The Child Labor Coalition announces the 2024 Congressional Champions of Child Labor Protections for taking bold action against child labor exploitation

October 31, 2024

Contact: Reid Maki (202) 207-2820, reidm@nclnet.org

WASHINGTON, DC – The Child Labor Coalition (CLC) is proud to announce the 25 recipients of the 2024 Congressional Champions of Child Labor Protections who have taken a stand against the troubling rise of child labor exploitation during the 118th Congress. During a period in which child workers were increasingly found working illegally in factory settings across the U.S., these legislators responded by strengthening child labor protections – either by introducing new legislation or cosponsoring child labor bills endorsed by the Child Labor Coalition.

“Over the last two years, child labor protections have faced unprecedented threats as over 30 states sought to weaken regulations on the hours children can work and the types of hazardous work children can perform,” says Reid Maki, Director of Child Labor Advocacy at the Child Labor Coalition.

“We are fortunate these stalwart lawmakers worked to strengthen child labor protections and enforcement,” says CLC chair Sally Greenberg, who is also the CEO of the National Consumers League. “These bills provide creative and much-needed solutions to our widespread child labor problem.”

Recent Department of Labor data show child labor violations have soared by 472% between 2015 and 2023, highlighting cases where minors are subjected to grueling hours, hazardous work environments, and, in some tragic cases, loss of limbs and fatalities. Against this backdrop, these 25 Congressional Champions have supported legislation aimed at protecting child laborers and ensuring compliance with federal child labor laws.

Congress responded robustly with at least eight pieces of legislation addressing child labor that the CLC has endorsed. “Much of this legislation would significantly increase civil monetary fines for child labor violations – not just by a little, but often by a factor of 10,” says CLC’s Maki. “We saw several innovative and comprehensive responses in bills like “Children Harmed in Life-Threatening or Dangerous (CHILD) Labor Act of 2023, by Senator Casey (D-PA) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT). Similarly, H.R. 4440, the “Protecting Children Act” by Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), called for innovative and sweeping strategies against child labor.

Congress also sought to protect exploited child farmworkers with “The Children’s Act for Responsible Employment and Farm Safety,” introduced by Raul Ruiz (D-CA) in the House and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) in the Senate. “This was the first Senate bill to protect vulnerable child farmworkers in two decades,” said Maki.

Child labor on U.S. tobacco farms would be banned by the “Children Don’t Belong on Tobacco Farms Act,” from Senator Durbin and Rep. DeLauro.  “Child tobacco workers are subjected to toxic nicotine levels while they work. We’re so grateful that Senator Durbin (D-IL) and Rep. DeLauro (D-CT) are trying to tackle this long-standing problem,” said Greenberg.

The CLC, representing 36 dedicated organizations, including Human Rights Watch and America’s largest union, the National Education Association, has named seven Senators and 18 members of the House Representatives as the 2024 Congressional Champions of Child Labor Protections.

We are recognizing five members of the Senate for introducing legislation to improve child labor enforcement efforts or increase child labor protections:

  • Corey Booker (D-NJ)
  • Robert Casey (D-PA)
  • Richard Durbin (D-IL)
  • Ben Ray Luján (D-NM)
  • Brian Schatz (D-HI)

Two senators are recognized for cosponsoring at least three bills endorsed by the CLC:

  • Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)
  • Jack Reed (D-RI)

In the House, the CLC recognizes six members for introducing child labor legislation endorsed by the coalition:

  • Greg Casar (D-TX)
  • Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
  • Dan Kildee (D-MI)
  • Raul Ruiz (D-CA)
  • Hillary Scholten (D-MI)
  • Bobby Scott (D-VA)

The coalition also recognizes 12 members for each cosponsoring five child labor five bills. These members are:

  • Alma Adams (D-NC)
  • Judy Chu (D-CA)
  • Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA)
  • Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D-IL)
  • Seth Magaziner (D-RI)
  • Morgan McGarvey (D-KY)
  • James McGovern (D-MA)
  • Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)
  • Mark Pocan (D-WI)
  • Linda Sanchez (D-CA)
  • Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
  • Shri Thanedar (D-MI)

The CLC’s endorsed child labor legislation in the 118th Congress can be found here. The congressional session also saw the creation of the Child Labor Prevention Task Force, under the leadership of Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI) and Hillary Scholten (D-MI). “We very much hope to see this important legislative unit continue its work in the 119th Congress,” said Maki. “We encourage other members to join the Task Force and to lend their support to child labor legislation.”

The CLC looks forward to working with many of these congressional child labor heroes in the 119th Congress.

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About The Child Labor Coalition (CLC)

In its 35th year, The Child Labor Coalition strives to reduce exploitative child labor in the United States and abroad, bringing together 36 groups to create a powerful voice that promotes public education, research, and advocacy to end child labor, child marriage, and child trafficking.

A member list can be found here.

About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

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.

Medical debt, a growing crisis for Americans, and the Biden Administration’s bold moves to tackle it

By Sam Sears, Health Policy Associate, National Consumers League

Consumers, unfortunately, accrue debt quite often throughout their lives – be it a mortgage, a car loan, credit cards, or even student loans. However, there is one type of debt that consumers have no way of knowing when it will be incurred – medical debt.

At the National Consumers League (NCL), we have been fighting to protect consumers from the unfair burdens of medical debt, both as it relates to access to care and exposing the inadequacy of the 340B Drug Pricing program. However, medical debt as a whole has a moment in the spotlight this October as the Biden Administration tackles the issue.

As I’m sure consumers have noticed, the cost of everything has gone up– groceries, rent, and even healthcare. Many families are forced to make tough decisions between putting food on the table or paying their medical bills. For some, it means putting off medical care to avoid the cost of the visit.

Medical debt now plagues more than 100 million Americans across the nation. As KFF Health News found, 1 in 7 people with debt shared that they’ve been denied access to a hospital, doctor, or other healthcare provider, and two-thirds have put off care they or a family member needs because of the cost. Shockingly, nearly 50% of those Americans have medical debt reported on their credit report, and over 40 million people owe around $88 billion, which has been sent to collections. This makes medical debt the single largest source of debt in collections, outpacing auto loans and credit cards.

The harsh reality is medical debt doesn’t just linger on a credit report; it devastates lives and can have lasting consequences. NCL has previously covered how medical debt collection practices can leave consumers in a “never-ending spiral of debt.” Hospitals across the nation are suing patients over their medical debt, and patients may not know that they must go to court or have the resources to hire a lawyer to protect themselves. As a result, creditors may seek default judgements in which a court authorizes them to garnish a patient’s wages as part of a payment plan, or place a lien on their home, cars, or other property.

Over the past few weeks, the issue of medical debt has been highlighted in the national conversation. A new proposed rule from the Department of Defense would introduce a sliding-scale discount program for civilians who receive care at a military medical treatment facility (MFT). Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra also announced that the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will be adding questions about medical debt to the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS), an annual survey of Medicaid beneficiaries used to understand their health needs. These new questions will allow CMS to further understand the impact of medical debt on the day-to-day lives of seniors and people with disabilities.

Recently, the White House held a pivotal event hosted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), where individuals directly impacted by medical debt shared their heartbreaking stories. In tandem, the White House released a fact sheet unveiling the Administration’s new actions to address and reduce medical debt for consumers. Following these actions, the CFPB has taken several steps to protect consumers experiencing medical debt.

In his remarks, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra stated that the agency “has been laser-focused on dealing with the growing burdens of medical debt.” NCL commends CFPB and Director Chopra for their ongoing efforts to address the impact of medical debt on patients. Back in June, CFPB issued a proposed rule that would ban unpaid medical bills from being included on credit reports, and prevent the repossession of medical devices. The public comment period for this proposed rule closed on August 12. During the White House event, Director Chopra stated that CFPB is “working to finalize our credit reporting rule now.” But, with nearly 75,000 comments, NCL anticipates that it may take the agency some time to issue a final rule.

Given the complexities of medical bills, the CFPB has also been urging and requiring transparency from hospitals and debt collectors. New guidance was issued to crack down on deceptive medical billing practices, including the illegal collection of medical bills that are false, inflated, or not actually owed. CFPB has received several complaints from patients and consumers over medical debt collections, particularly for bills that the patient does not owe, were already paid by the consumer, insurance, or a government program (such as Medicare or Medicaid), or for debts that are covered by insurance, hospital assistance programs or other programs. More than ever, hospitals and healthcare providers are subcontracting medical billing and collection activities to third parties, who have legal obligations under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. CFPB has issued guidance to further clarify these legal obligations as they relate to medical debt and collection practices.

And let’s not forget the shameful practices of some nonprofit hospitals. As tax-exempt institutions, nonprofit hospitals are legally required to provide financial assistance to offset healthcare costs for low-income patients and consumers —yet many fall woefully short. In early October, CFPB published a comprehensive blog post drawing attention to billing and debt issues arising from nonprofit hospitals, many of which provide inadequate financial assistance. Often referred to as ‘charity care,’ federal regulations do not provide further guidance on the eligibility of patients or spending standards for hospitals. Thus, financial assistance policies are left to the hospitals themselves. While some states have intervened in an increasingly bipartisan manner, there are still too few regulations governing what financial assistance should look like or how it should be administered. NCL supports and recognizes the critical role hospitals, particularly nonprofit hospitals, play in their communities. However, the lack of transparency, as well as the predatory practices of some, need to change. NCL applauds CFPB for the spotlight they’ve put on these practices as a driver in the medical debt crisis.

CFPB has also taken steps to remove all medical collections under $500. This last step went into effect on April 11, 2023, and with this change, it’s estimated that roughly half of those with medical debt on their reports will have it removed from their credit history. If you find a medical collection under $500, a paid medical collection, a collection less than a year old, or errors on your report, you can dispute that information with the credit reporting company.  One of the first steps you can take is to check your credit reports for any outstanding medical bills.

NCL stands in strong support of the efforts of the CFPB and the Biden Administration as they work to safeguard consumers and bring transparency to the healthcare and credit reporting systems. NCL shares CFPB’s concerns regarding how consumers accrue these inaccurate, undue bills in the first place. The Biden-Harris Administration continues to prioritize consumers’ access to healthcare and a commitment to protecting vulnerable populations from the unfair consequences that arise from an illness or medical emergency. NCL applauds Director Chopra, the Biden-Harris Administration, and federal agencies for their leadership in addressing the burden of medical debt.

We look forward to the CFPB’s final ruling on medical debt and credit reporting, which could be a game-changer for millions of Americans.

To learn more about your rights, and actions you can take, if you have medical debt on your credit report or need to dispute a medical bill, visit CFPB.

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About the National Consumers League (NCL)

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 nclnet.org.

NCL issues statement on New York Times health article on Alzheimer’s trials

October 29, 2024

Media contact: National Consumers League – Melody Merin, melodym@nclnet.org, 202-207-2831

WASHINGTON, DC – NCL’s Health Director, Robin Strongin, released the following statement regarding Walt Bogdanich and Carson Kessler’s October 23 article, Health Section, New York Times, “What Drugmakers Did Not Tell Volunteers in Alzheimer’s Trials,” which reported that pharmaceutical companies withheld genetic testing information from volunteers in Alzheimer’s trials putting them at risk for brain bleeds.

“Medical research is complex and by its very nature involves risk. For a devastating disease like Alzheimer’s, consumers may be willing to take more of a risk in the hope of finding a treatment or a cure – if not for themselves, then for future generations.

We appreciate that researchers don’t know the full risk of a drug until tested, we are aware that genetic information can lead to certain types of discrimination, and we also understand that standards of care to disclose and not disclose information depend on multi-faceted decision points. Consumers have an absolute right to know what risks they face, including what information may be withheld, so they can make an informed decision before participating in a clinical trial—including when to opt out.

The scientific advances we witness today bring hope. Along with that hope comes the responsibility to be vigilant and assess and reassess what these advances mean for those willing to participate in clinical trials. It is imperative that we balance the integrity of clinical trials with the safety and protection of research participants.

NCL is increasingly concerned about the outsized role private equity plays in the sacred trust relationship between the research subject and the researcher. Institutional Review Boards must strive to regularly revisit their practices to reassure consumers that they, and the institutions in which research is conducted, are ethical and safe and provide all the information necessary to make truly informed decisions. It is never acceptable to put profits before safety. Clinical trials require numerous parties to come together and tackle the most vexing research challenges.

NCL calls upon all of those involved, including journalists, to provide balanced information that genuinely educate, and not terrify, the public. The last thing we want to happen is to further erode the public’s trust in science. We must all work together to safely, and ethically, find cures to dreaded diseases.”

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About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

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.

As election looms, regulators can act now to help consumers save at the pharmacy counter

By Sally Greenberg, Chief Executive Officer, National Consumers League

Now that we are a mere 15 days away from the election, all attention is unsurprisingly laser-focused on the outcome of the general election. Surprisingly, however, both candidates have made it clear that one of the leading healthcare issues on the ballot is the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Ten years after its enactment, the ACA has become intertwined with the very fabric of the healthcare landscape in the US and thus requires federal agencies to regularly revisit the statutes to ensure it is fulfilling its original intent.

Now that the current administration has released proposed rulemaking on core provisions of the ACA, it has become more important than ever to add statutes to address a loophole in the essential health benefits (EHB) provision of the ACA. There is no better time for three federal agencies – the Department of Treasury, Department of Labor, and Department of Health and Human Services – to change language in the ACA that is constantly exploited by profit-seeking insurers, producing severe access and affordability barriers for patients and undermining the original intent of the ACA.

The loophole goes something like this: Essential health benefits are a central pillar of the ACA and provide affordability protections to Americans by ensuring that everyone in the individual and small group health insurance markets has access to coverage that actually covers the services they need. These essential health benefits fall into ten categories, one of which is prescription drugs.

If a patient pays out-of-pocket for their prescription (an essential health benefit), that dollar amount counts towards their out-of-pocket maximum. Once they hit the out-of-pocket cost maximum set by the ACA, insurance kicks in and covers the remainder of their out-of-pocket costs. However, insurers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are designating some specialty prescriptions to be “non-essential” – regardless of whether a patient needs them to stay alive. Once labeled “non-essential,” the patient is no longer protected by the out-of-pocket maximum set by the ACA.

What does this look like in practice? A patient may spend money on lifesaving medications that don’t count toward their out-of-pocket maximum. All year, a patient could pay out-of-pocket for prescriptions but never reach their maximum and see their insurance kick in. This saves a few bucks for insurers and PBMs but imposes massive financial burdens for patients who would otherwise be protected under the ACA. The EHB loophole forces patients to pay more out-of-pocket, a situation that circumvents the original intent of the law — which, as a reminder, is to keep drug costs affordable for consumers.

How can we close this loophole? The Department of Treasury, Department of Labor, and Department of Health and Human Services could act now. The tri-agencies can integrate language to close the EHB loophole into the Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters (NBPP) to clarify that any service covered by a health plan is defined as an EHB.

Both of the frontrunners of the 2024 presidential election have signaled their intent to find solutions that lower prescription drug costs for Americans. While the country braces for the ripple effects of a new administration regardless of the results, regulators should close the EHB loophole to protect consumer access to treatments in line with the original intent of the ACA – affordable and accessible care for patients.

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 About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

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.

Child Marriage Survivors Share Their Stories

October 21, 2024: On this episode of NCL’s “We Can Do this” podcast, we are going to be talking to three remarkable women who have survived child marriage and are now leading the fight against it as advocates with Unchained At Last. [Warning advisory: This podcast contains discussion of traumatic events that include sexual assault.]

Consumer groups file amicus brief supporting DOT’s airline fee transparency rule

October 17, 2024

Media contact: National Consumers League – Melody Merin, melodym@nclnet.org, 202-207-2831

WASHINGTON, DC – This week, the National Consumers League and three other public interest advocacy organizations filed a brief of amici curiae in Airlines for America, et. al v. Department of Transportation. The airline industry filed the lawsuit, claiming that the Department of Transportation (“DOT”) lacks the authority to protect passengers, after DOT finalized its rule requiring air carriers to disclose upfront the fees they charge for baggage and reservation changes or cancellations.

“DOT has put in place common-sense price transparency rules,” said NCL Vice President of Public Policy, Telecommunications, and Fraud John Breyault. “Travelers deserve to know up front how much it will cost to bring a bag on a plane or cancel or change their reservation. Unfortunately, the industry’s litigation goes much further than disputing a single rule they do not like. It strikes at the heart of DOT’s ability to issue consumer protection regulations across the board.”

If the industry’s litigation is successful, it could jeopardize decades of basic—yet critical—consumer protections implemented by DOT. In addition to threatening the ancillary fee transparency rule, a ruling by the 5th Circuit in favor of the airlines could jeopardize the Full Fare Advertising Rule requiring air carriers to include all mandatory charges within their advertised prices. The lawsuit comes just four years after the same airlines received more than $50 billion in taxpayer bailouts from the federal government during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The American Economic Liberties Project, Consumer Federation of America, NCL, and the US Public Interest Research Group filed the brief supporting the fee transparency rule.

Additional reading:

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About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

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.

NCL welcomes FTC’s click-to-cancel rule

October 16, 2024

Media contact: National Consumers League – Melody Merin, melodym@nclnet.org, 202-207-2831

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced its final rule requiring the cancellation of subscriptions to be as easy as signing up. Slated to go into effect next year, subscription-based businesses will have to offer a simple cancellation mechanism and will be prohibited from lying about the goods and services they offer.

The following statement is attributable to NCL Vice President of Public Policy, Telecommunications, and Fraud John Breyault:

“Rather than trapping consumers with confusing cancellation processes, sellers should earn our dollars by competing to offer better products. The FTC is sticking up for everyday Americans and making clear that businesses cannot rely on deception to make a profit. NCL has long supported the Commission’s work to make subscriptions easier to manage for consumers, this rule will make those efforts even easier.”

Additional reading:

  • Public comments of NCL and five other organizations supporting the click-to-cancel rule, filed in response to the Commission’s 2023 notice of proposed rulemaking
  • Letter from NCL, Consumer Federation of America, and the National Consumer Law Center supporting the rule in a 2024 administrative law proceeding
  • Public comments of NCL on the harms of current negative-option business practices, filed in response to the Commission’s 2019 advanced notice of proposed rulemaking

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About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

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.

Organizations urge Biden-Harris Administration to strengthen child labor protections amid rising workplace injuries and violations

October 16, 2024

Media contact: Rachael Klarman, Executive Director, rachael.klarman@governingforimpact.org

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Governing for Impact (GFI), the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), and the Child Labor Coalition (CLC) released a set of executive action proposals the Biden-Harris administration can take to address the alarming rise in child labor violations and workplace injuries in the United States. The proposals, which are grounded in the Department of Labor’s (DOL) existing authority, include preventing children from working in hazardous occupations like milling operations, prohibiting children from handling toxic chemicals, and banning overnight shifts for kids.

The executive action proposals aim to fill a pressing gap in child labor enforcement. Since 2021, more than thirty states have taken steps to weaken child labor laws, including in Arkansas, Iowa, New Jersey, and Michigan. Extreme, industry-aligned groups like those behind Project 2025 have also proposed weakening federal regulations to let more young people work dangerous jobs, claiming that “young adults show an interest in inherently dangerous jobs.”

“Many assume that child labor is a thing of the past, and that there must already be a robust regulatory system in place to ensure that children are safe,” said Reed Shaw, Policy Counsel at GFI. “But the fact is, more and more children are getting injured every year due to unsafe working conditions. As we show in our analysis, the Department of Labor has the authority to fill the gap.”

Nearly a century has passed since Congress enacted the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which introduced critical protections for child workers in America. Despite this, too many children are still exploited. Injury rates for workers under 18 almost doubled between 2011 and 2020, particularly in agriculture where the risks are highest and the regulations are the weakest.

“At a time when child labor violations are on the rise and many states are simultaneously attempting to weaken child labor laws, there is an urgent need for the U.S. Department of Labor to use its authority to raise federal minimum standards to protect all children who work—no matter what state they live in,” said Nina Mast, Policy and Economic Analyst on EPI’s State Policy and Research team. 

“This release of executive action proposals stands as a call-to-action that more must be done to protect children from occupational dangers,” said Reid Maki, director of child labor advocacy for the National Consumers League and coordinator of the CLC. “Recently, we’ve witnessed wildly expanding hazardous child labor in the U.S. with kids working in meat-packing plants and auto-supply factories. Many of them work throughout the night in grave-yard shifts that leave them with no time to sleep before they attend school completely exhausted. We can and must do more to protect our children.”

To develop regulatory recommendations for the Biden-Harris administration, GFI, EPI, and CLC reviewed the DOL’s existing legal authority and identified steps to better protect child workers. Findings and recommended actions were sent to DOL and outlined in a new report, Protecting Children from Dangerous Work. The executive action proposals include:

  1. Making nonagricultural occupations safer: Expanding the list of nonagricultural occupations deemed too hazardous for workers under 18, such as jobs in security services and milling operations.
  2. Making agricultural occupations safer: Increasing protections for child agricultural workers under 16, including prohibiting children from handling toxic chemicals or operating dangerous machinery.
  3. Regulating working hours: Implementing restrictions on working hours, including a ban on overnight shifts for minors and mandatory rest breaks.

Young workers are being harmed every day. This report urges the Biden administration and the DOL to immediately update and enforce regulations and protect children from harm.

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About Governing for Impact

Governing for Impact (GFI) is a regulatory policy organization dedicated to ensuring the federal government works for working Americans, not corporate lobbyists. The policies we design and the legal insights we develop help increase opportunity for those not historically represented in regulatory policy implementation work: working people. For additional information about GFI, please visit https://governingforimpact.org/.

About Economic Policy Institute

The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank working for the last 30 years to counter rising inequality, low wages and weak benefits for working people, slower economic growth, unacceptable employment conditions, and a widening racial wage gap. For additional information about EPI, please visit https://www.epi.org/.

About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

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 the Child Labor Coalition

The Child Labor Coalition (CLC) is chaired and coordinated by the National Consumers League and strives to reduce exploitative child labor in the United States and abroad, bringing together over 35 groups to create a powerful voice that promotes public education, research, and advocacy to reduce the most harmful forms of child labor, as well as end child slavery, child trafficking, and child marriage. For additional information about CLC, please visit https://stopchildlabor.org/.

Nation’s oldest consumer advocacy organization celebrates its 125th anniversary and will present annual awards to DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Consumer Investigative Reporter Anna Werner, and One Fair Wage President Saru Jayaraman on Tuesday, October 15

October 15, 2024

Media contact: National Consumers League – Lisa McDonald, lisam@nclnet.org, 202-207-2829

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s pioneering consumer and worker advocacy organization since 1899, has announced it will honor U.S. Department of Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Anna Werner, Senior Consumer Investigative Correspondent, CBS News with its highest honor, the Trumpeter Award, on Tuesday, October 15 in Washington, DC. 

This year also marks the 125th anniversary of the National Consumers League. The League has advocated for the rights and protections of consumers and workers in the U.S. since it was founded in 1899. From improving the wages and working conditions of laborers to expanding the access to healthcare for all Americans, NCL has achieved significant progress and meaningful changes to the lives of everyday consumers. 

“For 125 years, NCL has been the unwavering voice for consumers and workers,” said NCL CEO Sally Greenberg. “Our legacy is a testament to the power of collective action—from the early work of our founders to the accomplishments of our colleagues, allies, and partner organizations. I am deeply proud of what we have been able to accomplish all these years.” 

In addition to the Trumpeter Award, NCL will honor One Fair Wage Founder and President Saru Jayaraman with the 2024 Florence Kelley Consumer Leadership Award, named for NCL’s first general secretary and one of the most influential figures in 20th century American history. Saru has advocated for fair wages for restaurant workers and other service workers.  

MEDIA ADVISORY 

What: National Consumers League’s 2024 Trumpeter Awards
When: Tuesday, October 15, 2024, 7 pm Presentation of Awards
Where: Mayflower Hotel DC, 1127 Connecticut Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20036

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, has been honoring visionaries in consumer and worker protection with its annual Trumpeter Award since 1973. Past honorees include Senator Ted Kennedy, the award’s inaugural recipient; as well as organized labor leaders Cecil E. Roberts and Richard L. Trumka; Senators Tammy Duckworth and Jon Corzine; journalists Jane Bryant Quinn and Michelle Singletary; U.S. Representative John Lewis; and other honored consumer and labor leaders. 

Last year’s Trumpeter recipients were Former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and California Attorney General Rob Bonta. Fraidy Reiss, child marriage survivor and activist, was recipient of the Florence Kelley Consumer Leadership Award.  

This year’s Trumpeter Awards will feature a reception, dinner, and speaking appearances by NCL leadership, honorees, as well as:  

  •  Susan Hogan, NBC News4 Consumer Investigative Reporter 
  • Ken Biberaj, Executive Managing Director, Savills, and Host, Coffee with Ken 
  • Jayne O’Donnell, Founder and CEO, Youthcast Media Group and Former USA TODAY Consumer and Health Policy Reporter 
  • Brianne Nadeau, DC Councilmember, Ward 1 
  • NCL Board President Jon Leibowitz, Federal Trade Commission (retired) 
  • NCL Board Secretary Sharon White-Páez, Potomac Waves Media 
  • NCL Board Member Joi Chaney, J.O.I. Strategies 
  • NCL Chief Executive Officer Sally Greenberg 

 To learn more, visit NCL Trumpeter Awards. 

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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.