Word: coke
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Don’t doubt for a second whether Coke has the resources to provide such coverage. Coke makes a remarkable 41 percent profit margin in Africa, more than double the 20 percent profit margin it reaps in North America. Of the $261 million Coke made in Africa in 2001 alone, $4 to 5 million (the estimated costs of full coverage for the entire workforce assuming negotiated prices of generic drugs) could easily be allocated for the treatment program, especially considering the $70 million Coke paid for Christina Aguilera’s endorsement...
Even worse is Coke’s scheme to keep the few workers it does cover from taking part in the treatment plan. Coke requires workers to make a 10 percent co-payment. Previous estimates put the cheapest annual treatment for one HIV positive patient at a cost of $2,500. For a Coke employee, many of whom make well under $3,000 a year, the cost is an impossible burden. Even the 10 percent co-payment is simply too expensive for Coke’s bottling employees to afford and will preclude treatment from actually reaching its workers. Coke...
What can Harvard do? Summers has significant leverage against Coke. Harvard owns more than 300,000 shares of Coca-Cola stock worth $15 million dollars and has an exclusivity agreement for beverage service on campus. Between these two relationships, Harvard can hit Coke where few activists can: in the pocketbook. Furthermore, Deval Patrick of the Board of Overseers is also an executive vice president and general counsel of Coca-Cola. As students we must use our voice within the university to pressure it to use its clout in the Coke corporation to enact change...
...Coke being held to a higher standard than the dozens of other corporations that do business in Africa? The truth is it is not. For all its rhetoric of being a caring company, Coke is offering far less treatment than other multinational corporations, when as the largest private employer in Africa it should be setting the bar. DeBeers now provides health coverage for life to its workers. Anglo (another mining company) has agreed to provide AIDS medication without cost to its workers for their period of employment...
Hopefully, Coke will recognize the minimal costs and long-term benefits of providing full coverage of treatment to its entire workforce and their families. If not, don’t let Santa Claus, digital polar bears or whoever Coke pulls out of the hat for this holiday season fool you into thinking Coke is a corporation with integrity and one worth supporting with your money. Instead, it may be time to experience the joy of Pepsi...