Thanks a lot Ms Speed but sure that's capitalism

by Wee Will - SIPTU member Fri Apr 29, 2005 01:31

SIPTU campaigned energetically against the Coke boycott, relying heavily on the Coke members' wishes.

Will we see an energetic campaign for the jobs, not redundancy lump sums, now that Coke and not those horrible students and TUI members want to close it? Even if the Coke workers want it to stay open?

Will we fuck!

PS. Oh! we might see a few marches and interviews, but a sit-in would not do.

And who will be on the marches with the Coke workers? The big bad lefty, studenty trots and anarchists. The only other SIPTU banner will be probably the Education Branch one.

Suck up to Coke - and Coke axes the jobs anyway. Learn it the hard way.

by UCD Student Thu Apr 28, 2005 20:32

Lets face a few facts.
*In UCD there are only 5 small shops that are run by the SU. The Student bar didn't have Coke anyway!

*Trinity only runs 1 shop (I think, open to correction).

* The real people to blame for the job losses are the Coca Cola bosses, not students!

*The people supporting the Colombian workers have a common enemy with the Coca Cola workers, ie the owners of the company that treat people like shite.

*There is a need for a fighting trade union in Coca Cola. The union reps (such as Ann Speed- btw a SF member- and her friends) are yellow black-legs. I discussed the issue of Colombian workers with some of them last year in UCD and they are rotten scabby f**kers. Any Coke workers reading this- get rid of those union reps and get new ones. We support you fully in your fight against job losses.

by Paul - adrift in Asia Thu Apr 28, 2005 18:43

The idea that a company of the magnitude of Coca Cola would shut down operations in Ireland because of what was a pretty low-level protest is bizarre, but its currency does indicate just how easily people are bullied by the ideologues of capital. To close down a factory is a major decision for a company and will not have been made unless the figures had been closely scrutinised by their in-house economists and accountants. Shutting down is an action that permanently enshrines a loss, because the initial investment is dead money, and relocation is a costly business, IDA tax breaks notwithstanding. Sadly, as with most things, it's not a matter of Coke being offended by a protest, it's a matter of money....

by Kola Kube Thu Apr 28, 2005 10:57

"The campaign against Coca Cola was supported by numerous trade unions such as SIPTU"

On that John, you could not be more wrong.

by Front page writer on indymedia.org Thu Apr 28, 2005 02:31

The people of Plachimada, in Kerala Southern India, rallied together on Friday April 22nd, for the third aniversary of the Plachimada Coca Cola plant, and an accompanying 3 year, 24hrs a day 7days a week, protest vigil outside it's gates, to publicly show it's opposition to the corporation's existing and planned environmental degredation in the area.

This has been the most recent of ongoing opposition to Coca-Cola's inethical conduct in India, where they have been alleged to have caused severe water shortages, water and land pollution, the distribution of toxic waste as fertilizer, and for the sale drinks containing high levels of pesticides | 1 | 2.

Coca-Cola is further negligent as it has not reported any of the damages it has made, continuing operations. Tens of thousands of community members, have been participating in and International Campaign to Hold Coca-Cola Accountable for it's conduct, with plants in Mehdiganj, Uttar Pradesh, Sivaganga, Tamil Nadu Kaladera, Rajastan, facing increasing resistance to their operations as community members demand they are shut-down.

contd on indymedia.org

by indie-soc Wed Apr 27, 2005 23:10

Taxpayers should also insist the Government stop paying the salaries of elected public representatives that are merely figureheads for extreme left-wing activity!

Hear! Hear!

by barry Wed Apr 27, 2005 23:08

and ate McDonalds .... up untill the night of " shock and awe " After that, US imperilism, and Brit imperialism, stuck in my throat . Stick yer coca-cola, yer McCheese and your hell fire missiles up yer jaxie USA .
100,000s of human beings are being obliteratated in the name of US sponsored democracy . The first form this democracy takes is generally a McDonalds outlet . Were there a suicide operation for every McDonalds . Sickens me .

by rodney sparkles Wed Apr 27, 2005 21:56

darnit, just when the 'leftists' attempt to highlight the operations of capitalism in the murder of trade unionists and anyone who looks at them them the wrong way, the Coke corpo react by shutting the plants down and forcing job loss. We'd better just keep our mouths shut, in case we do anything that might upset a company. We should shut up, forget about Palestine, they don't matter; South America, well successive generations of murder by US and British backed regimes may have happened, but that's just the way the world works. Keep quiet, else they'll get you too.

hmmm... sounds crazy, but Coke's losses were minimal, if anything and there is no substance to linking the job losses to the student bans (Coke is still sold on UCD campus in vending machines and private shops). Any connection inferred is likely just silliness or malarkey of some other nature.
Remember boys, shut up, don't protest, cos they're too strong, we should just accept it and continue to reinforce the brutality of capitalism in our daily activities.

by indie-soc Wed Apr 27, 2005 21:42

And also the Irish Left, and Joe Higgins in particular, are to blame for GAMA workers facing the sack. Their wonderful bosses were simply forced into the move by er... um... stuff.

by John Wed Apr 27, 2005 20:50

Its not just a bunch of smelly students. The campaign against Coca Cola was supported by numerous trade unions such as SIPTU, by Joe Higgins, Tony Gregory, Sinn Fein, and sections of the Labour Party. All these clowns should now be asked whether or not they welcome the decision of Coca Cola to close their bottling plants in Kildare and Greenore. If they say they don't (welcome it), they are HYPOCRITES. Fortunately, the far more important raw materials Coca Cola plant in Louth is still intact. However, the workers there should take heed. They should demand that their unions disassociate themselves from this campaign. Taxpayers should also insist the Government stop funding Students Unions that are merely fronts for extreme left-wing activity.

by Paul - adrift in Asia Wed Apr 27, 2005 18:34

Yes, because it was the UCD/TCD ban that swung it in the end. Picture the directors' meeting at Coke Towers....

"Well, I think we could shed some weight in Albania, all agree?," asks the chairman.
"Agree," they respond.
"But wait," says a hitherto silent director. "Some smelly students in Belfield and Trinners won't sell our wares in their cafs."
A sharp intake of breath echoed around the room...
"Well, that's it decided then. We'll shut down Louth!" That will show those lefties...

Presumably this logic also dictates why you can't protest against the US warport at Shannon, because of course every US business in Ireland would close if you did.....

by John Wed Apr 27, 2005 18:09

What do you expect? Leftists in the Republic have been campaigning to drive Coca Cola out of Ireland for the past 2 years. Given the hypocrisy of leftists, we can now expect simultaneous campaigns in the near future to (a) boycott all Coca Cola products and (b) stop the closure of the Coca Cola plants in Kildare and Greenore. Neither is likely to succeed. Perhaps the leftists might consider holding their next demo in support of boycotting Coca Cola products in Antrim. The workers in Kildare and Greenore should now consider legal action against the UCD and TCD Student Unions.