Federal judge dismisses Turkish labor dispute lawsuit

<p>A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed on behalf of a group of former Turkish transport workers that alleged Coca-Cola Co. of abuse and coercion of union organizers.</p><p>U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero of New York issued his order late Thursday, saying that his court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case.</p><p>The lawsuit was filed in November 2005 by Terry Collingsworth, executive director of the International Labor Rights Fund, a labor activist who previously sued the Atlanta-based company over the death of a worker in Colombia.</p><p>The complaint alleges that management at Coca-Cola Icecek A.S., Coke's Turkish bottler, arranged for the Turkish Cevik Kuvvet, a branch of the Turkish police, to attack, gas and arrest workers and their families at a peaceful demonstration in July, to coerce them to quit organization efforts at Coke facilities.</p><p>Coke claimed that the labor dispute involved an independent third-party distributor that supplies services to its Turkish bottler, rather than the bottler itself.</p><p>"We hope this decision will now enable us to put this case behind us as we continue to focus on working constructively to ensure the rights and safety of Coca-Cola workers in Turkey and worldwide," said Kari Bjorhus, a Coca-Cola spokeswoman. "We are open to discussions with everyone who shares a commitment to finding constructive solutions to workplace issues around the world."</p><p>In July 2005, more than 100 protesters illegally broke into the bottler's offices, but no action was taken against them for 10 hours, Coke said. Several meetings were held between the bottler's management and protesters in an attempt to resolve the situation peacefully, the company said. Turkish police eventually removed the protesters.</p><p>Coke had filed a motion to dismiss the case that argued it belonged in Turkey's judicial system, not in the U.S. Collingsworth's group countered in legal papers by contending that the Turkish legal system was corrupt and that his clients could face retaliation from security officers.</p><p>Collingsworth said Friday the group was considering whether to bring the case in Turkey.</p><p>"We're certainly disappointed," he said. "But with these kinds of cases, they take a while."</p><p>Collingsworth also filed an amended complaint in Miami that alleged Coke and its Colombian bottlers used paramilitary groups to intimidate union organizers there. Coke, which was dismissed from the original complaint in 2003, has denied those allegations and the lawsuit was dismissed in September by a federal judge.</p><p>A Colombian labor union said this week it plans to appeal the dismissal.</p><p>___</p><p>On the Net:</p><p>HASH(0x1cdcc48)</p><p>HASH(0x1cdcccc)</p>

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