Teamsters Protest Coke at Pomona Race Track

Coke Turns Deaf Ear to Workers' Loss of Jobs and Health Care

POMONA, Calif., Feb. 10 -- Teamster members leafleted the Powerade Drag Racing Series at the Pomona race track today to protest Coca- Cola Enterprises' (CCE) plans to lay off hundreds of union workers when it opens a non-union distribution facility in Oceanside on February 19. Coke is refusing to allow these dedicated workers to follow their jobs from the existing Teamster plants in San Diego and Los Angeles.

"Our members have worked hard to keep Coke and its specialty drinks like Powerade at the top of the sales charts," said Jack Cipriani, director of the Teamsters Brewery and Soft Drink Conference and Teamsters Vice President. "With more than 14,000 Teamsters employed at Coke facilities nationwide, our members are a large part of why Coke and its customers can count on a superior product."

Powerade, a Coke product, is the official sponsor of the National Hot Rod Association's Powerade Drag Racing Series. Today's event is premiering at the Pomona Race, where Teamsters handed out fliers and free earplugs, symbolic of Coke's turning a deaf ear to workers. As many as 20,000 spectators attended the race.

"Coke wants to gut good-paying, middle class, union jobs in Southern California," said Jim Santangelo, President of Joint Council 42 in Covina, California, and Teamsters Vice President. "Coke has forced our members to re- apply for jobs at the Oceanside plant, even when they have been performing the same work previously, sometimes for years. Coke claims its the 'real thing.' But not when it comes to loyalty and fairness."

Teamster workers have been an equal partner in Coca-Cola Enterprises' success, but now Coke appears to be turning away from that relationship. "We have fought to keep good wages and benefits as part of every CCE contract, and we will keep up the good fight in California and wherever else our members' jobs are threatened," Cipriani said.

Founded in 1903, the Teamsters Union represents more than 1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States and Canada.