The Glasgow Film Theatre announced that it will no longer serve Coca-Cola following protests from BDS-supporting employees, the Scottish newspaper The Herald reported.
The move was announced after the Unite Hospitality Union penned a letter last week vowing that its members would not work with any product targeted by the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, including the popular soft-drink company.
As many as 85% of the theater's staff are part of the union and refused to sell Coca-Cola to customers.
The theater caved to the employees demands and removed all Coca-Cola products from shelves for the Glasgow Film Festival.
“Following discussions between Unite the Union and the Glasgow Film Theatre, we have come to an agreement to remove Coca-Cola products from the cinema bar, for the duration of the Glasgow Film Festival," the emplyees said in a statement.
“After the festival, the remaining Coca-Cola stock will be used up – as this has already been purchased – before permanently switching to an ethically-sourced alternative. This ensures that no more money will be spent on Coca-Cola," they added.
A theater spokesperson stated, "On Monday 24th February Unite the Union staff alerted us they would refuse to sell Coca-Cola and Diet Coke from 28th February. At this stage our Board of Trustees had started but not completed a review of the Unite staff requests. The goal of the review is to ensure that any decisions made do not infringe our legal and charitable obligations and that all staff can have their voice heard."
"We decided to halt the sales before completion of our formal review as we identified the risk of potential confrontations that could impact the welfare and wellbeing of all staff and customers during the charity’s busiest time of year. Therefore, GFT has agreed the temporary removal of Coca-Cola and Diet Coke until the end of Glasgow Film Festival.
"We have also committed to, as soon as is practical after the conclusion of the festival, carrying out an ethical review of the products we use whilst the remaining stocks of Coca-Cola are used up. The purpose of this review is to further our goal of sourcing fair trade, locally-sourced or environmentally-friendly products wherever possible and practical.
"The wider question of GFT adopting the BDS movement is still under review by GFT’s Board of Trustees, in line with our legal and charitable obligations," the spokesperson said,
The BDS movement has long targeted any company that does business in or with Israel, including Coca-Cola, which has a factory in the Atarot industrial zone and sells its products in the Jewish State.
In late 2024, BDS announced that a boycott of Coca-Cola was now a "priority," ostensibly because coke cans have been seen in videos of Israeli soldiers during the war initiated by the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023.