Women organize! – National Consumers League

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By Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director

On Monday I had the honor of attending a wonderful White House event to commemorate the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. DOL Secretary Hilda Solis and White House Advisor Valerie Jarrett hosted the event, bringing to Washington more than 20 working women from all different backgrounds to talk about their struggles and triumphs on the job. Coincidentally, this is the week the Supreme Court is hearing the case of the women who have formed the class action suit against Wal-Mart for wage discrimination.

 

Sally Greenberg with U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis

After the attendees watched the HBO documentary prepared about the Triangle Fire, Solis and Jarrett next introduced four women, Deanna Vizi, a child care provider from Ohio, Allison, Julien, a nanny in New York,  Ernestine Bassett, a cashier at Wal-Mart in Laurel, MD and Liliana Bequer, a bilingual call center specialist with T-Mobile. Each of these women told their story – and each was more powerful than the last. They all have been leaders among their co-workers. Deanna formed a union for child care providers, Allison helped get a law passed in New York setting basic wage protections and a 40 hour week for domestic workers, Liliana wants T-Mobile to be more worker friendly, and she wants a union there as well, and Ernestine is pushing Wal-Mart to be pay more so its workforce can get off food stamps and housing assistance because the pay is so low.

 

The one thing that all these women had in common was how much they liked their work, respected their employers, and want to make a positive difference for their co-workers. They were later joined by roughly 15 additional women from all varieties of work, including a security officer and a firefighter.

After several weeks of events surrounding the 100th Anniversary of the Triangle Fire, this was a wholly new and creative approach to looking at the lives of women who work. It was fascinating and enlightening. Hats off to the White House and DOL for sharing this opportunity to hear from women who work for better pay, better benefits, safer conditions ,and a more enlightened workplace in states across the country.

Sally Greenberg testfies at NHTSA hearing on backover protection – National Consumers League

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March 23, 2011

Testimony Before National Highway Traffic Safety Adminstration on Backover Prevention

Hello, my name is Sally Greenberg and I am Executive Director of the National Consumers League. The League is celebrating its 112th year of advocacy for a more fair and just marketplace for both consumers and workers.

I debated whether it was important for me to be here today. There are many people who can speak far more passionately and from personal experience on the terrible hazard of backing a vehicle up and not being able to see behind you. Mothers and fathers, aunts and uncles, grandparents or brothers and sisters who know all too well what can happen when you cannot see what is behind you.

But then I read this incredible Proposed Rulemaking – and reflected on just how far we have come in 8 years, I felt the need to come and talk about it.

I first met Janette Fennell at a press conference she planned in a Safeway Parking Lot in Bethesda. At the time I was serving as Senior Product Safety Counsel for Consumers Union.  I wasn’t sure what I was going to see or even why I was attending this press conference, but something in the notice told me to go. When i got there, what I saw was a scary demonstration of blind zones  behind vehicles – I also heard a heartbreaking story told by a t a grandfather whose grandson had been backed over and killed. That was the first time I had heard about this safety hazard. AS I drove back to my office in Washington but couldn’t get the grandfather’s story out of my head – or stop thinking “there must be a way to make that car safer” I called Janette up the next week and asked if she’d meet with me and CU next time she was in town.

I’ll never forget going with Janette to see Kevin in Representative Peter King’s office – taking with us a video of Dr. Gary Gulbransen talking about his backover incident, which included pictures of his precious little boy Cameron who had been killed.  Kevin said right away, “we’ll drop a bill.” For which I am ever grateful.

But that’s when things got hard. What a difference 8 years makes  – I credit every since person in this room for their diligence,a hard work compassion, relentless advocacy, financial investment in coming to Washington, political savvy, and above all, refusal to take no for an answer.

So what did the world look like for correcting what should be a pretty simple fix – blind zones  in cars – right? Here’s what we heard as we walked around to congressional offices or talked with representatives from the auto industry or met with NHTSA officials?

  • We can’t fix this  it’s the parents fault – if they were more careful their kids would be safe
  • It’s the kids fault – they should be trained not to run behind cars
  • Its too expensive to fix the blind zone problem –  cameras will cost hundreds of dollars and these  prices will be passed along to consumers and consumers don’t want to pay for things they won’t use – in fact, David Pittle from CU and I met with most of the American and foreign car makers and none of them took up the challenge to be the first to adopt a camera or other rear visibility technology
  • Cameras don’t work; consumers won’t use them and won’t pay attention to them
  • Beepers signaling a person or object behind the car will just go off for no reason, therefore consumers will ignore them and they won’t do the job
  • One former head of NHTSA – he will go unmentioned –  told me personally that he didn’t think NHTSA should have to work on this but since it was kids, he’d been told they would probably have to
  • There are no numbers or data to demonstrate this is really happening  and we don’t believe – or can’t use – Kids and Cars Data because its not official
  • Anyway, we can’t keep statistics about events that happen in people’s driveways or parking lots
  • These are freak accidents; they don’t happen frequently enough to merit government action and they certainly don’t merit forcing a redesign of every vehicle on the road at a cost of billions of dollars.
  • We don’t need the government forcing these rules on us – this country’s becoming a Nanny State!

I’m sure I’ve left something out but that gives you the flavor. But guess what – I didn’t read any of that in the rulemaking procedure we’re discussing this morning. Instead, what I read made my heart soar – the tone has changed 180 percent. Like this comment:

  • Because many backovers occur off public roadways, in areas such as driveways and parking lots, NHTSA’s ordinary methodologies for collecting data as to the specific numbers and circumstances of backover incidents have not always given the agency a complete picture of the scope and circumstances of these types of  incidents. WOW!
  • With regard to injuries and fatalities related specifically to backovers, these account for an estimated 63 percent (292) of the fatalities and 38 percent (18,000) of the injuries in backing crashes for all vehicles (cars, light trucks or vans, heavy trucks, and other/multiple vehicles).

Finally, some government statistics on the backover hazard.

  • Similar to previous findings, backover fatalities disproportionately affect children under 5 years old and adults 70 or older.  When restricted to backover fatalities involving passenger vehicles, children under 5 account for 44 percent of the fatalities, and adults 70 and older account for 33 percent.  Finally – an acknowledgement that kids are disproportionately affected and that it isn’t the fault of a parent or caregiver
  • Costs for these rearview video systems are estimated at approximately $58-88 for vehicles equipped with a navigation system or other type of multi-function visual display, to $158-$189 for vehicles requiring a dashboard-mounted display screen, or $173-$203 for vehicles ith an RV display integrated into the interior rearview mirror. Finally costs that aren’t wildly exaggerated! 
  • And finally, the agency believes its proposal may save the lives of about 100 people killed annually when cars mistakenly back over them — especially small children. About 100 of the nearly 300 fatalities in back-up crashes each year involve children age 5 or younger and “there are strong reasons … to prevent these deaths,” NHTSA once again acknowledging the value this rule will bring. And again here: “ While this rulemaking would have great cost, it would also have substantial benefits, reducing annual fatalities in backover crashes by 95 to 112 fatalities, and annual injuries by 7,072 to 8,374 injuries.”
  • “Based on its extensive testing, the agency tentatively concluded that a camera-based system is the only effective type of technology currently available”.  – cameras do work and people in NHTSA’s testing do use them effectively
  • “While these benefits cannot be monetized, they could be significant.  A breakeven analysis suggests that if the nonquantified benefits amount $65 to $79 per vehicle, the benefits would justify the costs.  Taking all of the foregoing points alongside the quantifiable figures and the safety issue at hand, the agency tentatively concludes that the benefits do justify the costs. More specifically, we emphasize the following data and considerations: Drivers will also benefit from increased rear visibility in a variety of ways, including increased ease and convenience with respect to parking.”
  • “Given the very young age of most of the children fatally-injured in backover crashes, attempting to provide them with training or with an audible warning would not enable them to protect themselves. An acknowledgment that we cannot expect young children to be trained to avoid backover hazards. “

Here we are today with a new set of rules before us. The new standard will require that rearview camera systems to be installed on all passenger vehicles by 2014.

So a new day has dawned. I look around this room and I get emotional – every single person – especially the families here today – many of them working people without financial resources – who traveled to Washington, lobbied Congress, and who spent precious here played their own unique part in getting this legislation passed and helping to shape NHTSA’s rulemaking to make universal rearward visibility  a reality. Hallelujah and I’m honored to have been part of this movement.

KidsAndCars.org was the force behind legislation requiring our government to set a rear visibility standard so we no longer have to back up blindly.

The importance of standing up to Goliath – National Consumers League

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By NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg

Last evening, I had the honor of attending a reception for the plaintiffs who are in town to hear the Supreme Court argument on Wal-Mart vs. Dukes. This is a case involving “Goliath” as the women who were visiting DC last night described it “and we are the Davids.” The plaintiffs in the Walmart case are arguing that the female employees of this mega-store were, and continue to be, denied advancement and training opportunities, paid less than men for the same or comparable work, steered to lower wage departments, subjected to a sexually hostile work environment and retaliated against when they attempt to address sex discrimination. The Supreme Court will be deciding whether this case can move forward.

Wage gaps and barriers to upward mobility in the company are the crux of this lawsuit. In fact, as often happens when a company comes under the public spotlight, the lawsuit has already brought important changes to Wal-Mart’s women employees. Some have been hired in senior staff positions and there’ve been wide-scale pay structure adjustments.

Sally Greenberg and Wal-Mart case plaintiff Betty Dukes, at last night's Alliance for Justice event

You’ll find a picture of me with the named plaintiff, Betty Dukes, who has been engaged in this lawsuit since at least 2001. The Wal-Mart case gives the issue of “wage disparity” a woman’s face and in so doing, helps other women, particularly low-wage women earners, to see that positive results can come from their struggle to achieve equal rights in the workplace. This case is a critical bellwether for women in workplaces all over the nation. We wish the plaintiffs well today and will hope for the best possible outcome for these brave women.

Hearing examines bill to help teen sex trafficking victims – National Consumers League

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By Reid Maki, Coordinator of the Child Labor Coalition

It started with an innocuous trip to the mall. A woman in her late 20s approached Natasha, a pretty 19-year-old-teenager, and suggested that she consider a job as a make-up artist. The job involved good money and travel. Natasha was interested. She wasn’t sure she was ready for college, so she figured she’d check out the opportunity. Natasha went to high-rise office building in San Francisco to see the company first hand. There were young people everywhere learning how to apply make-up. Everything looked legitimate. Everyone she met was nice. She went home and convinced her parents, who despite deep reservations, to let her take the job.

On her first day, she was having lunch with her new bosses and she began to feel that something was wrong. The feeling grew. She excused herself to go to the bathroom and made a beeline for her car. When she got to it, one of the bosses grabbed her and kidnapped her.

The next year of Natasha’s life was a living hell. The make-up job was a ruse for a prostitution ring. On one of her first days, her pimp drove her to the school that her little brother attended and told her if she wasn’t compliant—if she ever tried to leave—they would kill the boy. The young girl felt completely trapped.

Natasha—now known as Natasha Herzig—told her compelling story before a packed briefing room in the U.S. House of Representatives on March 16. The briefing’s purpose was to bring attention to the problem of sex trafficking in the U.S. and to garner support for a bill, the Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act (see summary), reintroduced by Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas).

The bill, S. 596, would aid victims of sex trafficking and prosecute sex traffickers who exploit underage girls and force them into prostitution. The legislation calls for setting up a six-state pilot program to help law enforcement agencies go after pimps and traffickers. It would also create shelters, provide treatment, counseling and legal assistance for the victims. The legislation passed the Senate and House of Representatives but in a nip-and-tuck-race was not enacted before the congressional session ended. Senator and Senator Cornyn said they are determined to see it pass in the current session. The companion bill will soon be introduced in the House of Representatives.

According to estimates by the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an estimated 100,000 minors—girls and boys—are trafficked in the U.S. each year for sexual purposes. Not all victims are lured away from happy homes like Natasha, who was an honor roll student in an upper-middle class home. Many are runaways who flee dysfunctional homes, thinking the streets will be more tolerable. Some of these children are fleeing sexual predators in their own families.

Academy Award-winning actress and advocate Mira Sorvino urged Americans and law enforcement officials to see this issue in its true light. “All teen prostitution is trafficking,” she said. Yet, she explained, in many localities, “police are still arresting the victims.”

Sorvino noted that when an adult has sex with a minor they may be sentenced to years in jail, but if money is involved, the buyers of sex typically do no jail time. They might face a small fine or be ordered to take a sensitivity workshop. The consequences need to be much tougher, argued Sorvino.

Often the police and male clients tend to think of prostitution as a victimless crime, but many of the trafficked girls are minors who did not enter prostitution willingly or were manipulated into it. The reality is that the young prostitutes have often been broken down psychologically by rapes, beatings, and threats and are not consensual sex partners, suggested Sorvino. The traffickers, she explained, “know exactly what to say” to manipulate the young girls, many of whom are as young as 12 and 13, into the business. She said they are adept at figuring out what the young girls’ hopes and dreams are and appealing to those aspirations.

The young girls are also broken down psychologically—essentially brainwashed. “There comes a point where you become what you know and you are loyal to your trafficker,” noted Natasha. “The brainwashing is a very tricky thing.”

Sorvino also said that the country’s broken foster care system is contributing to the trafficking problem. Too many children are being beaten and sexually abused and feel compelled to hit the streets. Each year, about 1.7 million runaways or “throwaways” leave their homes for the uncertainty of life on the streets. Both Senator Wyden and Sorvino noted the importance of changing the way the public views this issue.

Ernie Allen, the co-founder of the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, noted that the sexualization of children in America at “younger and younger ages” is a large part of the problem. “We have created compliant victims who think this is how they are supposed to act,” he noted. “We have got to attack demand,” said Allen, who explained that the fundamental problem is that too many adults want to have sex with kids. “It’s time to address real societal change.”

Sorvino praised the “Real Men Don’t Buy Girls” Campaign recently launched by fellow actors Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore. The campaign hopes to reduce the demand for sexual services from minors.

Sorvino also noted that the Internet is making it much too easy for prostitution to flourish and “has to be addressed.”

Ernie Allen agreed that the Internet is a big part of the problem. He noted the successful effort to get the Internet site Craig’s List to stop selling sex ads, but other sites are still doing business, he said.

The amount of money that can be made from sex trafficking is enormous. Senator Wyden noted that criminals who used to traffick drugs and engage in other criminal activities are moving over to sex trafficking because it’s easier. Allen explained that much of the trafficking of teen prostitutes is “organized crime” with traffickers moving teens from city to city to meet demand.

Natasha escaped from her trafficker 10 years ago. A friend and fellow underage prostitute was being beaten so severely that Natasha feared the friend would die. She ended up calling a friend for help. Eventually the authorities became involved and Natasha was free. However, the psychological trauma she suffered continued to haunt her for years. “I had a very long and dark journey to get to where I am today.”

Natasha is now happily married with a child. She works as a victims’ rights advocate and law enforcement trainer. The lack of resources 10 years ago made it very difficult for girls like her to escape their sexual slavery, and she wants to help young girls and women avoid what she went through. She urged the briefing audience attendees to “please, please fight for this [bill].”

Doug Justus, a 29-year-veteran of the Portland, Oregon police force and the former head of Portland’s Police Bureau’s vice unit, noted that when he first started working on criminal cases involving the trafficking of teens, prosecutors would not take his cases. They saw prostitution as a victimless crime that the public did not care about. Justus participated in trafficking sensitivity training through the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which trained nearly 300,000 law enforcement officials, and it completely changed his outlook.

In the past, he had driven by teenage prostitutes without really understanding their plight. Now, he knew the young girls should be viewed as victims. He was then able to convince other law enforcement officers and district attorneys to go through similar training. Portland began prosecuting traffickers. Still, he noted, trafficking cases are enormously difficult to prosecute. He told the story of one 13-year-old girl, Emily, who was nearly beaten to death by her pimp. Justus eventually convinced Emily to testify. After her testimony, she vanished and Justus said that informants have said Emily was murdered by her trafficker. The job is the hardest he ever had as a policeman, said Justus. “It kills you—you can’t sleep at night,” he explained.

The lack of “safe houses” is a particular problem, said Justus, who noted that when Emily was first rescued after being beaten there was no where for her to go. She was eventually released and then beaten by another pimp. “It didn’t have to happen if we had a safe house,” noted Justus. “If we had a safe house, Emily would be alive today.”

Tina Frundt, a former teen trafficking victim, told hearing attendees that she escaped from her trafficker after he beat her and broke her arm. The police arrested her and put her in jail for a year.

Frundt had been adopted into a loving family at age 12, but a pedophile stalked her and helped her run away from her parents after an argument. By the time she was 13, she was working as a stripper and working as a prostitute at truck stops—although working is certainly not the right word because she wasn’t getting paid and she was routinely being victimized by adults.

There were few if any resources to help Frundt escape. Eventually, she decided that she had to help other young girls avoid being trafficked. Today, she operates Courtney’s House, a Washington, DC area shelter for victims, that has helped over 500 young people escape their traffickers and pimps. She also operates a hotline (888-261-3665), and she and her staff hit the streets between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. to talk to runaways and prostitutes and let them know that there is an alternative.

Frundt noted that while most victims are women and are often trafficked at ages 11 and 12, boys are trafficked too. Most male victims, she said, are first trafficked at ages six to nine years old.

Members of the public interested in helping to pass S. 596 should call or write their Senators and urge them to sponsor the bill. Readers may also sign an online petition to support the legislation at Change.org.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-New York) and Rep. Chris Smith (R-New Jersey) introduced a companion bill in the House of Representatives during the last congressional session and are expected to re-introduce in this session as well. According to the Polaris Project, 45 states—including Ohio this year—have criminalized sex and labor trafficking. The Massachusetts legislature is working on a trafficking bill. The Georgia State House of Representatives recently passed a sex trafficking bill. Minnesota is also considering a “Safe Harbor” bill that assists the victims of sexual trafficking. And the Hawaiian legislature is deliberating a bill as well.

If you know a child who is missing or in danger of exploitation, please call the 24-hour hotline for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).

100 years later: business owners still putting profits over people – National Consumers League

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Today marks the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, which killed 146 garment workers, in a disaster that ignited national outrage and lead to drastic improvements in labor safety legislation and fire safety codes. But in the face of collapsing coal mines, oil rig blowouts, radiation exposure, and recent union busting efforts, the uncomfortable parallels between the current state of worker safety, and the dangerous, unregulated working conditions of the early 20th century, continues to trouble worker advocates and has been the focus of numerous media stories (some of which are included below). A century later, the fire is as relevant as ever and continues to serve as a cautionary tale of what happens when management focuses more on the bottom line than on worker health and safety.

Triangle Fire: New Leaders Emerge

New York Times

Triangle fire memorial draws parallels with today

peoplesworld

Upper Big Branch miner describes scene at blast

peoplesworld

Children in the Fields Campaign Joins NCL and Advocates to Reflect on the Push to Roll Back Workers Rights

Forums Digital Media Net

100 Years After Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, Workers Face Dangers Born of Greed

AlterNet

Honoring Francis Perkins

As March is Women’s History Month, now is the perfect time to honor early labor crusader and former NCL Executive Secretary, Frances Perkins. At the time of the fire, Perkins was having tea a few blocks away and reached the factory in time to witness garment workers jumping to their deaths with her own eyes. Perkins was instrumental in reforming working conditions, especially for women and children, as executive secretary to the Committee on Safety of New York. Perkins’ work after the fire marked the beginning of a lifetime dedicated to advocating for workers. In 1933, President Roosevelt appointed Perkins as his Secretary of Labor, making her the first woman in the United States to hold a Cabinet position—a position she held for 12 years. Frances Perkins continues to inspire a new generation of labor advocates and lead by example, at this critical time when worker advocacy is needed more than ever.

Tips for job-hunting – National Consumers League

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By Jacob Markey, LifeSmarts intern Summer 2010

The recession has been tough for many of us. Millions of Americans have lost jobs and benefits and find paying for some basic goods and services a lot more difficult now than in the past. The unemployment rate is currently 8.9 percent with the number of unemployed Americans hovering around 13.7 million.  My family is no exception, and has also been affected by job loss. Just as with the optimism of better weather arriving with the start of spring, people need to stay optimistic and hopeful. Since the LifeSmarts topic area this month is Personal Finance, a post containing tips for job-hunting is just in time!

For some people, this is the first time they have searched for a new job in years, if not decades. They may have no clue how to develop a resume or effectively use the Internet to search for jobs. This post contains a few tips and links to places with a ton of great information.

An important place to start when searching for a job is to develop a strong resume. It is the first thing a prospective employer looks at and is a way for you to make a great first impression. A resume by itself is not likely to get you a job, but a poorly-written one can certainly decrease your chances of getting even an interview. Sending in an unprofessional resume with even simple spelling mistakes is enough to get it tossed into the trash. For a great tutorial with tips for writing a resume, check out this link.

Another important step to take when searching for a new job is utilizing all available resources. Use the Internet to your advantage: while you can go to online to job posting and company web sites, you should also look for sites that cater to a specific field for other opportunities. Check out this link for a list of some good job search sites to experiment with. Of course, you can also look at traditional sources, like classified ads and through connections you gained from previous positions. You can even ask family and friends if they know of any available positions.

A final tip is to demonstrate skills that employers look for in workers. While it may be important that you had X position at Y company, it may be even more essential to have a skill set that a prospective employer looks for. If you have expertise in a certain area or working with different computer and Web programs, put it on your resume and make sure prospective employers know about it when you interview.

Teens should take many of the same steps in their search for summer work. Ask around and use resources like family, friends, and your school’s guidance counselor. You will also need to demonstrate professional traits to employers, such as being flexible in where you will work and what you are willing to do. It is in your best interest to be willing to work in many areas if that is the difference between getting a job or not.

Using these tips will not automatically guarantee you will secure a job or an interview. However, they can help give you an advantage over other applicants. With effort, you increase your chances of finding an opportunity that matches your skills and interests.

Car shopping? – National Consumers League

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In the market for a new car? Be on the lookout for unscrupulous sellers looking to take you for a ride! In response to an increase in consumer complaints to the National Consumers League’s Fraud Center, and with the arrival of the upcoming peak car-buying season, consumer advocates are warning that car shoppers this spring should consider themselves at an increased risk of falling victim to a scam.“Scam artists prey on consumers in search of a bargain, and these scams are no exception,” said John Breyault, Director of NCL’s Fraud Center. “Unfortunately, the only person that’s getting a steal are the con artists themselves.”

Since the beginning January 2011, NCL’s Fraud Center has received more than 100 complaints from consumers nationwide about these scams, with a total reported loss of nearly $293,674.

The used car scams reported to NCL generally involve a classified listing on any of a number of popular sales and auction sites such as craigslist, Yahoo! Autos, or eBay. The listings are generally for late-model automobiles, often luxury brands, at well below market value. In the schemes, when the victim contacts the scammer, they are told that the seller is not local and that payment for the car itself or for shipment of the car should be sent via wire transfer to the seller. Often, the seller claims to be a member of the armed services who is either already deployed or preparing to deploy. As such, quick payment is necessary to ensure that the buyer receives the “great deal” on the car.

NCL recommends consumers avoid used car sales with the following red flags:

  • The seller asks for payment via wire transfer or bank-to-bank transfer.
  • The car is listed at a price far below common market values (such as Kelley Blue Book value).
  • The seller asks for payment urgently since they are or will soon be relocating overseas.
  • The seller says that they are located overseas, but they have an American middleman or online escrow service that will hold the money until the vehicle is delivered.
  • The seller refuses to meet in person or communicate on the phone.
  • The seller’s email or instant messages contain multiple grammar and spelling errors.
  • The seller claims that the transaction is insured by a “protection program” associated with a real site (such as eBay, Google Checkout, PayPal, etc.) or another online payment system.

Victims of these or any other frauds are encouraged to file a complaint at www.fraud.org.

Fraud alert: car-buying scams on the rise – National Consumers League

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March 22, 2011

Contact: NCL Communications, (202) 835-3323, media@nclnet.org

Washington, DC – Consumers in the market for a used car this spring should be on guard against unscrupulous sellers looking to take them for a ride, warns the nation’s oldest consumer group. In response to an increase in consumer complaints to the National Consumers League’s Fraud Center, the nonprofit group is warning consumers that, with the arrival of the upcoming peak car-buying season  comes increased risk of falling victim to a scam.

“Scam artists prey on consumers in search of a bargain, and these scams are no exception,” said John Breyault, Director of the Fraud Center. “Unfortunately, the only person that’s getting a steal are the con artists themselves.”

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, operates a Fraud Center that has been tracking scams and providing consumer education about fraud since 1992. Since the beginning January 2011, NCL’s Fraud Center has received more than 100 complaints from consumers nationwide about these scams, with a total reported loss of nearly $293,674.

The used car scams reported to NCL generally involve a classified listing on any of a number of popular sales and auction sites such as craigslist, Yahoo! Autos, or eBay. The listings are generally for late-model automobiles, often luxury brands, at well below market value. In the schemes, when the victim contacts the scammer, they are told that the seller is not local and that payment for the car itself or for shipment of the car should be sent via wire transfer to the seller. Often, the seller claims to be a member of the armed services who is either already deployed or preparing to deploy. As such, quick payment is necessary to ensure that the buyer received the “great deal” on the car.

“Scam artists are imaginative, and they have tricks aplenty to get a victim to trust them,” said Breyault. “However, consumers can protect themselves by recognizing the most common red flags involved in these scams and never, ever  rush to buy.”

NCL recommends consumers avoid used car sales with the following red flags:

  • the seller asks for payment via wire transfer or bank-to-bank transfer.
  • The car is listed at a price far below common market values (such as Kelley Blue Book value).
  • The seller asks for payment urgently since they are or will soon be relocating overseas.
  • The seller says that they are located overseas, but they have an American middleman or online escrow service that will hold the money until the vehicle is delivered.
  • The seller refuses to meet in person or communicate on the phone.
  • The seller’s email or instant messages contain multiple grammar and spelling errors.
  • The seller claims that the transaction is insured by a “protection program” associated with a real site (such as eBay, Google Checkout, PayPal, etc.) or another online payment system.

Victims of these or any other fraud are encouraged to file a complaint at www.fraud.org.

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About the National Consumers League

Founded in 1899, the National Consumers League is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Its mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. NCL is a private, nonprofit membership organization. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org

Triangle Factory Fire legacy commemorated in Washington, DC – National Consumers League

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By Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director

Monday the National Consumers League paid tribute to the victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire that took place 100 years ago. This Friday, March 25th, is the 100th anniversary of the infamous New York City fire that took the lives of 146 immigrant men and women, some of them as young as 14 and 15 years old.

The fire changed the course of labor history and opened the nation’s eyes to the terrible and abusive working conditions of millions of their fellow citizens. The shocking way the victims died helped to bring about a sweeping series of workplace reforms and fire safety codes that caught on across the country. NCL has a special relationship to the fire because Frances Perkins, who went on to become the first female Secretary of Labor under Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was working for NCL in New York City at the time of the fire and witnessed with her own eyes the sight of young women leaping out the building’s upper-story windows. Perkins took her experience to the New York State legislature to bring these reforms to fruition, this fire affirmed her lifetime commitment to bettering conditions for working men and women.

Monday’s symposium – which drew more than 100 attendees – (see the full program) started out with a Senate Resolution, read by a member of New York Senator’s Kirsten Gillibrand’s staff, commemorating the fire and passing unanimously in the Senate. The first panel featured historians and writers who reflected on the working and labor conditions at the time of the fire in New York City. Moderated by the head of the Women’s Bureau at the Department of Labor, panelists included Joe McCartin of Georgetown University, Robyn Muncy of the University of Maryland, and Kirstin Downey, former Washington Post business reporter and author of a wonderful biography of Frances Perkins. Panelists discussed the conditions of immigrants working in factories like Triangle, where, in fact, workers were better off than many sweatshop workers, earning up to $5 a week and getting Sundays off. But the largely young immigrant women had struck the plant the year before the fire and earned better working conditions and higher wages. This was the first major women’s strike in the history of the United States.

The second panel focused on workplace conditions today and was moderated by American Rights at Work’s Kim Freeman Brown. Panelists talked about injuries among hotel workers that render them unable to use one arm or shoulder because of their constant need to lift heavy mattresses. Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs’ Norma Flores described her experience as a farmworker child, spending sometimes 12 hours at a time working under a hot sun, without access to toilet facilities. And Judy Gearhart of the International Labor Rights Fund described working conditions in Bangladesh, where severe fires in factories that have taken many lives.

Before lunch, we watched the film made for this event, TRIANGLE’S ECHOES: The Unfinished Struggle for Worker Protection, Safety and Health and then we heard a sobering address from “Goose” Stewart – a miner who survived the Massey Mine Collapse, which took place less than a year ago and killed 29 of his fellow miners. He brought a tear to many in the packed audience.  And we had a rousing lunchtime speech from Cecil Roberts, President of the United Mine Workers, followed by a “Call to Action” as the program was brought to a close.

Co-sponsoring organizations at the event included a cross-section of labor, consumer, civil rights, progressive student, and environmental groups: AFL-CIO; Alliance for Justice; American Rights at Work; BlueGreen Alliance; Change to Win; Coalition of Labor Union Women; Consumer Action; Communications Workers of America; International Labor Rights Forum; Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor, Georgetown University; National Consumers League; Public Citizen; Roosevelt Institute Campus Network; Service Employees International Union; United Food and Commercial Workers; UNITE HERE!

Advocates left the event energized to continue the fight for workers’ rights, especially in light of current anti-worker efforts in many parts of the country, keeping the memory of the victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire alive, and seeing to it that the men and women who perished in the notorious fire in 1911 didn’t die in vain.

TRIANGLE’S ECHOES: The Unfinished Struggle for Worker Protection, Safety and Health – National Consumers League

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