Boycott Urged Over Alleged Racism
A coalition of African American activists from the Los Angeles area called for a national boycott Wednesday of all Seven-Up and RC Cola products in response to what they allege is racism against minority employees at a company bottling plant in Vernon.
The allegations are detailed in a lawsuit filed against the bottling plant by five current and former employees who said white supervisors disparaged them with racial epithets and denied them promotions because of their race.
A spokesman for the bottling company denied the charges but declined to comment on the lawsuit or the boycott. “We feel the charges are unfounded and in the court system we will be vindicated,” said Lou Janicich, a senior vice president at the bottling plant.
The boycott was called for by Celes King III, state chairman of the Congress for Racial Equality; Najee Ali, director of Project Islamic HOPE, and writer-activist Earl Ofari Hutchinson.
At a news conference in front of the bottling plant, Ali crushed an empty Seven-Up can and said: “We are going to crush racism at Seven-Up and throw it away.”
The plant, which has about 150 employees, is one of several bottling and distribution sites for Seven-Up and RC Cola in the region.
The lawsuit, which seeks $2.5 million in compensatory and punitive damages, was filed on behalf of Mariano Machon, who was born in El Salvador, Herman Obeng, who is from Ghana, and Edward Kellman, Kenneth Patterson and Clint Hampton who are African American.
The five men have at least 15 years’ experience at the plant, including service in middle management positions. In sworn depositions, they said they have been insulted and denied promotions that have gone to white employees with less experience.
When they complained, the men said they were harassed and called crybabies.
The suit is scheduled to go to trial in September in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Ali and King said they hope the boycott will force the bottling company to review its hiring and promotional practices.
“We will do whatever is necessary to prevail,” King said.
Although protest organizers suggested that the local NAACP endorsed the boycott, a NAACP spokeswoman said Wednesday that her group is still studying the matter.
