Atlanta, June 15: It doesn't pay to take the Pepsi challenge if you happen to work for Coca-Cola. Rick Bronson, a union activist and driver at a Coca-Cola bottling plant in Southern California, apparently learned that lesson the hard way this week when he was fired for allegedly drinking a Pepsi-Cola. He had worked for the world’s biggest soft drink firm for 12 years, but was fired after someone reported him for supporting the enemy, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters said.
Management at the Coca-Cola Bottling Co. in Sylmar, California, told Bronson on June 12 he was being dismissed for violating a policy prohibiting slander of Coke products, according to the Teamsters.
The union, however, claims Bronson was actually fired for his work organizing Coke merchandisers in Southern California.

“Rick Bronson was actively involved in those organizing campaigns and Coke management knew it,” said Jim Santangelo, a spokesman for Teamsters Local 848, which represents Bronson. “That’s why he was fired.”
The Teamsters have filed unfair labor practice charges against the California bottler, which is owned by Atlanta-based bottling giant Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. The union alleges that Coke fired Bronson under a company rule that bars “slander” of the world famous product after he was seen drinking the rival soft drink, Santangelo said.
“Hey, Rick’s a Pepsi drinker, what can he do?” he said. But it’s not as if he was seen drinking a Pepsi in Times Square on live TV — he was in the backroom of a store. Bob Phillips, a Coke Bottling Co. spokesman, declined to comment on the specifics of Bronson’s case. Bureau Report