The Coca-Cola Case: "a legal thriller about the soft-drinks titan..." NYT

A Film About Coca-Cola and Its Brutal Labor Abuses

The Coca-Cola Company has been embroiled in worldwide controversy as never before over its labor and human rights abuses. This has led to many labor unions, colleges and universities and other groups removing Coke machines and banning Coca-Cola products from their facilities and functions.

Shedding light on this controversy is "The Coca-Cola Case," a film described by The New York Times as "a legal thriller about the soft-drinks titan..." and by the Boston Herald as "the explosive new film..." The documentary was co-produced by the National Film Board of Canada and Argus Films.

"The Coca-Cola Case" uncovers years of brutal abuses against union leaders at Coca-Cola operations in Colombia and Guatemala. While paramilitary death squads work with plant managers, Coca-Cola's Atlanta headquarters turns a blind eye to the brutality and constantly lies in efforts to cover up its responsibility for these crimes.

In addition, The Coca-Cola System represents the worst case scenario of union busting by turning employees into non-employees through outsourcing and promoting free-trade agreements in both North America and Latin America.

In a captivating scene eerily reminiscent of the McCarthy hearings, Congressman Dan Burton (R-IN), a staunch anti-labor politician with a 13 percent AFL-CIO approval rating on union issues, tries to discredit United Steelworkers Attorney Dan Kovalik before a Congressional hearing as he testifies about the horrific murders of union leaders.

Canada's CanWest News Service wrote: "Killer Coke? Controversial film 'The Coca-Cola Case' draws fire from soft-drink giant."

Prior to the 2010 premiere of the film in Montreal, Canada, The Coca-Cola Company's attorneys threatened legal action against the National Film Board of Canada; grassroots film collective, Cinema Politica, and sponsors of the International Human Rights Film Festival in Paris, France, if they showed "The Coca-Cola Case." Fortunately, no one caved in to the Company's bullying and intimidation tactics to censor the film.

In December 2010, the Canadian Labour International Film Festival announced that this year's Best in Festival Award went to "The Coca-Cola Case," produced by German Gutierrez and Carmen Garcia. The award was given because it captured the highest rating from festival audiences across Canada.

In Uruguay, the film won awards for best production and for best photography and in Spain, it won the TV3 International Award given to films that raise a voice against the violation of human rights.

To view the film's trailer and to order the film, go to www.TheCoca-ColaCase.org. To learn more about Coca-Cola's human rights and environmental abuses and the movement to hold Coca-Cola accountable, visit www.KillerCoke.org.