Colombian union to appeal court's dismissal of lawsuit against Coca-Cola

<p>A Colombian labor union is appealing a U.S. judge's dismissal of a lawsuit against Coca-Cola Co. and local bottlers for allegedly conspiring with local paramilitary groups to murder, torture and threaten trade unionists at its plants.</p><p>Javier Correa, president of the Sinaltrainal food and beverage workers' union, said Thursday the union notified the federal court of its intention to appeal on Oct. 27.</p><p>"We are sure we'll win because the facts of the case speak for themselves and nobody has yet been brought to justice," Correa told The Associated Press.</p><p>In September, U.S. District Judge Jose Martinez, in Miami, threw out the union's lawsuit against four local bottlers, saying he lacked jurisdiction. The soft-drink giant was itself dropped from the lawsuit in 2003, also for lack of jurisdiction.</p><p>Although dismissing the suit on procedural grounds, the judge noted that courts must guard against use of the judicial system for "unwarranted international fishing expeditions against corporate entities...to pursue political agendas."</p><p>"Demonstrating indirect liability for human rights abuses on the part of corporate entities is an inherently difficult task," Martinez wrote in his 54-page ruling.</p><p>Correa said the union will ask the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta to bring the world's largest beverage company back into the case alongside the bottlers, among them the local unit of Mexico-based Coca-Cola Femsa SA.</p><p>"We are confident that the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals will support the district court's analysis and conclusions and uphold the dismissal of the case," said Kerry Kerr, a Coke spokeswoman.</p><p>Sinaltrainal said Coca-Cola and its bottlers were complicit in the death of nine workers in Colombia between 1990 and 2002 _ a charge the company has repeatedly denied _ and is seeking compensation for family members and widows.</p><p>A student-led campaign generated by the case against "Killer Coke" led the University of Michigan, New York University and at least 10 other U.S. universities to ban the on-campus sale of coke products.</p><p>Sinaltrainal filed another suit in Miami last week against another multinational, Nestle SA, alleging the Swiss food giant was complicit in the 2005 death of a worker who allegedly exposed the local Nestle unit's use of expired milk in certain products.</p><p>Colombia is considered one of the most dangerous countries in the world for trade unionists, a byproduct of class tensions that have fueled a half-century of violent conflict. Of the almost 800 union killings the government has registered since 2000 only a handful have ever been solved.</p><p>Sinaltrainal also started legal proceedings against Coca-Cola in Colombian courts, but so far most of the cases have been shelved and nobody has been sentenced for the killings, Correa said.</p><p>___</p><p>Associated Press writer Greg Bluestein from Atlanta contributed to this report.</p>