[Peace] Colombian Labor Leader at IDF Tonight

[Meridith Kruse]

Hi all, just wanted to send a personal invite! This should be a good
event...Meridith


Tuesday March 11th Colombian Labor Leader Luis Adolfo Cardona will give a
presentation entitled, “Wanted: Coca-Cola for Colombian Killings” at the
Illinois Disciples Foundation from 7-9pm.

Luis Adolfo Cardona used to be an employee of the Carepa Coca-Cola bottling
plant in the department of Antioquia, Colombia in 1996.  He earned about
$200 a month as a forklift operator at the factory.  Mr. Cardona was also an
organizer with the National Food Workers’ Union, SINALTRAINAL and he was one
of the union’s chief negotiators during a collective bargaining session at
the Carepa plant in 1996.

On December 5th 1996, Mr. Cardona witnessed the murder of Isidro Segundo
Gil, Secretary General of SINALTRAINAL, when paramilitary gunmen, who had
ties to the plant manager, entered the plant and shot Mr. Gil ten times.
The gunman also attempted to kidnap Mr. Cardona, but he was able to slip
away from his captors and find protection at a local police station.  That
night the paramilitaries torched the union's headquarters.  Several days
later they marched into the plant and forced all the employees at gun point
to renounce the union.  Plant managers then passed out forms for each worker
to sign that stated they would resign from membership in SINALTRAINAL.
Mr. Cardona was forced to move to Bogotá for his protection, but soon his
life was under threat there as well. Mr. Cardona is now living in
Washington, D.C. under a program run by the AFL-CIO's Solidarity Center in
D.C. to help protect threatened Colombian trade unionist by bringing them to
the U.S. for training and internships with unions such as the Teamsters, the
Steelworkers and the Service Employees.

Here in the United States, the United Steelworkers of America in partnership
the International Labor Rights Fund have sued the Coca-Cola Corporation in
U.S. District court, for failing to protect the lives and safety of workers
at its contracted plants in Colombia.  The International Brotherhood of
Teamsters have under taken a grass roots campaign to encourage Coca-Cola's
customers to express their concerns over the company's behavior in Colombia.
The University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana has an exclusive contract
with the Coca-Cola Corporation and postcards will be available on March 11th
for students, faculty and community members who wish to express their
concern directly to the University regarding this matter.

This event is co-sponsored by the 85% Coalition, African-American Cultural
Program, Activist Forum, School for Designing a Society, Channing-Murray
Foundation, Progressive Resource/Action Cooperative, El Centro Por Los
Trabjadores, VVAW (C-U Chapter), UIUC SOA Watch, Inter-Faith Committee for
Worker Justice, AFL-CIO of Champaign County, Students for World Improvement,
AWARE, Amnesty International (Student Chapter), Mexican Students
Association, and the U-C Friends Meeting.

This event will be free and open to the public, translation will be
provided, and childcare is available upon request.  The IDF is located at
the corner of Springfield and Wright in Champaign.  Visit our website at
www.prairenet.org/idf or call 217-352-8721 for more information.