Labor Day thanks to American workers – National Consumers League

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By Michell K. McIntyre, Director of NCL’s Special Project on Wage Theft

Labor Day, a day often thought of as the last hurrah for summer and last chance for a cook out. This Labor Day, while spending the day at the pool or hanging out barbecuing with friends, please take a moment to think about the struggles of working Americans and hopefully thank one too.

In some cases, these workers are the quiet heroes of our lives: police officers, firefighters, EMTs, nurses, & teachers; and in other cases they’re the people who take care of our loved ones: nurses, home care workers, and domestic workers. They build our cars, bridges, and buildings.

They should be honored, but this year they have been under attack in nearly all parts of the country. No place was it more apparent than in Wisconsin, where Gov. Scott Walker and the Wisconsin State Legislature demonized public workers – teachers, firefighters and police officers – as “thugs”, “failing” and “under-performing” and looked to strip public servants of their hard-earned benefits. On August 5 when a gunman opened fire at a Sikh temple, police officer Lt. Brian Murphy attempted to stop the carnage and when additional help arrived he waved off medical assistance and insisted that they take care of the wounded first. He’s a union member.

Thankfully, the year hasn’t been all bad, and there have been some bright spots: after looking to New York’s Domestic Workers Bill of Rights the California legislature is currently looking to pass a similar bill, the U.S. Department of Labor proposed a new rule to provide Fair Labor Standards Act protections to over 2 million home care workers and Senator Tom Harkin (IA) and Congressman George Miller (CA-7) introduced the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2012 that would raise the federal minimum wage and the federal tipped minimum wage.

As a consumer, you can support the actions of thousands of hardworking Americans by buying American-made and union-made products. Check out the list below and try to serve some union-made treats this Labor Day.

Snacks Hot dogs Beers
Doritos Oscar Meyer Anheuser Busch
Lays Nathan’s Budweiser
Crunch & Munch Hebrew National Busch
Corn Nuts Ball Park Icehouse
Oreos Hormel Labatt’s Blue
Ghirardelli Chocolate Leinenkugel’s
Kraft snack products Sausages & Brats Michelob
Wise snacks Johnsonville Miller
Snyder of Berlin Armour Molson
Planter’s Nuts Eckrich Pabst
Condiments Poultry Soft drinks
Heinz ketchup Butterball Coke products
French’s mustard Healthy Choice  
Gulden’s mustard Hormel Juices
Land O’Lakes butter Tyson Welch’s
Open Pitt BBQ sauces Minute Maid
Pace salsa & picante sauce
Vlasic pickles

Adventures at the Republican National Convention – National Consumers League

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By Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director

What was I doing this week in Tampa at the site of the Republican National Convention? And why — as a strong proponent of universal health care- and so-called Obamacare — would l want to appear on a panel with staunch conservatives like former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and Congressman Tom Price at their party?

Because I think the NCL’s point of view – that millions of Americans are suffer daily in this country because they can’t afford health insurance – was worth airing at this panel, sponsored by The Hill newspaper. It so happened that the panel’s moderator is a friend of NCL’s, Robin Strongin, who publishes the “Disruptive Women” blog. When a slot opened up, she asked whether I’d like to speak, I said sure!

Though I didn’t have a chance to go inside the Convention Center because that requires advanced credentials, I did get to chat with the delegates coming and going from the hall, watched Governor Romney’s wife Ann and NJ Governor Chris Christie speak while sitting in a Tampa restaurant next door to Chris Matthews taping MSNBC’s hardball. The panel discussion remained lively throughout and providing the consumer point of view proved provocative. Both the elected officials called for repealing the Affordable Care Act. I noted that many countries – China, Thailand, Rwanda, Ghana that are far less affluent than the US — provide universal health care to their citizens for the sole reason that it makes good economic sense. I also threw the question out to my co-panelists: what are we going to do for the 50+ million Americans without health insurance? That got us into a heated discussion.

Dr. Donald Palmisano also sat on the panel. He used to head the AMA, which today supports the bill, but his focus has always been on limiting injured patients’ access to medical malpractice lawsuits, a position we disagree with strongly.

So when NCL supporters see me on our Facebook Page standing next to Trent Lott and smiling, please know that we haven’t changed sides in this debate; to the contrary, we are getting our position out more strongly than ever that the Affordable Care Act is a great new law, certainly far from perfect, but provides millions of currently uninsured consumers and patients with long sought health care coverage that we should all support.

SEC adopts reporting rule to help with human rights issues – National Consumers League

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By Reid Maki, Director of Social Responsibility and Fair Labor Standards

The primary mission of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is to protect investors from unfair or unscrupulous practices. Last week, however, the SEC did something remarkable: It agreed to adopt a rule with the goal of diminishing the human rights consequences of business practices.

The SEC voted by a narrow 3-2 margin to require companies that use so-called “conflict minerals”—metals like gold, tantalum, tin, and tungsten which end up in a wide array of products like cell phones, computers and other electronic devices—to file reports about the use of minerals that have been fueling violent conflict and abetting widespread social abuses like the use of child soldiers. The rules were mandated under section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill and targeted towards minerals extrated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighboring countries.

Although two commissioners debated whether the SEC’s core mission of protecting investors should be expanded in this way, they agreed that conflict in the DRC and neighboring countries is a pressing problem and that warring groups are using profits from mineral extraction to engage in armed conflict and a wide variety of human rights abuses. Commissioners Troy Paredes and Daniel Gallagher voted against adopting the rule, arguing that there was no clear evidence that the reporting requirement would help solve civil rights abuses and that the SEC had no jurisdiction to tackle human rights problems. Gallagher complained that the SEC’s proposed rule had no exemptions for small businesses and said the reporting requirements might be overly burdensome.

SEC chair Mary Schapiro joined  commissioners Luis Aguilar and Elise Walter in voting for adopting the reporting rule. The three commissioners were quick to point out that the SEC was under a congressional mandate to implement the provisions and that the humanitarian crisis in sub-Saharan Africa is severe and required action.

The nonprofit community in general is pleased with the adoption of the reporting requirement, although some groups complained that the rules could be tougher and shouldn’t allow companies to list the origins of their mineral use as “indeterminable” for a two- to four-year period.

The hope is that by making the use of “conflict minerals” transparent, companies will be under pressure from stock holders and the public to seek “cleaner” minerals that are not tied to armed conflict or abuses. At the National Consumers League, we applaud this expansion of SEC’s role. It is our hope that supply chain transparency will help move the region’s intractable problems toward solutions and nudge war-torn countries like the DRC towards greater peacefulness. As a co-chair of the Child Labor Coalition, NCL has long worked for the protection of children from military exploitation and the use of child soldiers in this region has been endemic for years.

At the same hearing on Wednesday, August 22nd, the commissioners voted by a 2-1 margin (with two commissioners recusing themselves) to require companies extracting resources—like fossil fuels and minerals–to report payments of $100,000 or more to foreign governments. NCL joins the nonprofit community in hailing this rule as an important step toward greater supply chain transparency.

Regarding the latest cantaloupe salmonella outbreak … – National Consumers League

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By Teresa Green, Linda Golodner Food Safety & Nutrition Fellow

Almost a year ago, the food safety community was rocked by an outbreak of Listeria in cantaloupe melons grown in Colorado. The outbreak would eventually lead to more than 140 illnesses as well as over 30 deaths. This week, FDA and the CDC have announced an outbreak of Salmonella, again in cantaloupes. This outbreak, which has been traced to cantaloupes from Chamberlain Farms of Owensville, Indiana, has sickened 172 and killed two, according to the CDC.

What is Salmonella?

Salmonella is the most commonly reported cause of foodborne illness. It is a bacteria which can infect many different kinds of foods, from eggs to produce and meat. Most people infected with Salmonella get sick within 8 to 72 hours of exposure. They will experience symptoms ranging from chills to stomach cramps, fever and diarrhea. The CDC estimates that Salmonella kills 400 people annually in the U.S. alone.

What can I do to keep my family safe?

Many cantaloupes contain a sticker indicating the farm or region where they were grown. Cantaloupes from the implicated farm should be thrown out immediately. The FDA advises consumers to ask their grocery store where its cantaloupes come from. The bottom line is this; if you have any question about whether your cantaloupe is safe, err on the side of caution and get rid of it.

What is being done to make sure this doesn’t happen again next year?

The good news is that the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), which was signed into law by President Obama in early 2011, will transform the FDA from an agency which simply responds to foodborne illness to one that preemptively seeks to prevent these outbreaks from occurring. Unfortunately, the implementation of this landmark piece of legislation relies on the issuance of several rules by the FDA. These rules, which were due to be released in January, have been stuck in review for months. Consumer advocates and industry alike see these rules as an essential part of updating our food system and have urged the White House to release them.

Plight of restaurant workers making dining out unappetizing – National Consumers League

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It was recently restaurant week here in Washington, DC, when participating restaurants make dining out a little more affordable by offering discounted price-fixed meals. Eating out is a special treat for many consumers, but what about workers? NCL staff hit the streets leafletting downtown DC to let restaurant customers in on some facts about what workers in the industry experience — and it turned many consumers’ stomachs.

If you’ve never worked in the restaurant industry, these facts might surprise you:

  • 88 percent of more than 4,300 restaurant workers surveyed by Restaurant Opportunities Center report not having paid sick days so they often come to work sick to earn a paycheck. That means sick employees who should be at home resting are handling your food.
  • When customers leave a tip on the credit card receipt, servers don’t always get the full tip: it may go to pay part of the credit card fee or the restaurant may keep part.
  • 90 percent of surveyed restaurant workers – servers, bartenders, bussers – receive no health insurance through their employers.
  • When you eat out, you are subsidizing the restaurant industry’s low wages. Restaurant servers don’t receive the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour – they get only  $2.13 the federal tipped minimum wage. That wage has been the same for 21 years.
  • The median wage for restaurant workers is $8.90 an hour, just below the poverty line for a family of three.

Pretty shocking, isn’t it? These numbers may make dining out a little less appetizing. Is there anything consumers can do? Thankfully, there is. Here’s what you can do — and remember, you can always cast your “vote” for restaurant workers with your wallet; don’t patronize restaurants that don’t treat their workers fairly — and be sure to tell them why you’re taking your patronage to places that do!

What you can do to help:

  • Inquire whether your favorite restaurants allow their staffs to earn sick leave. Did you know that 63 percent of surveyed restaurant workers admitted to cooking or serving food while sick at some point during the past year? This is a public safety issue as much as it is a workers’ rights one.
  • Pay your tip in cash so it will all go to your server
  • Inquire whether your favorite restaurants provide access to health insurance
  • Urge your favorite restaurants to join with more than 50 other restaurant owners in 8 cities that have partnered with ROC to promote improved wages and working conditions for workers who cook, prepare and serve our food.

ROC United, or Restaurant Opportunities Centers United – an organization representing restaurant workers – is asking restaurant owners to become members of the Restaurant Industry Roundtable to support higher wages for tipped and non-tipped workers, to provide sick leave and health insurance for all employees, and to provide opportunities to move up the ladder for all workers. And a new bill in Congress would raise the federal minimum wage for tipped employees for the first time in decades. Remember your power as a consumer and exercise it!

Scammers barking up wrong tree – National Consumers League

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By Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director

In the past two weeks I’ve been the recipient of four emails to my work email address promoting different sorts of scams. The problem with the scams is that they are very effective. If I didn’t work at the National Consumers League and if we didn’t have a Fraud Center, I could see how people might fall for some of these – or at least commit the cardinal sin of opening up emails that give the scammer the chance to get their precious personal information.

I’m struck by how these scammers cast such a wide net. Reaching someone at the National Consumers League means reaching an organization with a lot of expertise on scams and how to recognize them. However, given the thousands (if not millions) of email sent out in these scams, if only 1/100 of 1 percent of those they reach actually respond with a Social Security Number or bank account number, then the scammers have succeeded.

The first appeal asked me to “confirm your flight 782-2128 to San Diego.”  I am not planning a trip to San Diego, so right away the light bulb went off – SCAM! Phishing! They want me to open up the email and provide personal information. Instead of following their instructions, I forwarded the email to our fraud expert, James Perry, and he confirmed they were indeed trying to get sensitive information from me.

The second email came with the subject line “Wire Transfer Confirmation,” suggesting that I had transferred funds through Western Union and that additional information was needed. Again, they were looking for me to provide information they could use down the road to scam me.

The third email actually came from the email address of a work acquaintance named Maria. According to the email, Maria said she had been robbed in Spain and was requesting that we send her money via wire transfer (graciously noting that she would “refund immediately upon my return”). Two days later, the real Maria sent an email saying her email account had been hacked and she hadn’t been on vacation in Spain after all! Big surprise. I hardly knew her and she wasn’t a close friend so I knew she would not have written to me for a loan, but I bet some of her close friends were concerned. One or more of them may have even sent money.

The fourth email included attached “invoices.” I received the first one and a “reminder” two days later claiming that monies that were supposedly owed. Our trusty fraud expert, James Perry, says these are very common and that many companies will pay so-called invoices that come in without checking whether the money is owed. One common such invoice scam is for Yellow Pages. James advised me not to open the email since that would just give the scammers more information. It’s too bad, since I was interested in finding out what they were allegedly “invoicing” us for.

NCL works very closely with law enforcement to try and prevent these scams but we also do a great deal of outreach through our Fraud Center to warn consumers not to fall for these swindles. This past few weeks confirmed for me that these scams are extremely difficult to prevent. If they can contact the head of the NCL so shamelessly, they will go after anyone. Please, consumers, be aware and don’t be fooled. Below are some “red flags” that helped me recognize these four emails as scams and advice on how to handle them:

  1. If you’re contacted about an invoice, plane ticket or lottery or other event you didn’t seek out – don’t open the email. Delete it immediately.
  2. If a friend contacts you and says they’ve been robbed and need money – call the friend on your own at a phone number you have on file (NOT the number listed in the email) to verify the story and remain skeptical of any claims of robbery or jail and a request for money to be wired.
  3. If you open emails such as these, don’t click on any links or attachments since they may contain malware. At the very least, by opening the emails, you’ll let the scammers know that they have a “live one.” It’s better to simply delete these emails immediately.
  4. If you do get scammed by one of these crooks, don’t be ashamed. It happens to all sorts of people from every walk of life. Report the fraud to NCL’s Fraud Center, the Federal Trade Commission, or your state attorney general’s office.

Dining out? What you can do to improve restaurant workers’ rights – National Consumers League

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Earlier this week, we were inspired by our local Restaurant Week to blog about the plight faced by many restaurant workers and promised advice for consumers who want to help set things right. Here’s what you can do — and remember, you can always cast your “vote” for restaurant workers with your wallet; don’t patronize restaurants that don’t treat their workers fairly — and be sure to tell them why you’re taking your patronage to places that do!

What you can do to help:

  • Inquire whether your favorite restaurants allow their staffs to earn sick leave. Did you know that 63 percent of surveyed restaurant workers admitted to cooking or serving food while sick at some point during the past year? This is a public safety issue as much as it is a workers’ rights one.
  • Pay your tip in cash so it will all go to your server
  • Inquire whether your favorite restaurants provide access to health insurance
  • Urge your favorite restaurants to join with more than 50 other restaurant owners in 8 cities that have partnered with ROC to promote improved wages and working conditions for workers who cook, prepare and serve our food.

ROC United, or Restaurant Opportunities Centers United – an organization representing restaurant workers – is asking restaurant owners to become members of the Restaurant Industry Roundtable to support higher wages for tipped and non-tipped workers, to provide sick leave and health insurance for all employees, and to provide opportunities to move up the ladder for all workers. And a new bill in Congress would raise the federal minimum wage for tipped employees for the first time in decades. Remember your power as a consumer and exercise it!

SCOTUS decision on health care and what it means for you – National Consumers League

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By Steven Dorshkind, NCL public policy intern

On June 28, 2012, the Supreme Court upheld Affordable Care Act  as constitutional after much deliberation and a close 5 to 4 vote. What does this now mean for the average American? It means that a few changes will be going on in daily life to ensure that you live a healthier, longer life. With the Affordable Care Act, over 50 million Americans will have access to health care that has previously been out of reach for them financially. And, the Affordable Care Act includes many consumer protections that are intended to improve consumer interaction with health plans, and help to lead to a healthier you.

Picking an insurance plan will become more simple and straightforward under the ACA requirements. Companies are required to provide an easy -to-understand summary of what they offer and the costs of those benefits. This is called the Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) and will allow consumers to easily compare different policies and choose the one that works best for you and your family. Like the energy rating on appliances or mileage stickers on cars, the SBC will provide a reference for comparison shopping for insurance.

Included in the ACA is the Patient’s Bill of Rights, roughly ten enumerated rights that include: the right to choose a doctor, providing coverage to those with pre-existing conditions, and keeping young adults covered on their parent’s plan. This bill of rights gives patients more power and protections than before, ensuring that they don’t fall victim to arbitrary rule changes and technicalities. Parents, your children will be allowed to stay on your insurance plan up until age 26, and they cannot be denied coverage based on pre-existing conditions. Children with pre-existing conditions cannot be denied for coverage by their parent’s insurer, and this protection will be extended to all Americans regardless of age in 2014.

Many Americans are concerned that they will not be allowed to keep their family doctor under the new health care law, but those concerns have been addressed.  The Affordable Care Act allows you to choose your doctor or keep your existing one. Women can visit an OB-GYN without a referral by their primary care MD.

Many people are also concerned about the cost of health care. The Affordable Care Act can provide support here as well. For those who cannot find a plan that is in their price range, Consumer Operated and Oriented Plans (CO-OPs) are a non-profit health insurer that can provide coverage. CO-OPs are run by you, the customer. CO-OP customers and members elect the board of directors and a majority of these people must be members of the CO-OP and they must use any profits to lower premiums, improve benefits, or improve the overall quality of health care. Think that starting a CO-OP will be too much work, or nearly impossible? Not to worry, the ACA addresses that as well. A small business, or an individual can apply for a federal loan to start a CO-OP health plan. The Affordable Insurance Exchange (AIE) in each state, a one stop marketplace where consumers can choose a private health plan the fits their needs, will help keep CO-OPs rates competitive to ensure that you get the best rate.

If you continue to use your current health insurer, and not a CO-OP, the ACA is also keeping consumer protection in mind. The ACA requires that insurers selling policies to individuals or small groups must spend at least 80 percent of the premiums on actual health care-related issues, or improving your health care as opposed to administration, overhead, and advertising. For those in groups of 50+ members, they must spend at least 85 percent on actual health care.

There are also provision in the ACA that help the elderly, and the Medicare program. The Affordable Care Act actually strengthens Medicare by extending the life of the Medicare Trust Fund until at least 2024, and by reducing waste, fraud, and abuse. The conditions of care between doctors and the overall quality of care will improve so that patients will be less likely to experience preventable re-admissions to the hospital for the same condition. The federal government will be instituting cost reductions in prescription drugs gradually over time for those who are in the “donut hole” of Medicare. The decision to accept this part is up to individual states. Many preventive screenings and other treatments are now free of charge to incentivize the elderly to seek preventive services.

Many countries around the world, rich and poor, have provided universal health care for their citizens for decades, and America is just now catching up. This new landmark legislation will bring the US into the league of nations that provide universal care and promote economic development otherwise stymied when productive citizens are bankrupted by health care costs. The Supreme Court’s decision upholding the Affordable Care Act is an important legal milestone and means that the goal of providing health insurance across the board to American consumers can at long last move forward.

DC Restaurant Week shedding light on reality of working in the industry – National Consumers League

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It’s Restaurant Week, here in Washington, DC, when participating restaurants make dining out a little more affordable by offering discounted price-fixed meals. Eating out is a special treat for many consumers, but what about workers?

If you’ve never worked in the restaurant industry, these facts might surprise you:

  • 88 percent of more than 4,300 restaurant workers surveyed by Restaurant Opportunities Center report not having paid sick days so they often come to work sick to earn a paycheck. That means sick employees who should be at home resting are handling your food.
  • When customers leave a tip on the credit card receipt, servers don’t always get the full tip: it may go to pay part of the credit card fee or the restaurant may keep part
  • 90 percent of surveyed restaurant workers – servers, bartenders, bussers – receive no health insurance through their employers.
  • When you eat out, you are subsidizing the restaurant industry’s low wages. Restaurant servers don’t receive the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour – they get only  $2.13 the federal tipped minimum wage. That wage has been the same for 21 years
  • The median wage for restaurant workers is $8.90 an hour, just below the poverty line for a family of three

Pretty shocking, isn’t it? These numbers may make dining out a little less appetizing. Is there anything consumers can do? Stay tuned for advice about how to play a role in making things right for restaurant workers.

Actor/activist Mike Daisey taking on Apple – National Consumers League

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By Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director

Washington’s Woolly Mammoth Theater, in the heart of downtown DC, featured an unusual lineup this past Saturday night. Mike Daisey, actor, raconteur, and biting critic of Apple Computer’s labor practices in China, reprised his monologue, “The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs.” Daisey has been performing this piece since 2010, when he first appeared on Ira Glass’ NPR show, This American Life.

The performance is spellbinding for its ability to keep you on the edge of your seat for nearly two hours. At the close of Daisey’s monologue, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak came on stage and the dialogue began.

Daisey describes himself as a total Mac geek who read everything about Apple and knew every Apple model from the first clunky Apple 1 released on April Fools Day 1976 to today’s sleek feather-light laptops, iPhones, and iPads. He knows Apple intimately, what worked, what didn’t, the personalities inside the company, Steve Jobs’ firing by the board (Wozniak claims Jobs wasn’t really fired) and subsequent rehiring.

Daisey’s a witty observer of the brilliance and foibles of this outside the box company that introduced revolutionary designs – some of which were a complete failure, but others took off: the iPod, iPhone, the iPad, and a new way of thinking about machines for personal use has helped to transform our world so dramatically in the last 25 years.

But Daisey also thinks Apple has no business running a company with such draconian employment conditions; the Chinese manufacturing behemoth, FoxConn, shares the guilt here as the maker of Apple products and sets the restrictive and inhuman work rules. Daisey went into factories, posing as a businessman interested in looking for a manufacturing operation and observed hundreds of thousands of people working 14-, 15-, 17-hour-days, not always to talk to one another, doing repetitive motions for hours on end, and committing suicide in record numbers. So much so that Foxconn installed nets outside the factory walls to catch the dropping bodies.

After Daisey’s monologue, Wozniak came on stage and they began to talk. I have to say that Wozniak – whom Daisey describes as an “autistic bear” – seems like a decent man, brilliant, wonky, really only interested in engineering and design, and taken advantage of by Steve Jobs, who in the early days was making wads of money on their joint designs and not necessarily sharing his booty with Wozniak. But Wozniak also came off as hopelessly naïve. He denies that Apple has much responsibility and says he figures that – like in the USA – it will take many years for China’s factory owners and workers to ease the conditions. Mind you, Apple has little role to play here in Wozniak’s eyes. He argued “if we knew what to do to solve the problem of poor working conditions, we would have done it. But we don’t.” Seems like a total cop-out to me for Apple to depend on the workers and – god forbid – the company to change working conditions.

Both Daisey and Wozniak agreed that since Daisey’s expose – and the New York Times’ in-depth and excellent investigation – Apple has opened up its doors for inspection and reform. But these changes, to the extent any have taken place, have been marginal. Wozniak is on tour, apparently, and met with audience members for a bit in the lobby and then jetted off to someplace else on his tour. I give him credit for his willingness to enter the lion’s den since so many audience members clearly think Apple has a lot of work to do to improve conditions in their factories.

Daisey is working with NGOs in Washington, he said, to organize protests outside Apple Stores. We owe this actor/activist a debt of gratitude for raising awareness about the conditions in Chinese factories that produce the products we all seem to find indispensable.