Augh! My New Phone Hates Me – National Consumers League

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By Lisa Hertzberg, LifeSmarts Program Director

I just renewed my cell phone plan and “upgraded” to a smartphone. Waaaah! I miss my old phone! Friends assure me I won’t miss it by tomorrow or the next day, but for now I think my new phone hates me and it might be mutual.

Here is a sampling of the challenges I encountered on the first day:

  • Help, my phone went to sleep. Dropping it apparently does not wake it up.
  • I can take a picture, oops—that was video. Now how do I send it?
  • How do I answer a call – wait, people still make calls on these things?
  • How do I type on this keyboard since my fingers are thicker than toothpicks?
  • What are you talking about when you say, “drag the ring?”

I’m guessing the typical LifeSmarts participant could give me a 10-minute tutorial that would move me miles ahead in getting acquainted with my new phone. Cell phone penetration in the US is 96%, and while it’s hard to come up with numbers specifically for teen users, surveys report that at least 75% of American youth ages 10-17 have cell phones, and fully 45% of this group have smartphones which they use to text, go online, and even make the occasional phone call.

As I fight to type in recognizable English on my new keyboard, I see a statistic online that nearly half of teens report they can text with their eyes closed. Wow, in my current state I find that very impressive. Less cool – 34% of teens who text admit to texting while driving, 26% of teens with phones have been bullied by texts or phone calls, and 15% of teens have received “sexting” messages containing nude or nearly nude images of someone they know.

Like all things, there are pluses and minuses to cell phone technology and it’s important to understand what they are. Here’s hoping I get the hang of my new phone, so that in a couple of years I can go kicking and screaming to the next technological advancement.

NCL hails CPSC decision to move forward with developing national table saw safety standards – National Consumers League

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October 5, 2011

Contact: NCL Communications, (202) 835-3323, media@nclnet.org

Washington, DC—The nation’s oldest consumer organization, the National Consumers League (NCL), today lauded a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) vote on an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) to move forward on achieving a national safety standard for table saws.

According to CPSC’s own data, consumers suffer 40,000 table saw injuries each year, 4,000 of which are finger amputations. That translates into 10 finger amputations every day for those using table saws.

NCL has been advocating for table saw safety standards since November of 2010, when NCL a sent a letter to the Chairman and each of the other four CPSC Commissioners, stating that: “NCL strongly urges the Commission to take action toward a performance standard for table saw safety.” In May of 2011, NCL brought table saw victims from across the country to CPSC headquarters to share their debilitating injuries with CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. The letter and victim profiles are highlighted below.

NCL Letter to CPSC

Victim Profiles

“We are greatly encouraged by the CPSC’s unanimous 5-0 vote in favor of moving forward with the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding table saw safety,” said Greenberg.

“With table saws, clearly we have a pattern of injury, we have technology to prevent the injuries, and we can do so for a reasonable cost. The CPSC is greatly advancing the cause of protecting the 40,000 consumers each year who are injured unnecessarily by table saws. We applaud the Chairman for her leadership and look forward to working with her and the Commission in the months to come,” Greenberg said.

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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.

2011 Trumpeter Awards: NCL to honor FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg and AFT President Randi Weingarten for careers in service – National Consumers League

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October 4, 2011

Contact: NCL Communications, (202) 835-3323, media@nclnet.org

Washington, D.C.—The National Consumers League will honor Federal Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner, Dr. Margaret Hamburg, and American Federation of Teachers President, Randi Weingarten, with its highest honor, the Trumpeter Award, Thursday, October 6, in Washington DC. The event will bring together a diverse group of labor unions, consumer advocates, organizations, and industries.

“The Trumpeter Award is NCL’s highest honor, given to leaders who are not afraid to speak out for social justice and for the rights of consumers. No one fits that description better than Dr. Peggy Hamburg and Randi Weingarten,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “Their dedication to improving the quality of life for workers and consumers in the United States has earned them this year’s Trumpeter Award.”

NCL will also be honoring Paheadra Robinson, Director of Consumer Protection at the Mississippi Center for Justice, with the Florence Kelley Consumer Leadership Award, named for NCL’s early leader and awarded to grassroots consumer advocates.

The event will feature a reception, dinner, and speaking appearances by the three honorees, as well as:

Ann F. Lewis, President, No Limits Foundation

Jennifer Donelan, Reporter, ABC7 / WJLA-TV

Martha Bergmark, Founding President and CEO, Mississippi Center for Justice

Neal Gregory, Patient Advocate, Mended Hearts

What: National Consumers League’s 2011 Trumpeter Awards Dinner

When: Thursday, October 6, 2011 | 6 p.m. Reception | 7 p.m. Dinner and Presentation of Awards

Where: Capital Hilton, 1001 16th Street NW, Washington, DC

Questions or to RSVP: Larry Bostian, National Consumers League 202-835-3323

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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.

Listeria outbreak highlights importance of a strong food safety system – National Consumers League

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By Teresa Green,  Linda Golodner Food Safety and Nutrition Fellow

An ongoing outbreak of listeria, a rare but potentially lethal foodborne pathogen, has sickened at least 100 people and claimed 18 lives. This current crisis is the most deadly outbreak of foodborne illness this country has seen in a decade. Rocky Ford cantaloupes from Jensen Farms have been linked to the illnesses. As the number of those impacted rises, food safety experts and members of the public are rightfully concerned and are asking themselves how such a widespread outbreak could occur.

What went wrong?

One issue that concerns consumer advocates is that there are currently no regulations for the safe handling of produce. While FDA and the industry have both released recommendations, these guidance documents do not establish legally enforceable responsibilities and thus the industry is not held to one standard of safety.

The second issue is how to react once contamination has occurred.  Historically, the responsibility of dealing with an outbreak has rested on the industry. When a product made people sick, the company would issue a voluntary recall, as was the case with Jensen Farms’ cantaloupes. However, the recall was not announced until September 14, nearly a month an a half after the first person fell ill, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

What is the solution?

As essential part of food safety is clear, concise regulations.  As part of the recently enacted FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), the FDA will have to establish “mandatory, science-based, minimum standards” for the production of fruits and vegetables.  FDA plans to issue a proposed rule governing produce safety by the spring of 2012.  In light of the recent outbreak, the need for such regulations is clear and consumer groups such as NCL have led the charge in urging the FDA to begin rulemaking as quickly as possible.

Even with improved regulations, our food supply will never be completely safe from foodborne pathogens.  This means that we need a mechanism for rapidly responding to a foodborne outbreak. Recognition of this fact led the writers of FSMA to grant FDA mandatory recall authority.  Instead of waiting for the manufacturer to take action, FDA can now force a recall when it has reason to believe a product has become adulterated and could cause harm if consumed.

To avoid future recalls, FDA must be willing to act.  The agency must establish clear standards for produce safety and it must be willing to act decisively when those standards are not enough to protect American consumers. Hopefully, this combination of clear standards and quick action can help avoid future outbreaks of this scale.

NCL’s Fraud Center tracking spike in mystery shopper scam – National Consumers League

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With a still sluggish economy and steady unemployment figures, many Americans are looking for work opportunities, only to be unwittingly scammed in the process. Mystery shopping scams have become an increasingly popular swindle, with complaints to NCL’s Fraud Center regarding fake check scams involving fraudulent mystery shopper and work-at-home schemes up nearly 9 percent in the last six months.Last week, NCL’s Fraud Center was contacted by a woman we’ll call “Gloria.” Gloria has two young children who just returned to school, and with some extra time on her hands, Gloria began cruising online job boards for part time work. Gloria soon came across a mystery shopping position that looked promising—the assignment was to visit a local wire transferring service and send money back to the mystery shopping company, using funds from a check the shopping company would provide. After that, all she had to do was write a brief report about her experience at the wiring service location. She immediately contacted the company and was told she was the “perfect candidate” for the job. Within a few days, she was sent a realistic looking check for $5,700 and was instructed to deposit the money in her personal bank account, keep $200 as payment for her work, and wire the remaining balance back to the mystery shopping company. Gloria gladly did as she was told, only to learn that—instead of a quick payday—the fake check bounced, and she is now on the hook for $5,700 she doesn’t have. To add insult to injury, Gloria even wrote a report about the money wiring service she used—robbing Gloria of not only her money, but her time as well.

Mystery shopping scams work by first luring the consumer with the promise of easy money; in Gloria’s case it was 200 bucks for only a couple hours of work. Victims are then instructed to deposit a fake check, keep the amount that has been designated as their “payment,” and wire the money back to the scammer. Many consumers are unaware that, by law, banks must make the funds from deposited checks available within days, although uncovering a fake check can take weeks. Consumers are responsible for the checks they deposit, so if a check turns out to be a fake, they are responsible for paying the bank back.

The experts at NCL’s Fraud Center are tracking scams like Gloria’s and are reminding consumers of the most common red flags and tips for spotting these fraudulent mystery shopper opportunities, such as:

  • A legitimate company will never ask you to use a money transfer to send cash to them or anywhere else, for any purpose.
  • Remember that it’s never a good idea never to deposit a check from someone you don’t know—especially if the stranger is asking you to wire money.
  • Never pay a fee to become a mystery shopper. Legitimate companies don’t charge people to work for them—they pay people to work for them.
  • Be suspicious of any company that hires you on the basis of an email or phone call, without any interview or background checks.
  • If you are considering becoming a mystery shopper, do your research first. Spend some time online searching for reviews and comments about mystery shopping companies that are accepting applications.
  • Any company that promises you that can make a lot of money as a mystery shopper is almost certainly a scam.
  • If mystery shoppers are asked to make purchases, it’s usually for very small amounts for which they will be reimbursed.
  • Mystery shoppers are paid after completing their assignments and returning the questionnaires to the companies that hired them. Shoppers never receive checks upfront.
  • Businesses often arrange for mystery shoppers through independent companies, many of which are members of the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA). For more information go to www.mysteryshop.org.

If you think you have encountered a mystery shopping scam, please visit NCL’s Fraud Center and file a complaint.

Consumer group urges quick FDA action on deadly cantaloupe outbreak – National Consumers League

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September 30, 2011

Contact: NCL Communications, (202) 835-3323, media@nclnet.org

Washington, DC- The National Consumers League is calling on the FDA to act swiftly to warn consumers about deadly cantaloupes and speed the release of guidelines and regulations regarding the safe production of produce.  A recent deadly outbreak of listeria – a foodborne pathogen – has been linked to the “Rocky Ford” brand coming from Jensen Farms in Colorado. The root cause of the contamination has not yet been determined.

“This is a deadly outbreak that has already killed 13 and sickened 72 people. The FDA must act immediately to alert consumers and get these cantaloupes out of our food supply,” said Teresa Green, NCL’s food safety expert. “We have no time to waste.”

The cantaloupes are contaminated with the pathogen Listeria monocytogene, a serious and sometimes lethal foodborne illness. The elderly, those with weakened immune systems and pregnant women and their babies are especially vulnerable to infection.  Listeria monocytogene has a mortality rate of 16 percent.

Jensen Farm cantaloupes were recalled on September 14, 2011 and FDA is working with state and local partners to ensure that all contaminated melons are removed from commerce. Nevertheless, due to listeria’s long incubation period, which ranges from two weeks to two months, new cases may continue to arise.

“NCL urges consumers to check with their supermarkets to learn whether their cantaloupes are from Jensen Farms. We also urge restaurants and stores with salad bars or otherwise selling cantaloupes to ensure that they are not serving the melons from Jensen Farms,” said Green.

“Consumers, restaurants or anyone else serving cantaloupe must check to see where the fruit came from. If they discover they have Jensen Farms’ melons, dispose of them immediately.”

NCL also urges consumers to thoroughly clean and sanitize any kitchen and refrigerator surfaces that might have come into contact with infected melon.  Any other food that may have come into contact with a contaminated cantaloupe should also be disposed of.  Consumers should be aware that the cold temperatures of a refrigerator do not kill listeria.

In light of this outbreak and the devastating toll it has taken, the National Consumers League urges FDA to speed up the release of guidelines and regulations for the safe production of cantaloupe and other produce.

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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.

Reebok’s toning shoes: $25 million dollars worth of false benefits and injury – National Consumers League

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By Mimi Johnson, NCL Director of Health Policy

You’d be hard pressed to find someone who wouldn’t welcome a shortcut to better health and a trimmer physique.  For the past few years, several different companies have marketed shoes to help women, men, and even children, more quickly drop pounds and gain muscle.

You won’t see such claims any more, says the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Reebok has just settled – for $25 million dollars – with the FTC over what they claim were unsubstantiated claims of benefits.  Reebok made very specific product promises, claiming that their line of their toning sneakers would produce 28% more muscle tone in the glutes and 11% more muscle tone in the calf and hamstrings than regular sneakers (see the ad below).

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bvOxStV8gg&feature=related]

Other brands who might soon follow suit include Sketchers and New Balance, both of which are currently under investigation or part of class-action lawsuits over false benefit claims and injuries. The Consumer Produce Safety Commission (CPSC) has more than 36 complaints in its database, ranging from reports of stress fractures to pain.  While a $25 million dollar settlement might seem like a big deal, the toning shoe industry raked in about $1 billion last year alone and Reebok spent more than $40 million advertising the shoes benefits since the beginning of 2010

If you bought Reebok toning shoes or EasyTone apparel on or after December 5, 2008, you are eligible for refunds.  For more information about the settlement and to submit your claim, visit www.reeboksettlement.com/ftc.

Strong food safety regulations are common sense – National Consumers League

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Teresa Green recently joined The National Consumers League as the Linda Golodner Food Safety and Nutrition Fellow.  In her role, Teresa deals with a broad array of food issues including food labeling, truth in advertising, alcohol, child nutrition, food fraud and food safety. 

By Teresa Green, Linda Golodner Food Safety and Nutrition Fellow

In the midst of a serious outbreak of Listeria, which has killed at least 13 people and left more than 70 others seriously ill, Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann visited a meat packing plant and called for fewer government regulations on the food industry. “We want to have safety,” Ms. Bachmann said, “but at the same time we want to have some common sense.”  When it comes to foodborne illnesses, safety and common sense is often the same thing: government oversight helps ensure a safer food supply.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that every, year roughly 48 million people, or 1 in 6 Americans, contract foodborne illnesses. Of those who get sick, 128,000 will be hospitalized and over 3,000 will die.  And for those who get better, foodborne illnesses can be far more than a stomach ache; they often result in long term health consequences, such as arthritis and kidney failure.

While some in the industry claim that regulations stifle growth, a powerful argument at a time when many Americans are struggling to find work, the truth is much more complicated. The cost of food recalls is high, averaging around $5 million. The resulting loss of consumer confidence in a brand can be equally devastating, not just to the brand in question, but to the whole food industry. Strict food safety rules will never create a perfect system, but they can ensure that as few outbreaks as possible occur.

Enter the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), which was signed into law by President Obama on January 4, 2011. In the face of a globalized and increasingly technological food supply, FSMA provides a much-needed modernization of the food safety system in this country by shifting the emphasis away from responding to foodborne illness outbreaks. It does this by focusing on enhanced partnerships, import safety, prevention, and inspections, compliance and response. This means that the FDA will have greater authority to force a company to issue a recall and will be better able to trace an outbreak back to its source.

FSMA is good news for American consumers. When it is fully implemented, we will have a new food safety system that focuses on the prevention of, rather than the response to, foodborne pathogens.  This approach will mean a safer food supply and, as a result, fewer sick Americans.  Sounds like common sense to me.

Frustration in the halls of Congress – National Consumers League

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

Instead of calling for a vote or hearing on President Obama’s Jobs Plan, we are disappointed that the House Committee on Education & the Workforce chose to hold the fourth partisan hearing last week that focused on weakening the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), a federal agency tasked with maintaining balance and promoting collective bargaining between workers and employers.

The GOP majority in the House Committee on Education & the Workforce seems decidedly pro-employer and anti-regulation, to the detriment of American workers. Congressman Trey Gowdy (R-SC) has been an especially vocal and partisan critic of NLRB, especially the NLRB ruling against Boeing for moving its factory from Washington to South Carolina.

As President Obama recently noted, we have 14 months until the next election and Americans can’t wait that long for Congress to do something.  It’s time to stop promoting corporate profits alone and focus on ensuring the safety and prosperity of American workers.

The House Committee majority seems to take issue with all of NLRB’s rulings, even the most seemingly benign. For example, the NLRB recently issued a requirement that businesses post a free notice outlining the basic rights and responsibilities of workers and employers under the National Labor Relations Act—and critics responded by accusing NLRB of “over-reaching.”

“The president unveiled his jobs bill two weeks ago and it was introduced in Congress this week by Congressman Larson. Yet we’re here talking about a poster,” said Congressman Rob Andrews (D-NJ).

As outgoing NLRB Chairman Wilma Liebman noted in a recent NY Times article, the goal of the NLRB is still a sound one: to “further the policy of this statute, which is to further the practice of collective bargaining, obviously collective bargaining freely chosen.” Liebman concluded: “Some say collective bargaining is antithetical to the economy. I don’t buy that at all. This was a statute that worked. It created the middle class. It created good jobs.”

In an effort to start the conversation on the President’s Job Plan, ranking minority member Congressman George Miller (D-CA) announced the creation of an eForum on Jobs and has invited Americans to submit their stories about how the recession and economic downturn has affected their lives. The eForum on Jobs will initially run until Monday, October 3 and concentrate on gathering stories from the public on education, construction, and long-term unemployment, with selected stories to be published on the Democratic committee’s website.

For more information on how to submit your story to the eForum on Jobs, please visit https://democrats.edworkforce.house.gov/eforum.

Saving fingers and pushing for safer table saws – National Consumers League

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By Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director

I spent yesterday morning at the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) listening to a report from the Commission’s staff on Table Saw Blade Contact Injuries – this is the culmination of many years of study and deliberation and even a favorable vote toward a mandatory safety standard in 2006 that never materialized. Table saws are inherently dangerous devices to anyone who comes within 10 feet of one. A blade spins on a table at 100 mph and cuts through thick pieces of wood, even metal.  Even watching the saw in action is scary, knowing what it can do to fingers or hands upon contact is even worse.

But table saws are a staple in any woodshop, no woodworker can operate efficiently without one.  And these saws are also among the most dangerous devices, inflicting nearly 67,300 injuries a year, half of which land victims in the emergency room. Many of the injuries are severe and cause lifelong pain and trauma  – amputations from table saws occur 10 times a day, according to CPSC data.

However, today we have a technology, invented by Oregon scientist and patent lawyer Steve Gass, that all but removes the danger of table saws. It operates with a sensor that can distinguish between human flesh and a piece of wood, stopping the blade in a millisecond and preventing injury when it senses flesh. The company Gass runs – which now makes table saws because no manufacturer would license his technology back in 2001 or 2002 when he first developed the prototype – is called SawStop. 30,000 SawStop saws are in operation today, many in shop classes and cabinetry workshops.

The CPSC staff – which is made up of lawyers, scientists, engineers, actuaries, statisticians, and human factor experts – gathered all the relevant information in order to brief the five CPSC commissioners and make a recommendation that the commission move forward with an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. That’s the first of three steps – the last of which would be a final rule or regulation requiring safe table saws.

The fact that the CPSC has moved forward on its own – without being specifically required to do so by congress –is unusual in itself. What’s even more unusual, though, is that there is a near total fix to a major safety hazard – one that causes 40,000 plus injuries a year. NCL wrote a letter in November to the Commissioners asking them to adopt a mandatory safety standard with this flesh detecting technology. NCL has been front and center in pushing the CPSC to jumpstart an otherwise dormant process.

Finally, one of the most hopeful signs that we will get an effective safety standard were the comments by Republican appointee, Commissioner Anne Northup, at yesterday’s presentation. No liberal, Northrup had this to say about the proposed ANPR and possible federal safety standard: “Thanks for putting this on the agenda. I’ve wanted this on the agenda for a long time. If you’ve ever known anyone who was injured by a table saw, it’s debilitating and expensive to treat. This is the kind of work I came to the Commission to do.”

We are hoping that within a year – give or take – we might well have a new mandatory safety standard from the CPSC, requiring flesh detecting technology, perhaps starting with the larger saws and eventually required on all of them.  The CPSC was established to address just this type of hazard. We are pleased to see them moving forward so decisively.