NCL’s statement on Trump Administration’s proposed rule on Title X – National Consumers League

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August 1, 2018

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—In response to the Trump Administration’s proposed rule on the Title X health care program, the National Consumers League (NCL) has issued the following statement, which may be attributed to Sally Greenberg, NCL executive director:

As a long-time supporter of the Title X Family Planning Program, the National Consumers League (NCL) has significant concerns about the Trump Administration’s Title X “Compliance with Statutory Program Requirements” proposed rule, that would restrict the ability of millions of patients to obtain contraception and preventative care. The proposed rule would also make it significantly more difficult for physicians to explain reproductive health care options, such as family planning services.

NCL strongly believes that the Title X Family Planning Program is integral in providing women and teenagers with reproductive and preventive healthcare services across the United States. In fact, Title X centers have helped to prevent 1 million unintended pregnancies each year. These centers are important because they provide a wide range of preventive healthcare services, such as: wellness exams, birth control, contraception education, and lifesaving cervical and breast cancer screenings.

If HHS implements the proposed rule, there will be extremely detrimental effects on patients in regions of the United States with limited access to health care, as well as economically distressed adults and teenagers without health insurance. If implemented, the proposed rule would seriously restrict the ability of clinicians to explain contraceptive and reproductive healthcare options to their patients. Healthcare education and information is key in order for consumers to make informed choices.

Furthermore, NCL is very concerned about the implications of this proposed rule when it comes to the millions of patients that use Title X services. This proposed rule could result in 40 percent of patients that currently visit Title X centers losing their healthcare services.

NCL urges HHS to analyze all the possible effects that this proposed rule could have on vulnerable populations in the United States before making such sweeping changes to the Title X health care program.

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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.

Trump and Undermining Public Sector Unions – National Consumers League

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By NCL Public Policy intern Melissa Cuddington

This summer has been rife with razor-thin 5-4 Supreme Court rulings. Many of these have been one-vote margins because of the newly added conservative justice and Trump appointee, Neil Gorsuch.

For example, a 5-4 ruling in Janus v. AFSCME at the end of June delivered the dreaded but anticipated blow to public sector unions and the Trump Administration’s goal of weakening the bargaining power and influence of working men and women. Janus, an employee at the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, asked the court to overrule a 40-year-old Supreme Court decision, Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, requiring public sector workers to contribute to union dues toward collective bargaining costs, such as contract negotiations, but excuses them from paying dues to support political advocacy. Janus argued his $45 monthly fee to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees was unconstitutional. He said that the fees infringed on his First Amendment rights, and that, in the case of public employees whose contract negotiations are with the government, the fees were a form of political advocacy.

The Court agreed with Janus and reversed the requirement.

In the wake of the very unfortunate Janus decision, the Administration has issued several executive orders to restrict union activity in the federal government. These include restricting the time that employees can spend on union activity, implementing rules about day-to-day operations and changing government policy at the agency level.

Union leaders at the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) have objected loudly, filing a lawsuit against the Trump Administration to protest his executive order regarding “official time.” Trump’s executive order addresses the use of “official time” to compensate union workers for time spent on representational work.  

Why is it okay for a worker to benefit from better wages, working conditions, benefits like time off and sick leave and not have to help pay for the costs of negotiating those benefits?  Janus and the subsequent Executive Orders have understandably sparked outraged from federal government unions and other advocacy groups like NCL that support working families. One strategy could be, per the OpEd in the New York Times, having state and local governments directly pay unions for their expenses.

Unions are critical to the smooth operations of the federal government, effectively fighting for worker benefits and increased bargaining power for the many hardworking federal employees. The NCL has a long history of fighting for consumers, workers and public sector unions. We regret the Janus decision and its effect of undermining union bargaining power. We join with AFGE and all federal workers in supporting their voice in the workplace.

Rosé explosion leading to fraud in wine industry – National Consumers League

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Haley SwartzRosé – the pink wine that incorporates the skin of red grapes and the flavors of all other varieties – has exploded in popularity over the last five years. Rosé consumption is particularly skewed among millennials and during the summer months, aided by gender-inclusive hashtags, the development of new, millennial-targeted brands, and the particularly “Insta” quality of a pink wine. Consumption of rosé has now eclipsed white wine in France, and in the United States, data indicates Washington, DC is the “capital of rosé,” – illustrating its ubiquity across political and social cultures.Rosé has contributed to an overall growth in wine sales, as consumers increasingly buy rosé in addition to other white and red wines – and higher-priced rosés are bringing in greater profits than cheaper, generic offerings. Experts say rosé consumption differs from other millennial-led fad wine crazes – à la prosecco and Moscato of the late 2010’s – because it is simply a higher quality product.

However, a recent case of fraud in the rosé industry illustrates the safety and quality vulnerabilities faced by consumers throughout global beverage supply chains. Rosé is like champagne, whereby only grapes harvested in the Champagne region of France can be labeled as “real” Champagne. While other European producers have entered into the rosé market, the “best and truest” rosés are made with grapes grown in the Provence region of France. Such a limited geographical area for a “true” rosé supply, combined with soaring global demand, is the perfect recipe for fraud.

Over the past two years, wine merchants have unknowingly sold 10 million bottles of what they thought was pure French rosé – but was just a cheap Spanish red/white blend. Most of the mislabeled wine was sold in French establishments, but some was found in British retail – leading to the question of whether the mislabeled wine may have even entered U.S. markets. The mislabeling included either a “Vin de France” generic label or the more prestigious “IGP” label that refers to a protected geographic designation in French growing regions. Worse, other bottles – though labeled in small print as “Spanish” or “European” in origin – had French scenery on the bottle’s label, including the fleur-de-lis (the former royal arms of France). Such a blatant form of misrepresentation is all too common in the wine industry.

Further, most bottles were placed in the French rosé section of wine retail locations – and, of course, priced accordingly. The Spanish wine, which sold in bulk at only 34 euro cents a liter ($0.40 USD) must be compared to the 75-90 euro cent ($0.88-1.05 USD) price tag for a true French rosé – providing double the profit for the fraudulent producers.

French authorities have identified four wine producers at fault, but only one has been charged with commercial fraud. If found guilty, the producer could face up to two years in prison and a fine of 300,00 Euros. While it’s unlikely the fraudulent bottles are still in a store near you, consumers should learn one lesson from this whole episode: Read the label – all of it – and avoid being distracted by a pretty shade of pink.

NCL Statement on FDA Importation Work Group – National Consumers League

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July 30, 2018

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—In response to the recent request by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) establish a working group to examine the possibility of importing prescription drugs, the National Consumers League has issued the following statement, which may be attributed to Sally Greenberg, NCL executive director:

While the National Consumers League (NCL) supports the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) goal of ensuring patient access to medically necessary drugs that are in shortage, we have significant concerns about allowing importation to address this challenge.

NCL believes that allowing importation could put patient health and safety at risk and lead us down a dangerous path. Every head of Health and Human Services and the FDA for the last 18 years has refused to certify the safety of drug importation. NCL fears that authorizing importation, even under limited circumstances to address drug shortages, would expose consumers to unknown risks and undermine the security of the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain.

Furthermore, NCL is concerned that allowing importation will open the U.S. market to a flood of counterfeit and/or substandard drugs. Counterfeit medications made with deadly ingredients have been found in over 40 states across America, posing a significant public health threat. Allowing importation will only serve to exacerbate the challenge of preventing counterfeit drugs from reaching American patients.

Rather than considering importation, NCL encourages FDA to pursue other strategies to ensure the availability of multiple FDA-approved and marketed versions of medically necessary drugs.

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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.

Joint consumer advocacy letter urges senators to support bipartisan FAIR fees provision – National Consumers League

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July 25, 2018

The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Senate Majority Leader
United States Senate
317 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Charles Schumer
Senate Minority Leader
United States Senate
322 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

 

Dear Majority Leader McConnell and Minority Leader Schumer,

The undersigned 8 consumer advocacy organizations urge you to support the bipartisan FAIR Fees provision that was included in S.1405, the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2017. This provision would help ensure that the ancillary fees which airlines are increasingly adding to the base cost of a ticket are reasonable.

Airlines often claim that the unbundling of fees for services like baggage and cancellation has reduced the cost of flying. However, an independent analysis by the Associated Press has found that base fares have increased by 5% once adjusted for inflation since 2010.[i] Likewise, the Government Accountability Office has found that the cost of flying has increased, once fees for checked baggage are included.[ii]

Under the FAIR Fees provision, section 3129 of the reported bill,[iii] airlines would be prevented from charging flight change and cancellation fees that are unreasonable and disproportionate to the cost of providing the service. The Department of Transportation would also develop standards for helping assess the reasonableness of other common airline fees.

Flight change and cancellation fees can range anywhere from $125, to as much as $750 for an international flight.[iv] While testifying before a US Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation subcommittee, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby admitted that change fees are “not a direct cost when somebody changes,” but rather are a revenue generator.[v] While airlines certainly need to maintain profitability, they should not do so by taking unfair advantage of consumers who must change or cancel travel plans due to unforeseen circumstances. Requiring that change and cancellation fees bear a reasonable relation to the cost to provide the service will improve competition by preventing price gouging and better incentivizing airlines to compete over the actual cost of fares.

For these reasons, the undersigned consumer advocacy organizations urge you to support keeping the bipartisan FAIR Fees provision in the FAA Reauthorization Act.

 

Sincerely,

Business Travel Coalition
Consumer Action
Consumer Federation of America
Consumers Union
Flyers Rights
National Consumers League
Travelers United
U.S. PIRG

cc: Members of the US Senate

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[i] Mayerowitz, Scott and Koenig, David. "U.S. airports increasingly dominated by 1 or 2 carriers.” USA Today. July 15, 2015. Online: https://www.usatoday.com/story/todayinthesky/2015/07/15/us-airports-increasingly-dominated-by-1-or-2-carriers/30152927/
[ii] Government Accountability Office. “Commercial aviation: Information on airline fees for optional services” September 2017. Online: https://www.gao.gov/assets/690/687258.pdf
[iii] Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2017. Online: https://www.congress.gov/115/bills/s1405/BILLS-115s1405rs.pdf
[iv] American Airlines. “Optional service fees.” July 17, 2018. Online. https://www.aa.com/i18n/customer-service/support/optional-service-fees.jsp
[v] Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Aviation, Operations, Safety and Security. “Questions, answers and perspectives in the current state of airline travel. May 4, 2017. 01:28:55-01:33:48. Online: https://www.commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/hearings?ID=C3586801-EFA9-493C-B3FB-74779C0AC3D2

National Consumers League announces winners of seventh annual Script Your Future Medication Adherence Team Challenge – National Consumers League

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May 31, 2018

Contest saw participation by 73 health profession schools hosting 350+ events in 17 states and reaching 1.5 million consumers nationwide

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242

Washington, DC — Today, the National Consumers League (NCL) and its partners announced the winners of the seventh annual Script Your Future Medication Adherence Team Challenge, a competition designed to engage health profession students and faculty across the nation by encouraging teams to develop creative ideas, events, and initiatives to raise public awareness about the importance of medication adherence. This year’s winners are University of Charleston School of Pharmacy, University of the Sciences Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM), University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, Touro University California College of Pharmacy, and Pacific University School of Pharmacy.

The 2018 Medication Adherence Team Challenge is part of the national Script Your Future public awareness campaign coordinated by NCL with support from its partners and the Challenge sponsors—the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) Foundation, the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) and the American Pharmacists Association (APhA). “The Script Your Future Medication Adherence Team Challenge continues to be an innovative method for our future healthcare professionals to engage with their local communities,” said Executive Vice President and CEO at AACP Dr. Lucinda L. Maine. “The communications and events held in these communities provide essential information and strategies for patients to improve their medication adherence and ultimately their health outcomes.”

Research shows that nearly three out of four Americans do not take their medications as directed. This may lead to devastating results, particularly for people with chronic conditions. National health advocacy leaders have recognized poor medication adherence, the outcome of which leads to more than one-third of medicine-related hospitalizations and at least 125,000 U.S. deaths each year, as a public health priority. Improved medication adherence leads to better health outcomes and reduced total healthcare costs, and it was for these reasons that NCL launched the Script Your Future awareness campaign in 2011. The Team Challenge was established as a way to extend campaign messages into medical and other health profession schools, and to nurture adherence-minded values in future generations of professionals entering the workplace.

“Once again, the robust outreach the student teams conducted to promote medication adherence in their communities was not only impressive, but also highlighted the integral role the entire health professional team plays in achieving positive health outcomes,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “We continue to be encouraged by the collaboration and creativity of the next generation of healthcare professionals and are honored to provide a platform in the Team Challenge that promotes an interprofessional approach to quality, adherence-minded care.”

Top performing teams are honored with a National Award for overall outstanding team achievement, or a Focused Award, which recognizes outstanding team achievement in the specific areas of health disparities/under-represented community outreach, media/communications outreach, or creative interprofessional team event. This year, the Script Your Future National Awards went to the University of Charleston School of Pharmacy and University of the Sciences Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. This is the third win in a row for the University of Charleston, and the first National Award win for University of the Sciences, who was recognized as the Rookie Award winner last year. The focused awardees were: Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (Health Disparities), University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy (Creative Inter-professional Team Event), and Touro University California College of Pharmacy (Media Outreach). Finally, the Rookie Award—which recognizes an outstanding team in their first or second year of the Challenge—went to Pacific University School of Pharmacy.

“The Script Your Future Team Challenge is the perfect vehicle to inspire the imaginative thinking that is going to drive greater medication adherence, which in turn will produce better health outcomes, while lowering overall spending,” said NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hoey, RPh, MBA. “Pharmacists are clinically-trained medication experts. They should and do play a prominent role in this event. We applaud all the Script Your Future participants for their efforts and suspect that some of their ideas will gain traction with a larger audience going forward.”

This year, more than 3,000 future healthcare professionals and volunteers held more than 350 events in 17 states, directly counseled more than 14,000 patients, and exposed 1.5 million consumers nationwide to Script Your Future messaging. Since the Challenge began in 2011, more than 15,000 future healthcare professionals have directly counseled nearly 65,000 patients and reached more than 24.5 million consumers.

“The Script Your Future campaign provides an opportunity to engage student communities in developing collaborative, interprofessional teams to address medication non-adherence and improve population health. This initiative continues to advance patient care and foster collaboration all across the country. The NACDS Foundation is proud to be a part of this unique opportunity for students to share their talents and make a difference in their communities,” said NACDS Foundation President Kathleen Jaeger. 

“Pharmacists are medication experts, and nearly all Americans live within 5 miles of a community pharmacy. Yet, almost 50 percent of people prescribed medications for chronic diseases do not take their medication correctly. Pharmacist-provided care services help improve adherence and optimize the effects of prescription medications. The Medication Adherence Team Challenge increases awareness of the pharmacist’s role, promotes interdisciplinary care teams, and, most importantly, helps patients,” said APhA CEO Thomas E. Menighan, BSPharm, MBA, ScD (Hon), FAPhA.

The recognized schools, selected from dozens of applications and 73 participating educational institutions, are listed below.

National Challenge Award: University of Charleston School of Pharmacy, Charleston, WV
The University of Charleston School of Pharmacy partnered with the University’s Nursing Program, Physician Assistant Program, several student organizations, and numerous community partners to sponsor 34 innovative medication adherence events. In addition to directly counseling nearly 2,000 patients, the team expanded their reach beyond West Virginia, reaching more than 33,000 people via social media, collecting over 3,000 “I Will” pledges through online and in-person distribution, and hosting a BlogTalk radio series that reached more than 200,000 people. The team also coordinated a Pharmacist’s Day at the Legislature, where 280 student pharmacists educated more than 1,500 legislators and Capitol guests on the importance of medication adherence and provided point-of-care testing. In addition to interventions addressing cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and diabetes, many of the Charleston team’s activities focused on educating the community on prescription drug misuse and abuse, given West Virginia’s opioid crisis. These activities included providing naloxone training to high school students, and continuing their “Generation Rx” program, which educated 300 elementary school students on medication adherence, medication safety, and proper medication disposal.

National Challenge Award: University of the Sciences Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, Philadelphia, PA
University of the Sciences Philadelphia College of Pharmacy (USciences) continued to build upon their award-winning work from last year, reaching nearly 8,000 people through 19 community events and social media outreach. Students from USciences’ Colleges of Pharmacy and Health Sciences comprised the interprofessional team. In addition, they partnered with Temple University’s Schools of Dentistry and Medicine, medical, physician assistant, and nursing students from Drexel University and Jefferson University, along with several community organizations. The team directly counseled over 600 patients, collected over 600 “I Will” pledges, and expanded upon the medication adherence wallet cards by creating a larger, color-coded medication schedule to aid patients with physical or visual impairments in appropriate medication administration. Other activities included regular patient education tables at Sunray Drugs, Philadelphia’s largest cohort of independent pharmacies; inclusion in the West Philadelphia Weekly newspaper; visits to assisted living facilities in the Philadelphia region; and participation in numerous health fairs, including the “Know Your Numbers” Men’s Health Initiative of 2018, Philadelphia’s largest screening event for men. The team also created two excellent videos: one highlighting their outreach efforts during the Challenge, and a PSA emphasizing the importance of medication adherence.   

National Challenge Award: Finalists
The following schools were named Finalists under the National Award category: Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine School of Pharmacy (LECOM), Ohio State University College of Pharmacy, University of Cincinnati James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, Touro University California College of Pharmacy, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, and University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy.

Rookie Award: Pacific University School of Pharmacy, Hillsboro, OR
Pacific University School of Pharmacy, in conjunction with the university’s College of Optometry and Schools of Graduate Psychology and Dental Hygiene, made an excellent showing in their second year of competing in the Team Challenge. Their activities included participation in several health fairs, outreach to psychology and optometry clinics, an excellent animated video about the importance of medication adherence, and the distribution of Script Your Future wallet cards at “Potluck in the Park,” a program that serves free hot meals and other services to the transient population in Portland.  

Rookie Award Finalist: South College School of Pharmacy, Knoxville, TN
South College School of Pharmacy in Knoxville, TN also made a very strong showing in the Team Challenge as a first-time competitor.  

FOCUSED AWARDS
Health Disparities/Under-represented Community Outreach Award: Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM), Erie, PA and Bradenton, FL
Pharmacy, medical, nursing, and dental students from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) addressed barriers to medication adherence through robust outreach to pediatric, elderly, and homeless populations in Erie (PA) and Manatee (FL) Counties. LECOM’s efforts included participation in the “Give Kids a Smile” event, which targets children from low-income families with no access to dental care or dental insurance; the “Project Rainbow” event which promotes safe medication use for pediatric patients with disabilities, presentations to seniors in retiree homes and mobile home parks; and providing blood pressure and glucose screenings for the homeless.

Communication and Media Outreach Award: Touro University California College of Pharmacy, Vallejo, CA
This year’s Media/Communications Outreach Award went to Touro University California College of Pharmacy, who through several media platforms reached close to 10,000 people. Touro’s team produced an exceptional animated video educating patients, friends, and caregivers on how to broach the subject of medication adherence. The team also educated thousands of people through social media and published an Op-Ed providing tips for caregivers and patients with chronic disease to use when speaking to a healthcare provider.

Creative Inter-Professional Team Event Award: University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, Pittsburgh, PA 
The University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy partnered with every health and science school at their institution — including the Schools of Dental Medicine, Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Public Health, Medicine, Nursing, and Social Work — to conduct several outstanding events that raised the importance of adherence in their community. In addition to patient counseling and point-of-care testing, other activities included tabling in various inpatient and outpatient locations, distributing pill boxes, conducting medication reconciliations, and participation in the University’s SilverScripts program, which targets the geriatric population in Pittsburgh. Ultimately, the team conducted over 2,000 one-on-one patient encounters.

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About Script Your Future
Launched in 2011, Script Your Future is a campaign of the National Consumers League (NCL), a private, non-profit membership organization founded in 1899. NCL’s mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. As an advocacy organization, NCL is working to educate consumers and key health stakeholders on the importance of taking medication as directed. For more information about the Script Your Future campaign, visit ScriptYourFuture.org. For more information on NCL, please visit nclnet.org.

The differential impact of tariffs on Chinese tech – National Consumers League

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Earlier this spring, the Trump Administration announced plans to follow up its tariffs on imported steel and aluminum with 25 percent tariffs on approximately $60 billion worth of imports from China. News about a potential “hold” notwithstanding, one area that hasn’t gotten enough attention is the impact of these potential tariffs on the digital divide generally, and low-income consumers and communities of color specifically.

First off, let’s acknowledge that if you have a smartphone in your pocket – regardless of brand – chances are that it probably has one or more components in it that originated in China. For example, most smartphones require the use of so-called rare earth materials in things like screens, batteries, and other components. Estimates are that China controls 90 percent or more of market for rare earth materials. China is also the source of components make modern smartphones the technological marvels they are.

While the devices themselves weren’t on the list of 1,000 products announced by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in April, smartphone components like touch screens, batteries, and printed circuit assemblies were. So while your next iPhone won’t come with a 25 percent price hike, components in that phone that are hit by the tariffs mean that phone prices could increase more than they otherwise would without the tariffs. In addition, because components like touch screens are on the list, getting that cracked iPhone screen fixed at the mall could be even more expensive. Cell phone bargain-hunters could get hit, too. Most cell phone companies collect older phones from their customers to repair, refurbish, and ultimately resell. Since that process can require the use of imported Chinese components, the price of those “certified pre-owned” phones that most carriers offer at a steep discount could go up. Finally, many of the components that go into modern networking equipment — the stuff that big cell phone carriers are using to build next-generation 5G networks — are affected by the tariffs. That will drive up carriers’ network build-out costs, which will ultimately be passed along to consumers in the form of higher monthly service charges.

Now, if Apple decides to pass the higher cost of their phones’ components along to consumers, not many will shed a tear for the Apple fanboy that has to pay more for their Apple iPhone X (starting price: $999). However, consumers at the lower end of the income spectrum — consumers for whom their smartphone is their primary way of accessing the internet — will feel the pinch, and that’s something that should worry those of us who believe closing the Digital Divide is a key public interest priority.

According to the Pew Research Center, 24 percent of African-American and 35 percent of Hispanics do not use broadband at home, but own a smartphone. In addition, 31 percent of consumers with annual incomes below $30,000 depend on their smartphones as their primary means of broadband access. A key component of obtaining broadband access for those communities will be the cost of a device. Even a small increase in the price of a smartphone is likely to reduce adoption rates among communities for whom the smartphone is the sole internet access device. Not being able to afford a phone affects low-income consumers’ ability to access a range of important social services, employment opportunities, support networks and other critically important content.

While protecting U.S. manufacturing jobs — one of the Administration’s rationales for the tariffs in the first place — is a laudable goal, tariffs are a blunt instrument to try and do so. The impact of the proposed tariffs on vulnerable populations and the digital divide needs more attention. The USTR should take these downstream consumer impacts into account as they consider a final list of goods that will be hit by the tariffs.

National Consumers League: Supreme Court ruling in Epic Systems v. Lewis et al a ‘disaster for workers’ – National Consumers League

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May 21, 2018

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

Washington, DC—In a controversial 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court today sided against workers and with powerful corporations. In Epic Systems v. Lewis et al., the high court today said it is okay for companies to require workers to sign forced arbitration clauses as a condition of employment. These clauses have the effect of nullifying the rights of workers to band together in class action suits when a company engages in systemic wrongdoing or breaks the law. Because the right to bring charges into a public court is waived by signing these clauses, allegations end up behind closed doors in secret proceedings where companies overwhelmingly win.

“This is a gift to America’s corporations and a disaster for workers,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “Allowing companies to break the law and not have to worry about being held accountable creates a toxic work environment where wrongdoing runs rampant. We’ve seen it at Fox News, where Roger Ailes and Bill O’Reilly sexually harassed female employees for decades and *hid behind forced arbitration clauses. We’ve see it, too, at Sterling Jewelers, parent company to Jared and Kay Jewelers, which required employees to sign forced arbitration clauses and where more than *250 women allege rampant sexual harassment.”

Protecting corporate wrongdoing, whether it’s wage theft, discrimination, or sexual harassment, is bad policy and as history has proven, is ultimately bad for business. Companies like Microsoft understand that. “The silencing of people’s voices has clearly had an impact in perpetuating sexual harassment,” *Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president and chief legal officer told the New York Times last year.

In *an op-ed article in the New York Times in October 2017, Gretchen Carlson, who was sexually harassed at Fox News when she was a reporter, wrote that “reforming arbitration laws is key to stopping sexual harassment.” As Carlson recently stated, “If a woman’s being sexually harassed in the workplace and she has an arbitration clause, she’s screwed.”

Few workers are able to take on their employer by themselves and risk termination, abuse, or worse. Few workers can afford to spend thousands of dollars to pursue an individual case. Collective and class actions exist for this very reason; so that regular people can pool their claims and get a lawyer to pursue their case.

An estimated 60.1 million workers in America – 56 percent of private-sector nonunion employees – have been subject to forced arbitration clauses, and of those, nearly one in three (30 percent) have lost the right to challenge wrongdoing through collective legal actions. If it is not already in place, today’s decision will mean that becomes standard employer practice. Sadly, with this decision the Supreme Court in Epic Systems v. Lewis et al. has given corporations the right to further tilt the legal system to their favor.

A spirited and lengthy dissent in Epic Systems, written by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and joined by Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Breyer, called the decision “egregiously wrong,” a “destructive result,” and said, “the inevitable result of today’s decision will be the underenforcement of federal and state statutes designed to advance the well-being of vulnerable workers.”

“We agree with Justice Ginsburg and her colleagues,” said NCL’s Greenberg. “Now we must demand from Congress a legislative solution that restores the fundamental right of workers – including women fighting sexual harassment – to band together.”

*Links are no longer active as the original sources have removed the content, sometimes due to federal website changes or restructurings.

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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.

The promise and peril of always-on ad filtering – National Consumers League

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Last year, we examined whether the growth of ad blocking was partly a logical response to consumers’ desire to reduce their data security risk. The catalyst for that blog post was Google’s announcement that it intended to include ad filtering-by-default in its Chrome browser, the most popular browser on the market. Earlier this year, that promise became a reality as Google rolled out an update to Chrome that included the ad filtering function.

Much of the online discussion around this move has centered on whether Google’s move, while laudable for pushing for less-annoying ads, should be viewed as a way for Google to give its advertising business an unfair leg up. That conversation is one that needs to happen to ensure that Google doesn’t abuse its market position as both the leading browser maker and the Web’s dominant advertising platform. However, it’s also important to consider whether and how consumers’ data security could benefit from this move. In this blog posting, I take a look at some of the data security benefits that could flow from the growth of always-on ad filtering.

First, however, we must acknowledge that the Coalition for Better Ads (whose Better Ads Standard serves as the basis for Chrome ad filtering tool) had limited goals. One reason for this may be that the Coalition didn’t include any consumer organization representatives as it developed its standard, who would have probably pushed for a broader scope. While removing annoying ads is certainly a plus for consumers, this limited scope means Chrome’s ad filter won’t address many of the reasons that consumers have increasingly embracing third-party ad blockers. As our colleagues at the Electronic Frontier Foundation recently noted:

This industry membership explains the limited horizon of the group, which ignores the non-format factors that annoy and drive users to install content blockers. While people are alienated by aggressive ad formats, the problem has other dimensions. Whether it’s the use of ads as a vector for malware, the consumption of mobile data plans by bloated ads, or the monitoring of user behavior through tracking technologies, users have a lot of reasons to take action and defend themselves.

Given this limited scope, what data security benefits can Chrome’s ad filtering provide to consumers? For one, filtering out annoying ads can help reduce consumers’ data security risk. When we first looked at this issue, we noted studies by UC Berkeley and UC Santa Barbara (supported by Google) and security firm Namogoo showing that tens of millions of browsers visiting popular websites were infected with malware and spyware.

Second, by having a default ad filtering function built in to Chrome, consumers’ need to install a third-party ad blocker can be reduced. While plenty of consumers install ad blockers for legitimate privacy reasons, scammers have found a lucrative side business in creating fake ad blocking software. For example, five fake ad blockers on the Chrome Web Store were downloaded more than 20 million times before the company shut it down this April.

Finally, as the impact of ad filtering on Chrome takes hold throughout the digital ecosystem, there will be pressure on other browser makers to improve their own technology to better protect consumers from ad-based malware. For example, in March, Mozilla announced that they will be rolling out ad filtering on their Firefox browser this fall. It seems likely that if consumers vote with their mouse clicks and choose more secure browsers, we’ll see other browser makers implement this technology as well.

Going forward, we will be monitoring whether default ad filtering on Chrome and other browsers has a demonstrable impact on browser infection rates. Ultimately, regardless of their browser choice, the goal should be for consumers to have a reasonable level of protection against browser-based malware attacks.

Event: Addressing Forced and Child Labor in Agricultural Supply Chains – National Consumers League

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On Tuesday, June 26, 2018, the Fair Labor Association and the National Consumers League will host an event in Washington, DC to inform key industry and civil society stakeholders about the outcome of a recent pilot project, and to provide lessons learned in implementing the USDA Guidelines for Eliminating Child and Forced Labor in Agricultural Supply Chains.

Co-hosted by the National Consumers League and
the Fair Labor Association

Addressing Forced and Child Labor in Agricultural Supply Chains

Washington, DC

DATE: Tuesday, June 26, 2018
VENUE:  Hall of the States, 444 North Capitol St., Washington, DC
TIMING: 10 AM – 12 PM
RSVP: Please send acceptances/regrets to dcevent@conecomm.com

On behalf of the Fair Labor Association and the National Consumers League, you are invited to attend an event on Tuesday, June 26, 2018 that will inform key industry and civil society stakeholders about the outcome of a recent pilot project, and provide lessons learned in implementing the USDA Guidelines for Eliminating Child and Forced Labor in Agricultural Supply Chains.

The pilot, made possible through the support of the U.S. Department of Labor International Labor Affairs Bureau (UDOL-ILAB), Nestlé, and two of its suppliers, Olam and Balsu, is aimed at testing the implementation of USDA guidelines that outline best practices for eliminating child and forced labor in agricultural supply chains. The event will feature:

  • An overview of lessons learned related to child labor and ethical supply chain recruitment
  • Keynote addresses from Nestlé, the Fair Labor Association, National Consumers League, and Balsu
  • A premiere screening of the pilot program documentary film shot during the 2017 hazelnut harvest season in Turkey

A light breakfast will be provided.

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For more information

We hope that you will join us! To register, please send an email to DCEvent@conecomm.com.