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The Rev. Louis Coleman, embroiled in a dispute over hiring and retention of blacks at Pepsi's Winchester and Lexington plants, asked consumers yesterday not to buy Pepsi products. "Sometimes the only talk that corporate America understands is financial," the Louisville civil rights activist said at a news conference before a handful of supporters outside the company's Winchester plant. Michael MacDonald, vice president and general manager of the franchise that runs both plants, said, "I'm disappointed that he feels that that's necessary. We feel our statistics speak for themselves." Coleman wants Pepsi to increase what he calls "impact" hiring of blacks, adopt a zero-tolerance policy toward racial slurs and fully celebrate Martin Luther King Day. MacDonald told Coleman in a letter Wednesday that 4.8 percent of employees in Winchester and 12 percent in Lexington are African-American. Blacks make up about 8 percent of Lexington's work force. Pepsi's customers require service seven days a week, so many employees work on holidays, he said. They can schedule a personal day off if they wish. The franchise also has several African-Americans in prominent positions, MacDonald said in an interview yesterday. [more]