Green party resolution on Coke and Pepsi.

WHEREAS a fact-finding delegation of labor, educator, and student representatives led by New York City Council member Hiram Monserrate concluded, based on a 10-day trip to Colombia, that �there have been a total of 179 major human rights violations of Coca-Cola�s workers, including nine murders,� more troubling were the �persistent allegations that paramilitary violence against workers was done with the knowledge of and likely under the direction of company managers,� and that Coca-Cola Company�s �inaction and its ongoing refusal to take any responsibility for the human rights crisis faced by its workforce in Colombia demonstrates, at best, disregard for the lives of its workers,� and its �complicity is deepened by its repeated pattern of bringing criminal charges against union activists who have spoken out about the company�s collusion with paramilitaries,� and

WHEREAS there has been a growing outcry by Indians against Coca-Cola Company�s business practices in India due to its overusing and polluting of the common groundwater, giving toxic sludge to farmers as fertilizer, and selling contaminated soda to the citizenry, leaving Indians at risk of dehydration, starvation, and poisoning, and

WHEREAS there is equal evidence that Pepsi Cola company commits the same business practices of overusing and polluting of the common groundwater, giving toxic sludge to farmers as fertilizer, and selling contaminated soda to the citizenry, leaving Indians at risk of dehydration, starvation, and poisoning, and

WHEREAS the Coca-Cola Company has repeatedly refused to contribute to any independent investigation of the aforementioned allegations, and

WHEREAS the United Steel Workers Association and the International Labor Rights Fund has filed suit against Coca-Cola Company on behalf of SINALTRAINAL, furthermore numerous union organizations in Colombia, India, and throughout the world are urging all socially conscience consumers to boycott Coca-Cola products, and

WHEREAS the University of Michigan, Rutgers University, New York University, in addition to nearly 20 other universities have banned the sale of Coca-Cola products on their campuses while copious other universities are looking into the issue, and

WHEREAS given that the Green Party is committed to the Ten Key Principles, any support or affiliation with the Coca-Cola Company would serve to validate Coca-Cola Company�s record of human rights violations, anti-competitive practices, and environmental irresponsibility, and

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Green Party will no longer serve or sell Coca-Cola or Pepsi products at its offices or at its meetings;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Green Party recommends to all its affiliates that they not serve or sell Coca-Cola or Pepsi products at their offices or at their meetings;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Green Party recommends that no Coca-Cola or Pepsi products be served or sold at venues for Green Party meetings, conferences and conventions.

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the Green Party recommends that no Green Party member or anyone else committed to the Ten Key Values purchase or consume Coca-Cola or Pepsi products.