. But on May
7 n Costa Rica, Coca Cola and STEGAC
‘gned a historic agreement granting the
Workers’ demands.

Ee Ive years ago the workers in the bottling
_ Plant organized a union. For five years they
4d to strugele to have that union exist and

Operate,

During the course of. that fight . the
Workers: were subjected to extreme terror-
'sm and harassment. In one brutal incident,

© corpse of union leader Anulfo Gomez
: ie found by his friend. His lips had been
_ Sahed with razor blades, his tongue cut out
_ 4nd put in his shirt pocket, and his toes and

_ © murder of Manuel Lopez, the general
_ Scretary of the union. Lopez had been

a aes three times of his impending death

Management. ;
t February, John Trotter, a U.S. law-

__ Yerfrom Houston who had gotten the fran-

_ chise from Coca Cola, announced that the

Plant was bankrupt and that it was closing.

“te dismissed the entire work force.

«, ‘48 the Financial Times in London noted,

ae very thought of Coca Cola in
Uatemala going bust is absurd.” Coca

ha Made $558 million dollars in the U.S.
1983 on $6.8 billion revenues.

e € IUF and others charged that the
Jective of the company was to destroy the

ion in Guatemala.

N response to the threat to close the

bottling plant, the workers decided to sit in.

= Plant condemning Coca Cola and

| Plaining their position. Above the plant

BS two flags — the Guatemalan national
stn and the light blue emblem of the
**EGAC union.

ee

Solidarity fore

Sppeared before the Vancouver and District

'ngers broken. Gomez’s killing followed -

“workers hung four large banners across ~

pact

+

Inside, 200 workers stood on guard at all
times. Some 460 workers, the entire labor
force, were involved. Their main purpose
was to protect the machinery and keep alive
the possibility they would win and the plant
would re-open.

The plant became an unarmed fortress, .

under state of siege by the government in an
undeclared war. Tanks lumbered by, army

trucks filled with soldiers rolled up in front

of the plant, and volleys of shots rang out
continually, aimed at the plant and those
inside.

The entire 10-member leadership of the

union remained inside the plant night and

day because of the unspoken knowledge
that they could be assassinated by the Gua-
temalan death sqauds at any time.

Cars of the death squads were seen often
circling the plant. The homes of the workers
received many calls warning that family
members were marked for death by these
assassins...

The workers sitting in subsisted mostly
on black beans and tortillas. Other foods

’ were supplied by workers from other

plants — workers from a nearby sugar
mill, chemical and textile mills, the laundry
workers unions, and bank employees. The
struggle of the Coca Cola workers had
become a symbol in the country and a rally-
ing point for the resistance to union
oppression.

To support this courageous struggle, the
world labor movement called for a boycott.
In Sweden, union committees pulled Coke
machines out of cafeterias, and in many
European countries brewers refused to
make the soft drink. Drivers refused to
deliver it, and waiters and waitresses refused
to serve it.
~ Coke ads in various countries were
covered with stickers and posters calling for
the boycott.

When Coke’s rival, Pepsi, began to gain

es Coke

GUATEMALA. . .death threats failed to deter victorious Coca-Cola workers. —

an inroad into the European market, wor-
ried Coke execs asked for a meeting. In the
agreement signed last May, Coca Cola
agreed to the following:

© Continued operation of the plant
either by franchise or Coca Cola.

© Continued recognition of the union.

-@ Reinstatement of the collective bar-
‘gaining agreement either with a franchise or
with Coca Cola.

® Until the plant reopens, the workers
who have been occupying the plant will
continue to maintain the plant and will
receive full wages, retroactive to the first day
of occupation. a

-@ All present employment relationships
and job security will be protected under the
new ownership.

-@ A trust fund will be created for the
payment of benefits to the widows and fam-
ilies of STEGAC members killed by the
“death squads” before the 1980 settlement.

The IUF hailed the success of the boycott. .

as a great victory for international solidar-

ity. Some of the principal activists in the .

successful boycott campaign were unions in
Australia, Sweden, Britain, the U.S., Can-
ada and the Federal Republic of Germany:

The IUF points out, however, that the
labor movement of Guatemala, its officers
and its active members are still in great
physical danger. Since November, 1983,
there have been at least 13 kidnappings, one

assassination and one attempted assassina-

tion of trade union leaders and advisors.
The need for solidarity remains.

When labor holds its massive demonstra-
tion before the Democratic Party National
Convention on July 15 in San Francisco,
many unions plan to carry banners
demanding that the U.S. State Department
and Congress deny aid or any loans from
banks or lending agencies to the Guatemala
government until organized labor and its
members are free from terror attacks.

| Continued from page. 1

| jSaders, including that of British Prime

Mister Margaret Thatcher. “Her atom-

bomb supply side economics created at 16-
T cent unemployment rate overnight.
© Socreds did the same, and now our

| | “Qemployment rate is the same,” he
| Roted vie

Skelly’s tough anti-monetarist talk was

q 8companied by praise for Solidarity:

’

M glad there has been Solidarity in the
Streets, | J hope it’s going to be around for
4 long, long time.”

B The newly-elected provincial leader of

‘C.’s social democrats went on to call for
4 change of government — both provin-
“ally and federally.

_ A stronger electoral speech came from
4ncouver alderman Libby Davies, who,

‘Vote labor’s alliance,’ rally urged —

in her capacity as deputy mayor this
month, read out Mayor Michael Har-
court’s declaration of July 7 as “Justice
Day.” |

“Whereas it is important that Van-
couver citizens become active in the pro-
motion of jobs, rights and services for a
just society, I hereby declare July 7, 1984
as Justice Day in the city of Vancouver,”
Davies said to cheers.

The alderman from the Committee of
Progressive Electors also called for sup-
port of the labor-backed civic alliance —
including COPE, Harcourt and running-
mates — expected to be endorsed once
again by the Vancouver and District
Labor Council this year.

Davies noted the alliance had, by hold-
ing the line on budget trimming and keep-
ing basic city services and all civic workers

on the payroll, had “embarrassed” Social
‘Credit and its civic counterparts.

“The Socreds would dearly love to
sweep us from city hall,” she warned the
labor and community group representa-
tives. “But we can give them a loud and
clear message this November.”

B.C. Human Rights Coalition leader
Harbans Dhillon equated the struggle
against the Socreds’ budgetary attack with
the civil rights struggle in the southern
U.S. during the 50s and 60s.

“The politicians would incite . voters’
racial fears. Bill Bennett incites peoples’
economic fears in attacking the victims of
his restraint program,” she said.

“We believe that the forces of change, of
which we are a part, will change this
government who rules by threat. Through
Solidarity, we will change the future,” she
declared. —

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PACIFIC TRIBUNE, JULY 11, 1984 e 7