The "Coke side of life" is not paradise for thousands of workers on their 48th day of strike without pay at Coca-Cola Amalgamated Beverages Industries (ABI) in South Africa. SEIU is lending its support to the striking Food and Allied Workers' Union (Fawu) members.

"We stand together with our brothers and sisters of the Fawu in South Africa who, for five weeks, have been on strike protesting Coca-Cola ABI's ongoing practice of eroding workers' conditions and benefits through labor-broking and the use of short-term contracts," said Stern and Burger in a statement yesterday.

Coca-Cola is the most popular and biggest-selling soft drink in history, as well as the best-known product in the world. Does it also hope to one day develop the biggest, most well-known reputation for mistreating its workers? Stern and Burger, along with SEIU, are calling on Coca-Cola ABI to pay the 9.5% wage increase demanded by its workers and stop their efforts to undermine the workers' conditions. "Workers in Fawu have already called for a consumer boycott of Coca-Cola products by Cosatu," they said." If Coca-Cola ABI continues to refuse to treat their workers fairly and to deny a decent wage, we will seek support for this campaign from our members and other unions in the US and Canada."

A delegation of SEIU leaders, led by President Andy Stern and actor Danny Glover, met with South African President Jacob Zuma last week to discuss the situation facing workers and unions in the country. SEIU International, as well as many SEIU locals in CA, NY and other states stopped stocking Coca-Cola beverages in their offices or union halls several years ago, after possible human rights abuses leveled at union workers in Coke-owned or controlled bottling plants in Colombia and numerous other countries came to light.

"Gotta Have it" -- NOT if Coca-Cola refuses to treat its workers fairly originally appeared on SEIU.org on Monday, Feb 8, 2010.