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Home--News University of Michigan Deliberating on Coca-Cola's Response The efforts of a group of students to bring the Coca-Cola Company’s alleged human rights abuses to light have garnered the attention of the international media. The Wall Street Journal and The Economist have both published stories about the worldwide movement against the soft drink giant; The Journal specifically discussed the role of student activists at the University. Even The Hindustan Times has been following the response of the University administration. But despite making headlines around the world, the deadline for Coca-Cola to comply with University demands passed last Friday without a decision from administrators as to whether it would sever ties with the company. In response to pressure from students, the University told Coca-Cola last semester that it had to agree to a third-party audit of its practices. This demand came after an investigation into the labor practices of the company. But even though the deadline for Coca-Cola to agree to a third-party audit of its labor practices passed last Friday, the University has still not decided whether Coke has met the deadline and doesn’t plan on releasing its decision until the end of the week at the earliest. A letter from Coke that arrived Friday does not explicitly state that the company agrees to a third-party audit. “We’re discussing right now whether the actions (that Coca-Cola has taken) to date and the letter fully support cooperating with the investigation,” said Peggy Norgren, the University’s associate vice president for finance. Norgren, along with University Chief Financial Officer Timothy Slottow, will determine if Coke is compliant Coke’s letter says it has committed several working teams it established during the summer to assess the feasibility of conducting a third-party assessment of labor conditions in Colombia and India. “As we understand it, one (team) is reviewing issues such as security, scope and assessors for a potential Colombia evaluation, another is reviewing potential approaches to evaluating environmental performance in India and a third is addressing funding issues,” Edward Potter, director of Global Labor Relations for Coca-Cola, wrote in the letter addressed to Slottow. Members of the Coke Campaign Coalition, the group of students pushing the University to take action against Coca-Cola, said there was a possible loophole that may lead the University to continue relations with the company, despite its refusal to conduct a third-party audit. In a letter to Frank Stafford, chair of the University’s Dispute Review Board, Slottow said he would take into account the progress to date and sense of good faith action taken by Coca-Cola prior to our acting prematurely to sever the contract on a (specific date) as recommended in the report.” RC senior Clara Hardie, a member of the campaign, said the sentence undermines the rest of the letter, in which Slottow writes, “We all understand that there will be times when it is best to sever the (University-vendor) relationship and move on.” Ashley Graham, a student member of the DRB, wrote an e-mail to Norgren and Slottow about her disappointment with Coca-Cola’s response. “The recommendation was clear: Coke was to explicitly agree to a third party investigation by September 30th. … The September 30th deadline was set; that deadline was missed — now something must be done,” Graham wrote. “All we’re asking the University to do is adhere to its own standards,” LSA junior Ben Grimshaw said. Members of the coalition say they have not been happy with the approach the University has taken in enforcing the Vendor Code of Conduct. “This is the first time the University is evaluating a complaint about the Code of Conduct after an investigation from the (Dispute Review Board). This decision process will set the standard for all future complaints brought through the DRB, and right now it seems like the University is setting it up to fail,” LSA sophomore Nafisah Ula said. “We’ve brought this (complaint) to the attention of the University. They have found credible evidence to support these allegations. For them not to act with more vigilance makes it seem like they don’t care,” Grimshaw said. FAIR USE NOTICE. This document contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. India Resource Center is making this article available in our efforts to advance the understanding of corporate accountability, human rights, labor rights, social and environmental justice issues. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. |
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