National Consumers League statement on multi-state outbreak of E. Coli linked to romaine lettuce – National Consumers League

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April 25, 2018

Contact: NCL Communications, Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2831

Washington, DC – Today the National Consumers League issued a statement on the rash of E. coli O157:H7 reports to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)–53 total; 31 of which have resulted in hospitalization. Because officials at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have been unable to identify a specific source – either a brand, supplier, distributer, or producer — no recalls have been issued, and the consumer group called on regulators to step up their investigation.

This statement is attributed to Sally Greenberg, NCL’s Executive Director:

“The National Consumers League urges federal regulators and public health agencies to continue working together to identify and invest in upgraded pathogen tracing systems. This outbreak spans a large geographical area, infecting consumers in at least 16 states, requiring local, state, and federal investigators to share data as quickly as possible. In fact, new food safety standards were supposed to be in place by now under federal law and regulations, but the progress has slowed to a halt. With innovative biotechnology firms and emerging surveillance technology, the means for preventing this kind of contamination should be firmly in place by now. We urge policy makers to work together more efficiently to protect consumers and ensure the safety of our food supply.”

In 2011, the CDC, FDA, and US Department of Agriculture (USDA) created the Interagency Food Safety Analytics Collaboration to pursue shared food safety goals.

NCL joins CDC and FDA in urging consumers to throw away any eaten or uneaten romaine lettuce 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 https://nclnet.org.

PA’s Dallas High School takes 2018 National LifeSmarts Championship to three-peat – National Consumers League

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April 24, 2018

Contact: National Consumers League, Carol McKay, (724) 799-5392, carolm@nclnet.org

San Diego, CA—The student team from Dallas, PA, coached by Kevin West, was crowned national LifeSmarts champions in San Diego at the 24th annual National LifeSmarts Championship. In an exciting match against the Hawaii state champion team from ‘Iolani High School, the teens from Dallas High School outplayed their opponents in an exciting end to the 4-day competition.

Dallas High School students won the national title in 2016 and 2017 and returned to the 2018 National Championship to successfully defend their title. 

Teams from Kansas and New Hampshire placed third.

“We are so proud of these students from Pennsylvania, who represented their state program with class and pride to take the championship for a second year in a row,” said LifeSmarts Program Director Lisa Hertzberg. “They played hard and demonstrated their consumer smarts throughout the four-day event. They are true LifeSmarts champions.”

LifeSmarts is an education and scholarship program run by the Washington, DC-based National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s oldest consumer advocacy organization. It competitively tests high school students’ knowledge of consumer awareness, with subjects including personal finance, health and safety, consumer rights and responsibility, technology, and the environment. LifeSmarts is available in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and in partnership programs with student leadership programs FBLA and FCCLA.

Teens from each of the 33 state champion teams represented at nationals competed as individuals, and the top five scorers received scholarships from NCL. This year’s winners were:

  • Environment: Matt Metzloff, PA
  • Personal Finance: Tim Dobson, KS
  • Health and Safety: Raymond Perez, PA
  • Consumer Rights and Responsibilities: Sam Harder, KS
  • Technology: Jonathan Zhang, RI

Emma Boessen, from Missouri, and Matt Metzloff, from Pennsylvania, were named the 2018 Students of the Year. Sam Schachter (Rhode Island) and Don Zabelin (IL) were named LifeSmarts Coaches of the Year. Long-time State Coordinator Cheryl Varnadoe, from Georgia, earned the Coordinator of the Year honor.

“NCL’s LifeSmarts program is allowing us to rear a generation of consumer-savvy teenagers who often outsmart their parents on issues related to avoiding fraud, credit and debt, and complicated healthcare decisions,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. In the 24 years that LifeSmarts has been educating high school and middle school teens on consumer issues, it has grown dramatically, with more than 3 million consumer questions answered at www.lifesmarts.org in the online competition during the 2017-2018 program year.

For team photos, event schedules, grid standings, and more, log on to www.facebook.com/LifeSmarts

All winners at the national LifeSmarts Competition received valuable prizes donated by sponsors to the National Consumers League, including scholarships, savings bonds, gift cards, and more. To learn more about the program, contact NCL’s Lisa Hertzberg at (202) 835-3323.

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About LifeSmarts and the National Consumers League

LifeSmarts is a program of the National Consumers League. State coordinators run the programs on a volunteer basis. For more information, visit: www.lifesmarts.org, email lifesmarts@nclnet.org or call the National Consumers League’s communications department at (202) 835-3323.

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.

 

Final Four determined at annual national consumer literacy championship in San Diego – National Consumers League

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April 23, 2018

Dallas, PA, Wichita, KS, Canaan, NH, Honolulu, HI represented at final LifeSmarts event

Contact: National Consumers League’s Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (724) 799-5392
For immediate release: Monday, April 24, 2018

San Diego, CA–Tomorrow in San Diego, the 2018 National LifeSmarts Championship will come to an end with four state champion teams heading to the final matches to vie for the national title. LifeSmarts (LifeSmarts.org) is a national consumer literacy educational program and competitive scholarship opportunity, run by the National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s oldest consumer watchdog organization. LifeSmarts is celebrating its 24th season this year, and the 2018 National LifeSmarts Champions will be determined by noon tomorrow and crowned at an awards ceremony following the final match.

The four semi-finalists are:

Pennsylvania: Dallas High School, Coach Kevin West (returning 2017 national champions)
Kansas: Maize South High School, Coach: Jean Conkling
New Hampshire: Mascoma Valley Regional High School, Coach: Shawn Joyce
Hawaii: ‘Iolani School, Coach: James Rubasch

NCL hosts the National Championship each April during Financial Literacy Month. This year, NCL brought the LifeSmarts National Championship to San Diego, where 33 state champion teams from as far away as Maine and as nearby as Los Angeles traveled to compete in a variety of competitions focused on consumer literacy.

The event will come to an end tomorrow with NCL crowning the 2018 national champion team at 12 noon PDT. Starting at 9 am PDT, the returning champs from Pennsylvania will face off against Kansas in the first match of the morning. New Hampshire and Hawaii will compete in the second semi-final. 

LifeSmarts is a free program in which teams of students begin competition online. Top-scorers progress to their state competitions, and state champion teams convene each April to compete in the National LifeSmarts Championship. For a complete list of state champions, visit LifeSmarts.org.

The 2018 National LifeSmarts Champion and other winning teams will walk away with prizes and scholarships. In addition to placing as a team, individual students have the opportunity to compete for scholarships for demonstrating knowledge in specific program topic areas. The top eight placing teams and top five individuals are recognized.

NCL thanks the sponsors who make the program possible, including Johnson & Johnson, Comcast NBCUniversal, UL, Western Union, American Express, Experian, and Intuit.

Throughout the 2017-2018 program year, more than 100,000 teens competed online for a chance to represent their states at the 2018 National LifeSmarts Championship. Players answered more than 3 million consumer questions in the online competition.

Streaming live online from San Diego tomorrow, Tuesday, April 24.

Watch this year’s final and semi-final matches live at LifeSmarts.org!

9 am PDT – Pennsylvania vs. Kansas
9:45 am PDT – New Hampshire vs. Hawaii

The final match will begin immediately following the second semi-final match.

Follow the conversation on Instagram and Twitter at #LifeSmarts or Facebook.com/LifeSmarts

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About the National Consumers League and LifeSmarts

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.

LifeSmarts is a program of the National Consumers League. State coordinators run the programs on a volunteer basis. For more information, visit: LifeSmarts.org, email lifesmarts@nclnet.org, or call the National Consumers League’s communications department at 202-835-3323.

 

NCL statement on consumer champion Terrell McSweeny’s resignation from FTC – National Consumers League

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April 23, 2018

Contact: NCL Communications, Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2831

Washington DC – Last week, Federal Trade Commission Commissioner Terrell McSweeny announced her intention to resign from the FTC later this month. The following statement is attributable to Sally Greenberg, executive director of the National Consumers League (NCL).

“NCL thanks Commissioner Terrell McSweeny for her service. Commissioner McSweeny has always had an open door to hear from the public, working tirelessly to protect consumers from harmful practices, ranging from data breaches and identity theft to pyramid schemes. Commissioner McSweeny set the bar high in making consumer protection a key function for the FTC. We appreciated Commissioner McSweeeny speaking to an NCL panel in Los Angeles during her tenure at the FTC.”

Commissioner McSweeny’s departure will leave the Federal Trade Commission with one sole commissioner. In the coming months, we urge Congress to quickly review and confirm additional pro-consumer commissioners to the FTC.”

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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 https://nclnet.org.

National Consumers League statement on Trumpeter recipient Mignon Clyburn’s resignation from the Federal Communications Commission – National Consumers League

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April 23, 2018

Contact: NCL Communications, Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2831

Washington, DC – Federal Communications Commission (FCC) commissioner Mignon Clyburn has announced her plans to step down from the FCC. The following statement is attributable to Sally Greenberg, executive director of the National Consumers League.

“NCL wishes to thank Commissioner Mignon Clyburn for an illustrious career as a telecom expert and advocate for consumers and the disenfranchised. Throughout her tenure at the FCC, Commissioner Clyburn challenged the unfair practice of charging inflated phone rates for the incarcerated who wish to call their families. She was a leader in the fight to protect the Internet for future generations by advocating for the passage and protection of net neutrality rules. As commissioner, Clyburn was known for her efforts to ensure that all Americans have equal opportunity and access to commerce through the expansion of the Lifeline program. In 2012, we were honored to be able to recognize Commissioner Clyburn’s advocacy with NCL’s Trumpeter Award and thank her for her service.”

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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 https://nclnet.org.

Food policy 101: A three-part series | Part: What makes a food product “pro-consumer”? – National Consumers League

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Haley SwartzYou walk into your favorite grocery store, proceeding down each aisle with your shopping list in hand. Can you imagine a world in which the cereal aisle is in conversation with you, instead of yelling at you, the way it seems to these days? Where the bright colors and endless rows of loudly-labeled boxes calm, not overwhelm you? Would that make you feel more confident in your granola of choice?

Choice and information are the two most desired qualities in any given consumer product. Food is no exception. But our supermarket anxieties have real consequences on our everyday interactions with food, or what is known as our surrounding food environment. Over the last two decades, much of the American food environment is marked by choice overload – where the “tyranny of too much” leads to confusion and ultimately, indecision. This is particularly true among socially and economically disadvantaged groups, which include communities of color and other minorities. Food justice organizations fight on behalf of these communities, which have historically lacked labor rights, access to nutrition education, and healthy food options.

Today, consumers have an unprecedented level of choice, and with it, information—tons of it. Servings per box, grams per day, % daily value. Not to mention claims of a food’s health-promoting properties (“improves heart health,” “energy booster,” and the infamous “natural”). Of course, consumer access to information is something advocates like NCL have been fighting for for more than a century. But between marketing claims and nutrition information, how can consumers avoid being overwhelmed and make decisions confidently?

Food justice: Balancing information and choice

The most successful policy proposals to promote food justice have taken root at the local and city levels. But as it stands, the food policy community as a whole strikes a balance between choice and information that is shaky at best. We seem to believe that more is always better – we fight for more choices in our brands, groceries, and restaurants and more information on a package, label, and the web. As communities of color continue to fight for equality in both food access and choice, is more always the goal? If it’s not, what would be just enough? How do we work to protect and promote all consumers, all while recognizing and respecting our differences?

So far none of us has uncovered all the answers to these questions. But we do know that we must work together to ensure information is both adequate and accurate. The food justice movement won’t be won until anyone – any consumer, despite the vast array of food environments nationwide – can pick up a bag of granola and say, with confidence, “This. This one.”

San Diego to host 2018 National LifeSmarts Championship event April 21-24 – National Consumers League

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April 17, 2018

24th annual national teen consumer literacy competition will feature 33 state champion teams

For immediate release: April 17, 2018
Contact: Carol McKay, National Consumers League, carolm@nclnet.org, (724) 799-5392

Washington, DC — In celebration of Financial Literacy Month in April, the National Consumers League (NCL) has announced the 33 state champion teams that have earned a spot at the 2018 National LifeSmarts Championship, which will take place starting later this month in San Diego, California. The event will kick off Saturday, April 21, at 5 pm at the Hilton San Diego Resort and Spa.

LifeSmarts (LifeSmarts.org) is a national consumer literacy scholarship competition, celebrating its 24th season this year, hosted by NCL, the nation’s oldest consumer watchdog organization. The 2018 National LifeSmarts Champion team will be crowned on Tuesday, April 24.

Complete roster of state champions teams available here and listed below.

LifeSmarts is a competitive educational and scholarship program, in which teams of students begin online. Top-scorers progress to their state competitions, and then state champion teams meet each April to compete in the National LifeSmarts Championship. This year’s state champion teams hail from as far away as from Portland, Maine, and from as nearby as Los Angeles.

Consumer-savvy teens representing 30 states, the District of Columbia, and two wild card teams, will compete at this year’s national event. Throughout the 2017-2018 program year, more than 100,000 teens competed online for a chance to represent their states at the 2018 National LifeSmarts Championship. Players answered more than 3 million consumer questions in the online competition.

“We are so proud of this year’s state LifeSmarts champions, who have proven themselves to be the best and the brightest of the next generation of consumers,” said Sally Greenberg, NCL executive director. “LifeSmarts is fun, engaging, and the perfect vehicle for educating young consumers. Our program goes in-depth on the issues kids—and adults—are facing now: finances, health care, the environment, and technology.”

The 2018 National LifeSmarts Champion and other winning teams will walk away with prizes and scholarships. In addition to placing as a team, individual students have the opportunity to compete for scholarships by demonstrating knowledge in specific program topic areas. The top eight placing teams and top five individuals are recognized.

This season, LifeSmarts celebrated “The Year of Health and Safety,” focusing on health-related resources, learning activities, and special competitive opportunities, underwritten by a grant from Johnson & Johnson. This season, LifeSmarts unveiled the LifeSmarts OTC Medicine Safety Mentoring Project as a community service opportunity for its high school student participants to become mentors for middle school students on the wise use and safe storage of over-the- counter medicines. At the national event, NCL will award scholarships to winning participants from the Mentoring Project.

NCL thanks the sponsors who make the program possible including Johnson & Johnson, Comcast NBCUniversal, UL, Western Union, American Express, Experian, and Intuit.

MEDIA AVAILABILITY

Event kickoff + weekend activities
When: Saturday, April 21, 2018 at 5 pm through Monday, April 23
Where: Hilton San Diego Resort and Spa, 1775 East Mission Bay Drive, San Diego, 92109

Final competitions

When: Tuesday, April 24, 2018
Matches begin: 9 am Pacific
Awards Ceremony: 11:30 am – 1:00 pm Pacific
Where: Hilton San Diego Resort and Spa, 1775 East Mission Bay Drive, San Diego, 92109

Follow the competition online

Parents and teachers can follow the action at Facebook.com/LifeSmarts and via Twitter: #LifeSmarts
The semi-final and final competition matches will be streamed live at LifeSmarts.org onTuesday, April 24, 2018 starting at 9 am Pacific Time

2018 LifeSmarts State Champions

Alabama (Tuscaloosa): Central High School, Coach: Roslyn Evans
Arizona (Flagstaff): Flagstaff Home Educators, Coach: Christina Blanchard
California (Los Angeles): Lincoln High School, Coach: Wendy Estrada
Colorado (Colorado Springs): Vista Ridge High School, Coach: Sahvanna Mease
Connecticut (Waterbury): Crosby High School, Coach: Kelly Donohue
Delaware (Wilmington): Salesianum School, Coach: George Horn
District of Columbia: McKinley Technology High School, Coach: Sarah Elwell
Florida (Jacksonville): Paxon School for Advanced Studies, Coach: Melissa Decker
Georgia (Douglasville): Douglas County 4-H, Coach: Rose Smith
Hawaii (Honolulu): Iolani School, Coach: James Rubasch
Illinois (West Chicago): West Chicago High School, Coach: Don Zabelin
Indiana (Brookville): Franklin County High School, Coach: Diana Slaven
Kansas (Wichita): Maize South High School, Coach: Jean Conkling
Louisiana (Lafayette): Acadiana High School, Coach: Stephanie Bennett
Maine (Portland): Wayneflete School, Coach: Steve Withers
Massachusetts (Milton): Milton High School, Coach: Paul Arenburg
Michigan (Fenton): Fenton High School, Coach: Bruce Burwitz
Minnesota (Lake Crystal): Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial Secondary School, Coach: Michelle Missling
Missouri (Jefferson City): Blair Oaks High School, Coach: Linda Cumpton
New Hampshire (Canaan): Mascoma Valley Regional High School, Coach: Shawn Joyce
North Carolina (Morehead City): West Carteret High School, Coach: Mark Thompson
North Dakota (Jamestown): Jamestown High School, Coach: Marchel Krieger
Oklahoma (Pryor): Pryor High School, Coach: Sharon Rash
Pennsylvania (Dallas): Dallas High School, Coach: Kevin West
Rhode Island (Barrington): Barrington High School, Coach: Samuel Schachter
Texas (Mesquite): John Horn High School, Coach: Brenda Breedlove
Virginia (Fredericksburg): Massaponax High School, Coach: Ginger Walters
Washington (Olympia): Capital High School, Coach: Katie Turcotte
West Virginia (Ellenboro): Ritchie County High School, Coach: Sonya Haught
Wisconsin (Oconto): Oconto High School, Coach: Scot Neu
Wyoming (Buffalo): Buffalo High School, Coach: Kami Kennedy 

Qualified for the LifeSmarts National Championship through the Automatic Bid process:

Wild Card #1: Liberty County 4-H, Hinesville, Georgia, Coach: Gypsy Tart
Wild Card #2: Walker County 4-H, LaFayette, Georgia, Coach: Casey Hobbs

 

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About the National Consumers League and LifeSmarts

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.

LifeSmarts is a program of the National Consumers League. State coordinators run the programs on a volunteer basis. For more information, visit: www.LifeSmarts.org, email LifeSmarts@nclnet.org, or call the National Consumers League’s communications department at (202) 835-3323.

Testimony in Support of SB463: Ending Child Marriage | Presented to Louisiana Senate Judiciary Committee – National Consumers League

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April 10, 2018

Testimony in Support of SB463: Ending Child Marriage | Presented to the Louisiana Senate Judiciary Committee A

by Reid Maki, Director of Child Labor Advocacy, National Consumers League and Coordinator of the Child Labor Coalition

Hello, my name is Reid Maki and I represent the National Consumers League (NCL)—the nation’s oldest consumer advocacy group, based in Washington. I am also the coordinator of the Child Labor Coalition (CLC)—38 groups committed to reducing abusive child labor here in the U.S. and abroad. NCL founded the CLC nearly three decades ago and continues as one of its two co-chairs. Our members include seven of the largest unions in America, as well as child rights, human rights, and faith-based groups. I am here representing millions of Americans concerned about the safety, education, and welfare of children in the US.

We support a ban on child marriage in Louisiana without exemption. Exceptions are rarely worth the risk that they entail. In many cases, parental consent really means parental coercion. Pregnancy exemptions often means that many girls will be pressured into marrying the man who committed statutory rape. Teenagers who marry are disproportionately women and often they are marrying men who are adults.

The exploitation of children in marriage is well recognized by human rights experts around the globe. When the International Labour Organization and the anti-slavery group Walk Free announced new global estimates of the number of individuals in “modern slavery” last September, they defined the 15.4 million individuals who are in forced marriages as being victims of slavery; 84% of these victims are girls. Six in 10 victims of forced marriage internationally are children.

Recently, the Child Labor Coalition member American Federation of Teachers, one of the largest unions in America whose members are teachers, nurses, and public employees passed a resolution asserting that child marriage is a form of child labor and that child marriage and forced marriage are human rights violations.

In 2016, the U.S. State Department released a document called U.S. “Global Strategy to Empower Adolescent Girls.” In it, the State Department describes marriage before age 18 “a human rights abuse that contributes to economic hardship and leads to under-investment in girls’ educational and health care needs.”  The State Department asserts that early marriages – which are often forced – “enable or exacerbate violence and insecurity, including domestic violence.”

It’s well-recognized that child marriage has very negative health impacts and economic impacts on girls. Women who marry before 18 have significantly higher risks for heart attacks, diabetes, cancer, and stroke, as well as having higher risk of mental health issues. They are 50 percent more likely to drop out of school, and four times less likely to graduate from college. The divorce rate for girls who marry before 18 is 70-80%.

Louisiana risks more than it gains by allowing these early marriages. So do the teens getting married.

A 16-year-old in America cannot vote. They cannot fight in combat. They cannot obtain a credit card. In Louisiana, you must be 18 to buy cigarettes. You must be 21 to drink. Does it make sense to allow individuals under 18—children–to wed?

We believe that by reserving marriage for adults, the likelihood of exploitation in that marriage, whether sexual, labor-related, or financial decreases significantly.

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NCL disappointed in rollback of vehicle emissions, fuel efficiency standards – National Consumers League

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April 5, 2018

Contact: NCL Communications, Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2831

Washington, DC–The National Consumers League (NCL) today expressed “profound disappointment” in response to the announcement by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that it will roll back automobile fuel-efficiency standards.

“The NCL is profoundly disappointed with the EPA’s decision to renege on the Obama-era administration fuel efficiency standards: this irresponsible decision is detrimental to consumers and harmful to the environment,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg.

According to a Consumer Reports survey, 53 percent of all American vehicle owners expect better fuel economy with their next car purchase. Consumers want more fuel-efficient vehicles that will save them money by reducing the cost of gas. In addition, a Consumer Federation of America (CFA) poll compared sales figures for 2016 SUVs and light duty trucks with the 2011 models and found that vehicles with a 10 percent increase in mileage sold nearly 20 percent more than vehicles with a less than 10 percent mileage improvement.  

“Not only will these rollbacks cost hardworking Americans financially, but they will compromise air quality across America,” said Greenberg.

Fully implemented, the 2012 fuel efficiency and emissions standards would have reduced carbon dioxide pollution by about six billion tons over the lifetime of all the cars affected by the regulations, according to EPA projections. As transportation is the leading source of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States, reducing or scrapping these standards will also make it impossible for the nation to meet its obligations under the Paris agreement and stay on track to hold global warming to 2 degrees Celsius.

Interestingly, the perceived winners from the lowered standards–the automakers–are apparently not pushing for these rollbacks. In fact, the New York Times stated in an April 3, 2018 editorial, “Bill Ford, the chairman of Ford Motor Company, and Jim Hackett, the company’s chief executive, wrote in a blog last week that while they would like more ‘flexibility’ on meeting the rule, ‘we support increasing clean car standards through 2025 and are not asking for a rollback.’”

“Weakening these fuel efficiency and emissions standards is indefensible; the industry isn’t even demanding it. These actions threaten the health and welfare of every American. The NCL urges the EPA to reconsider this reckless and unnecessary decision,” said Greenberg.

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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 https://nclnet.org.

80 years of the Fair Labor Standards Act and its unfinished business – National Consumers League

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The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 is celebrating its 80th Anniversary this year. The work of the National Consumers League (NCL), founded in 1899, and Florence Kelley, laid the groundwork for this landmark worker protection legislation. The FLSA set the first federal regulations for child labor, minimum wages, and maximum hours laws. It was signed into law by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, whose labor secretary, Frances Perkins, started her career with the NCL.

So 80 years later, NCL thought it would be useful to review the history and impact of the FLSA by inviting experts from across the country to speak. NCL and the American Constitution Society cosponsored our Unfinished Business: The Fair Labor Standards Act 80 Years Later” at Georgetown University Law Center March 28.

At the outset, it’s important to note that worker rights are under attack all the time: the trucking industry is trying to lower the age to allow teens as young as 18 to drive 80,000 pound rigs because there’s a manufactured labor shortage, thanks to threats to immigrant workers from ICE and the Trump Administration. Indeed, the state of New Hampshire is increasing the hours to 56 that teens can work each week when they aren’t in school.

That said, the conference attendees were able to cheer the recent victory—and how great advocacy prevented eroding restaurant workers’ salaries—when Congress included in the Omnibus bill signed by President Trump last week a prohibition on restaurant owners’ keeping workers’ tips. Saru Jayaraman, who spoke at the conference, and the Restaurant Opportunity Center, launched an all-out campaign to protect $5.8 billion in tips and, with the help of democrats in Congress, won these protections.

The conference included a panel on the history of the FLSA, testimony from three hourly workers talking about the sexual harassment and wage theft they experience daily on the job, a keynote by Obama-era DOL Wage and Hour Director David Weil – who brought with him many of his former DOL colleagues, and a rousing keynote from SEIU International President Mary Kay Henry. Panelists also talked about efforts to erode worker protections – like states preempting localities that want to raise their local minimum wage or making employees sign forced arbitration papers that prevent them from going to court if there’s discrimination or wage theft on the job. By the way, NCL wants forced arbitration banned in labor and consumer contracts, but that is a hard sell in a conservative Congress.

Gaps in the law and erosion of the FLSA were very much at the top of our conference agenda. Workers labor on farms sometimes up to 90 hours a week during the harvest with no protections. They should be making overtime pay.

Other agenda items:

  • Adding paid sick leave and vacation leave to federal law
  • Banning forced arbitration contracts for workers
  • Enforcing the FLSA for gig economy jobs like driving for Uber or Lyft
  • Resisting incentives to turn employees into independent contractors
  • Adding restaurant workers to be covered by the FLSA
  • Expanding overtime pay
  • Enforcing the law against persistent violators and double the penalties
  • Legalizing private class-action suits under the FLSA
  • Changing policy to make sure immigrants aren’t exploited and allow them to take the thousands of vacant jobs where there’s much demand

While the list of unfinished business is long, everyone agreed that the worker reforms brought by passage of the FLSA in 1938 provided desperately needed protections that helped workers in America improve their experience as workers, their incomes, and their quality of life. Setting the agenda is critically important because – like the victory on tipping – we have to be ready to move quickly to get provisions enacted when opportunities come up. The NCL is proud to be continuing our 118-year history of advocating for workers’ rights with this conference.