NCL statement on federal bankruptcy case against Patriot Coal – National Consumers League

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May 31, 2013

Contact: Ben Klein, NCL Communications, (202) 835-3323, benk@nclnet.org

Washington, DC–The National Consumers League issued this statement on the federal bankruptcy case against Patriot Coal:

NCL is deeply disappointed in the Court’s decision to allow Patriot Coal to eliminate retiree health care and retirement benefits. “Allowing Peabody Coal to throw workers and retirees under the bus by simply declaring bankruptcy is unfair and unjust. This unthinkable decision now gives companies the green light to offload their health care and retiree obligations to another entity that goes bankrupt,” said Sally Greenberg, Executive Director of the National Consumers League.

NCL has long been allied with the cause of American workers and has a close and abiding relationship with the UMWA. One of NCL’s early presidents, Josephine Roche, was closely associated throughout her career with legendary UMWA president John L. Lewis, and NCL honored UMWA President Cecil Roberts in 2012.

“There’s no harder or more arduous job than going down into the mines for 12 hours a day. The work results in ailments from breathing in coal dust and Black Lung disease to injuries caused by the hard labor involved in mining. It’s only fair that these miners and their families get good health care and a decent retirement plan. Courts are there to protect these basic rights. Sadly, this court failed to do that.”

The union has recently held many rallies, and NCL joined a recent protest in St. Louis aimed at Patriot’s financial problems that are directly related to corporate actions by Peabody and Arch coal companies. “NCL believes that Patriot was set up to fail when it was formed by Peabody with more liabilities than assets in 2007,” said Greenberg. “We stand with our brothers and sisters at the UMWA in supporting an appeal to U.S. District Court in a continuing quest for justice for these mine workers and their families.”

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

Mineworkers suffer after an unfair and wrong court ruling – National Consumers League

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On May 30, a bankruptcy court handed a devastating blow to mineworkers across the nation. The courts ruled that Patriot Coal could declare bankruptcy and effectively end its obligation to provide healthcare and retirement benefits to mineworkers. Thousands of miners who spent up to 12 hours a day in the mines breathing in harmful coal dust that can result in Black Lung disease and other ailments have been stripped of healthcare benefits intended to alleviate the financial burdens of retirement. NCL, a long-time ally of the United Mine Workers of America, is extremely disappointed with the court’s ruling and thinks the decision ensures corporate greed wins out over everyday worker’s rights.

A closer examination of Patriot Coal’s financials indicates that the company was doomed for failure. When Peabody Energy formed Patriot Coal in 2007, the company held more liabilities than assets. “NCL believes that Patriot was set up to fail,” says Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director.

This ruling reinforces a dangerous precedent established by the courts wherein a company can declare bankruptcy and offload retirees’ benefits. Many Americans think that union contracts are binding agreements between workers and companies; a string of recent court rulings, however, indicate otherwise. This ruling demonstrates that big business can throw workers aside in the name of corporate greed, which will severely weaken our labor unions. This is an unthinkable decision that has far-reaching negative implications for union workers across the country.

Groups support voluntary alcohol serving facts labeling decision – National Consumers League

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May 30, 2013

Contact: Ben Klein, NCL Communications, (202) 835-3323, benk@nclnet.org

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League (NCL), The Consumer Federation of America (CFA), and Shape Up America! (SUA) today expressed their support for a decision by the Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) at the Department of the Treasury to allow voluntary serving facts statements on alcoholic beverages. However, the groups also urged TTB to finalize its long delayed regulation on the issue and ultimately require alcoholic beverages to carry serving facts labels.

“Nutrition labeling is an important tool for consumers looking to make informed decisions about consumption. Complete information is especially important today, when so many adults are either overweight or obese,” said Barbara Moore, President and CEO of Shape Up America! While nutrition labeling is mandatory on most food and beverages, it is not currently required on alcoholic beverages, a loophole consumer groups have long been working to remedy.

The decision issued by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) at the Department of the Treasury comes in response to earlier government action against Four Loko, a popular alcoholic beverage that originally included caffeine. As part of an agreement reached several months ago with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the maker of Four Loko was required to apply to TTB for permission to include an alcohol facts panel on their product. “We are pleased that TTB has decided to allow the makers of alcoholic products to voluntarily provide consumers with essential nutrition and alcohol content information, information that is sorely lacking in the marketplace. We see this move as a step in the right direction,” said Sally Greenberg, the Executive Director of the National Consumers League.

For over a decade, consumer groups have been requesting alcohol labeling, which would include both alcohol and nutrition facts, as well as recommendations from the Dietary Guidelines regarding moderate drinking, a goal complicated by the fact that while the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversees most consumable products, alcohol is overseen by TTB. “While we recognize the challenges inherent in developing new labeling, and see this as a good first step, we are somewhat troubled that TTB has decided to allow voluntary labeling rather then moving forward with long delayed rulemaking regarding mandatory labeling,” said Chris Waldrop, Director of the Food Policy Institute at Consumer Federation of America. “Consumer groups will continue to push for mandatory, standardized and comprehensive labels on all alcoholic products.”

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

About Shape Up America!

Shape Up America! was founded in 1994 by former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop to raise awareness of the health effects of obesity and to educate the public, health professionals and policymakers on proven ways to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. The organization maintains an award-winning website – www.shapeupus.org – accessed by more than 100,000 visitors each month.

About CFA

Consumer Federation of America is an association of nearly 300 nonprofit consumer organizations that was established in 1968 to advance the consumer interest through research, advocacy, and education.

A deeper look at Angelina Jolie’s decision to undergo a double mastectomy – National Consumers League

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By Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director

Last week the actress and celebrity Angelina Jolie came forward on the OpEd page of the New York Times with the unexpected news that she had undergone a double mastectomy. Jolie disclosed that she carries the BRCA1 gene that sharply increases a woman’s chance of developing breast cancer. Her doctors advised her that she had an 87 percent risk of developing breast cancer and a 50 percent chance of getting ovarian cancer as a result of what she calls a “faulty gene.” What made this story so compelling is that Jolie’s mother, to whom she was very close, died at age 59 after fighting ovarian cancer for over a decade. Jolie talked about how much she wants to see her children grow up and be a part of their lives for a long time in a way that her mother could not. After this procedure, Jolie was advised that her chances of developing breast cancer are under 5 percent. “I can tell my children that they don’t need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer,” she writes.

Jolie also described in great detail that she had three months of medical procedures, including having breast tissue removed and temporary fillers put in place. Nine weeks later, she had the final surgery completed and reconstruction of the breasts with an implant. This is a grueling, difficult, and painful surgery.

The reaction in most camps after Jolie’s column appeared was that she had made a very difficult but very brave decision to have the surgery, that every woman must make up her mind about what is right for her, and that going public is likely to give other women with equally dire genetic information the strength to have this kind of preventive surgery.

Then I read a very sobering piece by my friend and colleague Dr. Diana Zuckerman responding to Jolie’s announcement. Zuckerman is a PhD and president of the Cancer Prevention and Treatment Fund.

She raised serious questions about the advice Jolie received from her doctors, noting that the 87 percent figure Jolie was told was her chance of getting breast cancer, was apparently based on older and smaller studies than those available today.  Quoting Stanford University’s Cancer Institute, Zuckerman argues that newer studies have found that the risk of getting breast cancer for an average woman with BRCA1 is 65 percent. “Since being overweight and smoking increase the risk and exercising and breastfeeding lower the risk, Ms. Jolie’s risk of breast cancer, even with the BRCA1 gene, could be considerably lower.”

Zuckerman says that according to experts, a 40-year-old woman with the BRCA1 gene has a 16 percent chance of getting breast cancer before she turns 50. Compared to 87 percent, 16 percent looks a lot less dire. Zuckerman also points out that with the latest breast cancer treatments and regular screening, the survival rate from breast cancer is higher than ever.   Zuckerman adds that if  “Ms. Jolie (or any other woman with BRCA1) got breast cancer in the future–if she ever did–the treatments available would be even more effective than they are today.”

Zuckerman makes a very important point, “Nobody can second-guess Angelina Jolie’s choice–it’s hers alone to make.” Yes, that is true for any woman.

But before anyone who has the BRCA1 gene rushes out to follow Ms. Jolie’s example, we need to ensure that she fully understands what the true risks are, the improved diagnostic and treatment options, and that she doesn’t base any decision on how a celebrity acted without knowing all the facts.  Most cancer experts are doing their best to explain why double mastectomies are not the best choice for most women in the aftermath of this celebrity’s disclosure.  I hope that perspective – based in the latest science – is not overshadowed  by the publicity that Ms. Jolie’s announcement has received.  This is a teachable moment – let’s make the most of it.

Bill to improve compounding pharmacy falls short of protecting public health – National Consumers League

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92_ayannaBy Ayanna Johnson, Health Policy Associate

Legislation proposed to clarify the practice of compounding pharmacy falls short of protecting the public’s health. In early October, a deadly meningitis outbreak killed 55 individuals and caused 741 cases of fungal meningitis, as a result of shoddy practices and absent safeguards at a large compounding facility in Massachusetts. The proposed bi-partisan legislation from the Senate Health, Education, labor and Pension (HELP) Committee was drafted in response to this outbreak, but does not do enough to address public health threats. After a unanimous vote in the HELP committee this Wednesday, the bill, S.959 the Pharmaceutical Compounding Quality and Accountability Act, is now headed to the full Senate for deliberation.

Compounding pharmacies provide a unique service to consumers by reformulating medicines for patients with special medical needs that cannot be met by FDA-approved drugs. However, compounding processes can introduce new risk into the health care system, as evidenced by the tragedy this past fall. This proposed legislation attempts to clearly define compounding pharmacies. The legislation clarifies that traditional compounding pharmacies will continue to be regulated by the states and then creates a new category for large-scale drug compounders and calls these businesses “compounding manufacturers.” These businesses make sterile compounded drugs in advance of a prescription and sell them across state lines.

Though the FDA is given the authority to regulate the new class of compounding manufacturers, there are concerns that FDA’s authority is not complete and that the definition of compounding manufacturers is too narrowly defined. In order to qualify in this category a business must meet all three of the following criteria: 1. Compounds at least one sterile drug. 2. Compounds before receiving a prescription. 3. Ships (sells) those drugs interstate.   However, this definition leaves open several questions. What happens if a compounder operates only within one state, and does not ship across state lines?  Also this definition does not allow for monitoring of large compounding pharmacies that sell non-sterile oral drugs, such as those used in cancer treatment. There have been reports of contaminated, counterfeit, and inactive drugs in this class of non-sterile drugs as well.

The bill allows traditional compounders to be regulated under existing state law, which varies from state to state—a further loophole in the regulation. According to a recent Washington Post article, the FDA believes that the proposed legislation limits its authority to appropriately protect public health. In early May, I attended the Senate HELP Committee hearing on this legislation, where Dr. Janet Woodcock of the FDA stated that the FDA needs clarity on its oversight role, as well as, access to additional documents and records from compounders on adverse events. Additional ambiguity lies with a clause calling for licensed pharmacist oversight in compounding manufacturers.  Does the clause require a licensed pharmacist be present during manufacturing or just generally be aware of the practices?  And the bill does not provide for appropriate labeling of compounded drugs to alert both health care providers and consumers that they are administering or receiving, respectively, a compounded drug.

It remains to be seen what will happen with the bill, but hopefully it will be strengthened to appropriately protect the public.  A recent report released by the US PIRG, a consumer health group, identified a number of lapses in authority and oversight of compounded pharmacies, by analyzing FDA warning letters sent to compounding pharmacies from 2002 to 2012. Numerous instances of contaminated products, or drugs produced without FDA approval, and distributed to patients were identified along with loopholes that compounders have used to avoid legal ramifications. The Senate also conducted a similar investigation since the October outbreak, finding that 48 large-scale compounders sold drugs that were contaminated or produced in unsanitary conditions.

What’s clear is that compounding pharmacy has evolved significantly, and if not appropriately monitored, can lead to unnecessary public health crises. The Senate legislation lacks teeth; but there is a House Bill being proposed by Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA.), which seeks to address some of the shortcomings outlined here, including broader FDA authority of compounding manufacturers and more communication among state and federal government. The National Consumers League, along with members of the Patient, Consumer and Public Health Coalition, backs this new bill.

New milk rules — not such a sweet deal for consumers – National Consumers League

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By Teresa Green, Linda Golodner Food Safety & Nutrition Fellow

Since NCL’s founding in 1899, our organization has been dedicated to providing consumers with clear and accurate information that enables them to make informed decisions.  In our work on various food labeling and food safety issues, we follow this same philosophy, and so it was in this frame of mind that we this week commented on a petition from the dairy industry that is pending before FDA.

Currently, when a producer substitutes artificial sweetener for sugar in flavored milks, they must indicate this on the front of the product label with a clear statement such as “low calorie.” In an attempt to address the criticisms of nutrition advocates fighting diligently against rising rates of childhood obesity and new school meal standards, producers have reformulated their products to remove sugar, a source of extra calories in chocolate milk.  The natural replacement has been artificial sweeteners.  However, when these companies use artificial sweeteners, they must indicate that they have done so by including statements such as “low calorie” on the front of the package.  The petition before FDA asks that this requirement be removed, arguing that the label discourages children from drinking less caloric, and therefore healthier, products.  Contrary to some reports, these products would still be required to list artificial sweeteners on their ingredient lists.

In our formal comments filed earlier this week, NCL came out against implementation of this change.  While we are certainly supportive of encouraging children to consume healthier products, doing so by depriving consumers of information they are accustomed to seeing is misguided.  The “low calorie” statement currently alerts consumers that they need to look at the ingredient list.  Some consumers choose to avoid artificial sweeteners and transparent labeling, on both the front and the back of the package, enables them to make consumption decisions for themselves and their children.

Saving workers’ lives with the ’10 cents’ pledge – National Consumers League

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This morning, NCL is proud to announce the launch of the 10 cents social media campaign. Our new pledge campaign aims to harness consumers’ collective power and to send a message to retailers that we American consumers really do care about the health and safety of workers overseas who manufacture our clothes.

On April 24, in Bangladesh, the Rana Plaza garment factory collapsed and more than 1,100 people died. We have to do everything in our power to make sure that type of disaster never happens again.

The Worker Rights Consortium has calculated that for $3 billion total, every factory in Bangladesh could be renovated and updated to meet basic safety standards, preventing such tragedies. Updates would include construction of proper fire exits or fire escapes, as well as installation of emergency lighting, safety equipment, and electrical rewiring. Recent events have demonstrated the devastation and death that are inevitable when factories do not have these safeguards.

There is an estimated 7 billion individual garments imported every year from Bangladesh. A mere 10 cents tacked on to the price of each garment would generate $700 million a year – more than enough revenue to cover these necessary factory updates.

While European countries are making moves to show their support for improvement, only two American retailers (PVH and Abercrombie & Fitch) have signed an accord agreeing to improve factory conditions for workers in Bangladesh. Other American retailers including Walmart, GAP, JC Penney, and others think American consumers would be unwilling to pay the extra 10 cents needed to keep thousands of workers out of harm’s way.

Consumers need to SPEAK UP and let retailers know we are willing to pay 10 cents. Sign a pledge that you will pay 10 cents more to protect workers. When consumers band together, they have amazing power to influence even the biggest corporation’s decisions.

Let your voice be heard! Take the 10 cents pledge today!

Saving workers’ lives with the ’10 cents’ pledge – National Consumers League

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NCL has launched the 10 cents pledge campaign to harness consumers’ collective power and to send a message to retailers that we American consumers really do care about the health and safety of workers overseas who manufacture our clothes.

On April 24, in Bangladesh, the Rana Plaza garment factory collapsed and more than 1,100 people died. We have to do everything in our power to make sure that type of disaster never happens again.

The Worker Rights Consortium has calculated that for $3 billion total, every factory in Bangladesh could be renovated and updated to meet basic safety standards, preventing such tragedies. Updates would include construction of proper fire exits or fire escapes, as well as installation of emergency lighting, safety equipment, and electrical rewiring. Recent events have demonstrated the devastation and death that are inevitable when factories do not have these safeguards.

There is an estimated 7 billion individual garments imported every year from Bangladesh. A mere 10 cents tacked on to the price of each garment would generate $700 million a year – more than enough revenue to cover these necessary factory updates.

While European countries are making moves to show their support for improvement, only two American retailers (PVH and Abercrombie & Fitch) have signed an accord agreeing to improve factory conditions for workers in Bangladesh. Other American retailers including Walmart, GAP, JC Penney, and others think American consumers would be unwilling to pay the extra 10 cents needed to keep thousands of workers out of harm’s way.

Consumers need to SPEAK UP and let retailers know we are willing to pay 10 cents. Sign a pledge that you will pay 10 cents more to protect workers. When consumers band together, they have amazing power to influence even the biggest corporation’s decisions.

Let your voice be heard! Take the 10 cents pledge today!

NCL launches ’10 cents’ Facebook campaign – National Consumers League

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May 20, 2013

Contact: Ben Klein, NCL Communications, benk@nclnet.org, (202) 835-3323

Washington, DC—Today, the nation’s pioneering consumer and worker advocacy group, the National Consumers League (NCL), is launching a social media campaign that enables consumers to send a message to retailers that they would be willing to pay 10 cents more per garment in order to improve worker safety in Bangladesh. In the wake of perhaps the deadliest-ever garment factory disaster, the NCL is launching the “10 cents” campaign in an effort to educate American consumers about the minimal investments needed from retailers to improve dangerous factory conditions for workers overseas.

“With the death toll following the Rana Plaza building collapse in Bangladesh on April 24 having climbed to more than 1,100 it is clear factory safety must be reexamined, and worker’s rights in Bangladesh must be given the highest priority,” said Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director. “We think consumers would be shocked to discover that paying a mere 10 cents more per garment could mean the difference between life and death for Bangladeshi workers.”

According to a Worker Rights Consortium calculation, rebuilding unsafe factories and installing appropriate safety equipment in Bangladesh would cost $3 billion, or a $600 million investment every year for five years. With approximately 7 billion individual garments exported annually from Bangladesh, a mere 10 cents tacked on to the price of each garment would generate $700 million per year – more than enough money to cover the costs for all necessary factory improvements.

Since the April 24 disaster, many European retailers signed onto an accord backed by European-based labor unions IndustriAll, Uni Global Union, and many non-profit groups that would mandate independent factory inspections and hold retailers financially responsible for fire safety and building repairs needed to correct violations.  American companies, however, have been slow to act. Before the May 15 deadline, only two US-Based companies (PVH and Abercrombie and Fitch) signed the accord.

“American companies like Walmart, JC Penney, and Gap, who depend on factories that employ low-paid workers in dangerous environments think consumers would not be willing to pay 10 cents more for clothing,” said Greenberg. “It’s time consumers prove them wrong, and let their collective voice be heard. By taking this pledge on Facebook, consumers can exercise their enormous power to influence retailers.”

The National Consumers League’s interest in the current situation in Bangladesh has historic ties. NCL has drawn parallels between the Bangladeshi factory fires that keep killing workers and the historic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City in 1911, a conflagration that killed 146 workers and galvanized the labor community and government to make workplaces safer. For the first time, factories put in place fire codes, sprinklers, and new restrictions related to smoking and open flames inside the factory as the result of the tragedy. Advocates hope the recent factory disasters in Bangladesh will have a similar effect on improving factory conditions for workers abroad.

To find out more about the 10 cents pledge, visit www.facebook.com/nationalconsumersleague

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

Greenberg comments for House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade hearing on fraud against seniors – National Consumers League

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May 16, 2013

The Honorable Lee Terry
Chairman
Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade
Energy and Commerce Committee
United States House of Representatives
2125 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairman Terry:

The National Consumers League (NCL), which is celebrating our 114th year of consumer and worker advocacy, applauds the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade of the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce for holding this hearing to discuss the growing threat of fraud targeting seniors. NCL is the only consumer group that has a National Fraud Center. We operate the center largely through our Fraud.org anti-fraud campaign. NCL has long worked to educate consumers — particularly seniors — about the dangers of fraud, particularly online and telemarketing scams.

By 2030, it is estimated that more than 72 million Americans will be above the age of 65. The percentage of Americans over the age of 65 will increase from 12.9% to 19% of the population.[1] NCL believes that this demographic change sadly presents a golden opportunity for scam artists and a serious threat to consumers.  While fraud can and does affect consumers of all ages and from all walks of life, seniors are especially tempting targets for certain types of fraud.

On a daily basis, NCL’s Fraud.org staff members hear heartbreaking stories of seniors being scammed out of their retirement nest eggs. While we are able to help some spot and avoid being defrauded, far too many come to us after they’ve already lost a great deal of money, sometimes their life savings. All too often, we must give fraud victims the bad news that their savings are gone and are unlikely to ever be recovered.

As the threat of fraud against the nation’s seniors grows, so too must the resources that federal agencies spend on fighting fraud. As the Subcommittee has noted, fraud against seniors results in billions of dollars in financial losses and incalculable emotional damage. Unfortunately, the budgets of agencies charged with protecting Americans from fraud have been stretched as never before. At a time when the perpetrators of fraud have a growing target market in America’s aging seniors, we should not ask our anti-fraud agencies to operate with one hand tied behind their backs.

We therefore welcome today’s hearing, examining the role of the federal government in addressing the growing threat of fraud against seniors. We welcome any opportunities to work in partnership with Congress and federal agencies to keep seniors informed and help protect them from scams and fraud. We look forward to a robust dialogue about this issue and a renewed focus on protecting America’s aging Baby Boomers from fraud in all its forms.

Sincerely,

Sally Greenberg
Executive Director
National Consumers League

cc:        The Honorable Leonard Lance, Vice Chairman
The Honorable Jan Schakowsky, Ranking Member

[1]U.S. Administration on Aging, U.S. Department of Health and Human Service. “Aging Statistics,” Online: https://acl.gov/aging-and-disability-in-america