
The Cost of a Coke
Coca-Cola's bottling operations in Colombia sit at the center of this film, which lays out allegations that plant managers worked with paramilitary groups to intimidate and, in some cases, kill workers organizing unions inside the plants. Directed as an update to Matt Beard's earlier film of the same name, this second edition from Justice Productions follows labor organizers and campus activists pushing universities to cut ties with Coca-Cola unless the company changes its practices in Colombia, using the threat of lost campus contracts as leverage. The film pairs testimony from workers and union representatives with footage from the campaign meetings where students and administrators debate whether to drop Coca-Cola vending and sponsorship deals. It also touches on environmental complaints tied to bottling operations, treating them as part of the same pattern of corner-cutting rather than a separate issue. The through-line is a single question: what happens when a global brand's supply chain runs through a country where union membership can get you killed, and whether consumer pressure from campuses can actually force a change.