Dear Editor:

I would like to address the issues raised by Natalie Fine, in her editorial, “The Evil Behind Coca-Cola”, (November 10, 2010). Her concerns are important to us and we are committed to an open dialogue with all of our stakeholders including the college/university community about our company and our business practices in the more than 200 countries in which our products are sold.

It is important to note that we are local company on a global scale. Local bottlers make and distribute the beverages that you enjoy here in Middletown, Conn, just as the local bottler in Guatemala, Colombia, Turkey, Mexico, etc., makes beverages for the refreshment of local citizens. We do not import or export our beverages. Our local bottler orientation allows us to make a positive impact in each community we serve while still representing a global brand.

The Company takes concerns related to workplace practices very seriously. We have been involved in ongoing, constructive engagement with the bottler in Guatemala (INCASA), the International Union Federation (IUF) and other international and local labor unions. There is no truth to the allegations that the Coca-Cola bottler in Guatemala was involved in violence directed at Jose Palacios, Jose Vicente Chavez or their families. The Coca-Cola Company had no knowledge of, or involvement in, these alleged actions. Many of these allegations are stale, and some of them go back as far as 2005.

We value the relationship we have with our employees. The success of our business depends on every employee in our global enterprise. We are committed to fostering open and inclusive workplaces that are based on recognized workplace human rights, where all employees are valued and inspired to be the best they can be. Our Work Place Rights Policy and our Supplier Guiding Principles reflect the values of our Company and the standards by which we hold ourselves, our bottlers, employees and suppliers accountable. You may review these policies here: http://www.thecocacolacompany.com/citizenship/work_place_rights_policy.html.

The allegations that Coca-Cola bottlers in Colombia have been complicit in violence against union members have been proven to be false time and time again by courts in Colombia and the United States. Two different judicial inquiries in Colombia—one in a Colombian court and one by the Colombian attorney general—found no evidence to support the allegations that bottler management conspired to intimidate or threaten trade unionists. These same allegations were the thrust of a lawsuit filed in 2001 against The Coca-Cola Company in a U.S. District Court in Miami. The Company was dismissed as a defendant in 2003. On Sept. 29, 2006, the court issued a decision to dismiss the two Coca-Cola bottlers in Colombia from all remaining cases as well.  This decision was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in August 2009.

In 2006, The International Labor Organization (ILO), a United Nations governing body for workplace rights, accepted requests made independently by Coca-Cola and the International Union Federation of food and beverage workers to conduct an investigation and evaluation of Coca-Cola bottling operations in Colombia. The ILO completed its independent evaluation in 2009 and issued a report that may be reviewed at: www.ilo.org. The report found that Coca-Cola bottlers are upholding labor standards that have been ratified in Colombia, including respecting collective bargaining agreements and providing a safe working environment.

Some individuals and organizations choose to target well-known companies like Coca-Cola because our operations are highly visible, and because our brand name increases the likelihood of attention for their issue and their organization. Even so, we are committed to engaging in dialogues as we look for ways to continuously improve our practices, address the challenges facing us, and build trust with our partners and other stakeholders.

Sincerely,

Steven K. Perrelli

General Manager

Coca-Cola Bottling Company of

Southeastern New England, Inc.

Perelli is the the general manager of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Southeastern New England, Inc.