We are a group of Macalester students who have been involved in the initiation of a boycott of Coca-Cola products on the Macalester campus. We were in no way involved in the recent acts of property damage to the Coke vending machines and we feel that the results of these acts have been completey negative. The resulting atmosphere is that people feel the views of others have been forced upon them, extra work has been created for those who had to clean and repair the machines, and dialogue concerning the actions of the Coca-Cola Company has shifted away from a dynamic conversation about workers’ rights and consumerism. We hope to reinitiate that dialogue.

Our involvement with the Coca-Cola boycott began when Luis Cardona, a former SINALTRAINAL union worker with Coca-Cola who barely escaped death in Colombia, spoke at Macalester about his own experiences. Cardona, on behalf of his fellow union members, asked for our support of the boycott. We felt the responsibility to use our privilege as private, liberal arts college students to act in solidarity with SINALTRAINAL. We then met with the administration to inquire about our contract with Coca-Cola. We learned that Macalester holds an exclusive contract with Coca-Cola. This energized our support as we feel there is no reason for Macalester to promote the profit of one of the largest corporations in the world. While many individuals were moved to stop drinking Coca-Cola products, we resolved that a campus-wide boycott could not take place without the support of the student body.

The vision of this boycott is to stimulate a discussion on campus of local, national, and global issues. Perhaps this goal did not come across in our advertising. Nevertheless, in our well publicized meetings and in our personal interactions with others, we believe that our desire to learn and work together on this issue has been clear. Understanding that we did not know everything, we hoped to engage the student body to explore these issues as a community in order to find a course of action united.

Many of us feel strongly that there is ample reason to support this boycott. The boycott is about holding a tremendously powerful, multinational corporation accountable for its actions. Although Colombia is notorious for its egregious practices toward union workers, we do not feel this exonerates Coca-Cola from action. It is the belief of the workers calling for this boycott that Coca-Cola’s response to workers’ pleas has not been appropriate thus far. Some have argued, and U.S. courts have ruled, that Coke is not legally responsible for the actions of its franchise in Colombia. We believe that Coca-Cola should be held responsible whenever they put their name on a product. A boycott can potentially force Coke to reconsider its responsibilities in order to maintain the progressive image that sells its products. Furthermore, given their mass visibility, Coca-Cola is now in a unique position to make a statement and take action with international resonance.

We are also aware of the arguments against this boycott. Some unions and labor organizations do not support the anti-Coke efforts, but many others do, such as the United Steelworkers Union (USWA), International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF), International Brotherhood of Teamsters, United Auto Workers Local 22 in Detroit and the AFL-CIO (www.laborrights.org). Each union has its own political and economic reasons for their decisions. Students have also raised the question of “why Coke?”, and our answer is because it is the only beverage option here on our campus.

Macalester must be an institution accountable to workers locally and globally. We are still struggling to come up with the best solutions, but the active boycott on campus and around the globe continues. We welcome you all to a campus wide forum that will take place early next semester where we can continue the dialogue surrounding these issues. Please come with your ideas and questions. Check your SPO for more info regarding the forum.