On Saturday, July 20, there will be an Interfaith Prayer Service and Rally. The 11:15am prayer service will be held at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, 802 N. Jackson St., Milwaukee.

Participating in the service are religious leaders from the Native American, Christian and Islamic communities.

The prayer service will be followed by a rally to be held in Cathedral Square at 12 noon Bill Breihan, Union Representative for the United Steelworker Union, will speak on the issue:

For many years trade unionists at Coca-Cola Bottling plants in Colombia have endured horrendous human rights violations, including kidnapping, torture and assassination. The United Steelworker Union and the International Labor Rights Fund have filed suit against Coca-Cola in an attempt to stem this violence.

As the New York Times noted, this lawsuit "arises in the midst of a fierce killing spree of union workers across Colombia, most of them slain by gunmen who belong to the main paramilitary group." The right-wing paramilitaries are closely linked to the Colombian military, which receives massive aid from the United States.

This is NOT a call for a Coke boycott but during the rally you will have an opportunity to write the company president.

Local sponsors: Milwaukee Faith Community for Worker Justice, Wisconsin Fair Trade Campaign, Peace Action Wisconsin, Milwaukee Coalition for a Just Peace, Milwaukee County Labor Council, Youth Against Sweatshops Campaign, Pledge of Resistance, and Casa Maria Catholic Worker House.