from THE BADGER HERALD March 2, 1995

Student activists protest Pepsi, vow to fight corporate greed

A student activist dumps a Pepsi at Library Mall Wednesday to protest Pepsi's support of the Burmese government.

Herald photo by Marc Kermisch

By Kathy Paige

Herald Staff Writer

Student Labor Action Coalition and the Free Burma Coalition held a joint demonstration on Library Mall Wednesday at noon to dramatize their campaigns against Pepsi and Coke.

The student groups formed a circle and chanted "peoples needs not corporate greed" while they dumped Coke and Pepsi onto the Library Mall.

Leaving Library Mall, the students marched up State Street to Pizza Hut and Taco Bell where they dumped more Pepsi in front of the restaurants.

Nadine Garrick, a representative of The Student Labor Action Coalition, said the rally was an effort to raise awareness around campus of corporate greed.

Garrick said the protest was targeted at addressing Pepsi's continued business relations with the A.E. Staley Company which locked out 763 workers in Decatur, Ill., on June 27, 1993.

Chris Yu, representative of the Free Burma Coalition, said the Free Burma Coalition had become involved in the event to protest Pepsi's continued support of the Burmese government.

"The situation in Burma is very bad," Yu said. "Students have been killed and peoples human rights are being compromised by the ruling [State Law and Order Restoration Council]."

According to Chris Yu the group plans to target the UW Food Service asking them to stop using Pepsi products.

Noah Greenberg, co-representative for SLAC said he hoped the rally would help to bring awareness of 'corporate greed" to campus.

"It is important that students be informed about human rights." Greenberg said.

According to Garrick, the two student groups came together to organize the "Fight the Greed Week" and realized that they were targeting the same international Corporation, Pepsi.

Yu said Free Burma Coalition had become involved in an effort to convince Pepsi to terminate all operations in Burma until the political prisoners are released and power is transferred to a democratically elected government.

Garrick said the goal was to increase pressure on Pepsi to force the company to stop its business with both A.E. Staley and Burma.

"Public awareness will help to get people to stop buying Pepsi." Garrick said.

Spokesman for Pepsi David Egner said Pepsi couldn't be held responsible for problems surrounding the labor dispute in Decatur.

"We feel the labor dispute at Staley is not directly related to us." Egner said. "We support a fair resolution of the labor disputes."

Pepsi has communicated with Staley expressing its interest and hope for equitable resolution to the situation, Egner said.

According to Egner, Pepsi is not in business with the Burmese government but is working in competition with the government.

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