Banks too expensive for many low-income Americans – National Consumers League

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Consumer advocates often lament the number of consumers who are “unbanked.” It’s true that having a bank account is a sign of stability and that having your money attached to a checking account and ATM card can help build credit and promote long term saving. But it appears that banking fees have driven millions of low income customers away; 25 million Americans are unbanked. Another 63 million are under-banked, which means they may have bank accounts but rely on some alternative financial services. These include check cashers, payday lenders, prepaid cards, and lending and saving circles instead of banks. 

I happened to see one of my relative’s Bank of America statements; this relative doesn’t earn much of an income. He opened a bank account with a $100 deposit and three months later there was only $25 left. He hadn’t spent any of money; the $75 went toward a $25 monthly fee to maintain the account. Thank god he didn’t bounce any checks; his account would have been wiped out.

Several years ago the New York Times Magazine, in a story about payday lenders, quoted a low-income customer who used Payday lenders because their fees were predictable. He said he couldn’t trust bank fees because he never knew what they would cost. He closed his bank account after bouncing two checks at $39 a pop.

This week’s New York Times featured an op-ed written by Lisa Servon, a profession of urban politics in New York who worked for a short period at Check Center a payday lender in Berkeley, CA. Her customers found that bank fees had increased 25 percent in one year, that only 39 percent of noninterest bearing checking accounts were free, down from 76 percent in 2009, and the average overdraft fee is $32.74, and low income people bounce checks because they have little or no financial cushion. Some of the payday lenders charge less for a money order than the post office. And Servon points out that bank overdraft charges could amount to 5,000 percent if viewed as a seven day loan. Servon concludes that the problem isn’t the unbanked. It’s the banks that have become too expensive.

Our hostile work environment for pregnant workers – National Consumers League

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Can a worker be fired for being pregnant? 

This question is still being asked today in workplaces across the country and soon in the Supreme Court. The answer is not as straightforward as it should be. In 1978, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) was signed into law and it amended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act to prohibit sex discrimination on the basis of pregnancy. Meaning a worker cannot be fired for being pregnant.

Sounds straightforward? 

However, some employers and employment lawyers searched for a loophole in the law and have found one. They argue that while one cannot be fired for being pregnant, one can be fired for a pregnancy related accommodation. Accommodations include: a heavy lifting restriction (often called light duty and that restricts lifting more than 25lbs.), requiring more bathroom breaks, needing to carry a water bottle to stay hydrated, using a stool instead of standing for a full shift, not working overtime, etc. Since these accommodations are often doctor ordered, women face the choice of endangering themselves and their pregnancy or losing their jobs and, in some cases, their health insurance.

In an October New York Times article, Doctor’s Letter Spells End of Job for Pregnant Employee, Angelica Valencia, a three months pregnant worker who had previously miscarried, was ordered by her doctor not to work overtime as she had another high risk pregnancy. When Ms. Valencia presented her employer with her doctor’s letter, her supervisors told her she could work only without restrictions and insisted that she work overtime.

Ms. Valencia begged her managers to excuse her from overtime as her doctor recommended. She pointed out that the company’s busy season typically ended in a month and that overtime was rarely needed for the rest of the year. Her managers still insisted that Ms. Valencia not work without a full duty medical clearance. By the end of the day Ms. Valencia was without her job. 

Unfortunately this is becoming an all too common occurrence. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the federal agency charged with enforcing federal anti-discrimination laws, has seen the rates of pregnancy related discrimination cases soar over the last few years especially among low-wage workers. 

On December 3,the Supreme Court will hear the Young v. United Parcel Service (UPS) case. The case asks the Court to rule on the argument that the PDA protects pregnant workers from being fired from their jobs for needing a reasonable workplace accommodation. In this case, UPS has a work policy of granting light duty, with a 25 lbs. lifting restriction, to employees with injuries, doctor recommendations, and, in some cases, even workers with DUIs. However, when Ms. Young presented UPS with her doctor’s letter recommending light duty she was denied her workplace accommodation and placed on unpaid leave, where she eventually lost not only her job but also her health insurance. 

In case the Supreme Court rules in favor of UPS, there is a legislative solution already in  motion. The Pregnant Worker Fairness Act was introduced in May 2013 in both the House of Representatives (H.R. 1975) and the Senate (S. 942). Along with women’s and worker advocates, the National Consumers League is moving this important piece of legislation forward. In this day and age, it’s time these outdated policies, i.e. discrimination, are removed from today’s workplaces.

Group heralds minimum wage, paid sick days election victories – National Consumers League

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November 5, 2014

Contact: Ben Klein, National Consumers League, benk@nclnet.org, (202) 835-3323

ashington, DC— The National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s pioneering consumer and labor organization, applauds election advances in a handful of states towards a living wage for all workers, with increases to the minimum wage in several states, and implementation of paid sick leave for workers in several others.

“Last night’s victories for working Americans are also victories for the states and communities where the minimum wage will be raised. Their citizens will have a better standard of living as a result of these increases,” said Sally Greenberg, executive director of NCL.

Arkansas raised its state’s minimum wage from $6.25 (lower than the federal minimum wage) to $7.50 an hour, with 50-cent increases scheduled for 2016 and 2017. Nebraska voters approved a boost to $8 an hour, and set it to increase to $9 an hour in 2016. South Dakota voters supported wage increases to $8.50 an hour and linked future increases to inflation. Alaska voters approved a hike from $7.75 to $8.75 and again to $9.75 in 2016, with additional increases tied to inflation.

Last night also provided workers in traditionally more liberal areas with wage increases as well. Illinois voters approved a non-binding measure to boost their state minimum wage from $8.25 to $10 next year. The city of San Francisco became the second city in the country, after Seattle, to gradually increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour in next few years. In a similar move, the city of Oakland, California, approved a measure taking its wage from $9 an hour to $12.25, set to begin in March.

Experiencing its biggest single advance in history, voters in four locations—the state of Massachusetts; Montclair and Trenton, NJ; and Oakland, CA—approved measures guaranteeing workers paid sick days. The victories reflect broad public support for Americans who work at the lowest paying jobs.

“Paid sick days are a common-sense policy that allows workers time off to care for themselves and family members. And with cold and flu season upon us, these policies will lead to healthier workplaces and classrooms,” said Michell McIntyre, outreach director of labor and worker rights at NCL. 

With last night’s victories at the ballot box, three states and 16 cities have passed paid sick days laws, including two states and 10 cities in 2014 alone. “With additional paid sick days legislation percolating in numerous states and several municipalities, clearly the public supports access to paid sick days for all workers,” said Greenberg.

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Its 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.

Consumer group praises Berkeley vote on soda tax – National Consumers League

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November 5, 2014

Contact: Ben Klein, National Consumers League, benk@nclnet.org, (202) 835-3323

Washington, DC- The National Consumers League (NCL) applauds Berkeley, California for passing the nation’s first tax on sweetened beverages yesterday. The measure imposes a one-cent-per-ounce tax on distributors, with proceeds going to the city’s general fund. With the looming obesity crisis, soft drink consumption’s link to health problems like obesity and Type 2 diabetes was likely the motivating force behind the debate.

“The residents of Berkeley were wise to support this modest tax on soda and to stand up to the soft drink industry. Taxes like these promote healthier beverages and fight the causes of obesity, ” said Sally Greenberg, NCL executive director.

In San Francisco, a similar measure proposed a two-cent-cent-per-ounce tax but did not pass. This measure would have required a two-thirds majority vote, as proceeds were earmarked for health and nutrition programs. Mexico’s soda tax, which was instituted in January, has resulted in decreased sales of high-calorie beverages and an increase in sales of water and low-calorie beverages. Even in areas where proposed taxes don’t pass, consumer awareness about the adverse effects of soft drink consumption is increased, potentially yielding positive health outcomes.

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Its 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.

Life Lesson 5: How I Learned to #TurnOutForWhat – National Consumers League

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Seth WoodsOne of the reasons I love LifeSmarts is that we teach teens life lessons the easy way (rather than the hard way). We take that seriously, that’s why our motto is “Learn it. Live it.”

This time, I don’t have a “life lesson” per se, but rather an imposition:

Go vote. And if you’re not yet 18, make sure your friends who can vote do so.

A recent Harvard poll shows that only 26% of voters under 30 plan to cast a ballot on Election Day, a noted drop from two years ago. And while it’s true we’re not voting for a President this time, this year’s elections will be just as important (if not more important).

On the ballot this year are 36 U.S. Senators and all 435 Representatives, who will have the chance to make great changes to government policy. Some of these issues are especially important for teens and millennials:

  • There is a movement to raise the minimum wage to over $10/hour. How would your life be changed if that happened?
  • Health care laws continue to be a controversial issue. What happens to your family if your coverage changes?
  • Millions of credit card numbers have been stolen from major retailers’ databases this year. What should the government do to protect these consumers?
  • What happens if the federal government shuts down again?

Not to mention there are elections for countless state and local offices that will have a greater impact on your life than Congress: state legislators who decide how much money goes to education and health care, county officials who set road budgets and noise ordinances, school board members that could start your school day later or fund your team’s travel to the National LifeSmarts Championship.

Smart consumers are also smart citizens, and it is your obligation to vote. Take this opportunity to speak up and be an active part of your community.

Go vote.

And if you’re not yet 18, make sure your friends who can vote do so.

Fast food workers and the international double standard – National Consumers League

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Did you know that Burger King pays its Copenhagen employees $20 an hour? That’s the BASE wage for fast food workers throughout Denmark and 2 ½ times what many fast food workers earn in the US. The spokesman for the International Franchise Association, Steve Caldeira,  that represents big businesses that have many franchises, gave a fairly pathetic defense in the New York Times (Fast Food in Denmark Offers Living Wages U.S. Workers Long For”) of why American companies  can’t pay these wages in the US. 

“Denmark is a small country.”  So what does that have to do with paying decent wages?  “with a far higher cost of living.” So that means Burger King and other fast food outlets can pay more when they have to. “Unions dominate and the employment system revolves around that fact.” So they have to pay more because of unions in Denmark but without unions, which they fight to the death in the US, they can get away with paying minimum wage. 

The average wage for fast food workers in the United States is $8.90/hour. According to a recent study from the University of California at Berkeley, half of American fast food workers have to rely on public assistance to make ends meet.

NCL sent a letter to the companies paying their European workers 2 ½ times what they pay those in the US in which we said “We believe it is both callous and unpatriotic for Burger King to shortchange the wages of your workforce, while paying more than double those wages in other countries where unions are more powerful.” We asked them to close this wage gap immediately!

The obvious conclusion is that Burger King and its fast food competitors also mentioned in the story can and do pay a living wage and decent benefits in other countries, but refuse to do so for your very own American workforce. The National Restaurant Association, an industry trade group, regularly opposes increased wages and benefits fast food and other workers in the restaurant industry.

Hamburgers in Denmark might cost a bit more — 80 cents or so according to the Times – they sell there as they would here. If doing the right thing requires raising the price of a Whopper by 80 cents, so be it. Consumers will pay that in the United States, as they do in Denmark.

We expect to see the usual excuses if we get an answer at all to our letters. They will respond by telling us how good Burger King is to its workforce or try to defend this behavior by explaining why things are different in Denmark. The reality is that consumers and workers support companies that treat their workforces with respect and pay them a living wage. This revelation about Burger King paying $20 and myriad benefits to your workforce across the Atlantic calls out for a company response.

NCL has also offered to work with the companies and support serious efforts to close the wage gap.

Where’s enforcement of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act ? – National Consumers League

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Early in my career, I worked as a staffer in the House of Representatives. During my time there, the Supreme Court ruled in Gilbert vs. General Electric and handed down a decision that was so absurd and insulting to women that Congress swiftly passed a bill to overturn the decision. The Court said in Gilbert that pregnant women didn’t have the right to be treated similarly to people with disabilities i.e., not forcing them to lift heavy objects or stand for hours. They rules that this was not sex discrimination but discrimination against pregnant people, and that’s not sex discrimination. Uh huh. Right. 

I worked on passage of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, enacted in 1978, which prohibits discrimination against pregnant workers. Pregnancy has to be treated like any other disability and given proper accommodation. However, that hasn’t worked out very well for pregnant women. Thirty six years after the PDA, employers are flouting the Congressional intent of that legislation and the lower courts are letting them do it. 

Peggy Young vs. UPS will be heard by the Supreme Court December 3. Young asked UPS to excuse her from lifting heavy objects; they refused. She is one of many pregnant women whose employers won’t accommodate their need to reduce heavy duty and hours worked during pregnancy. 

Another victim is Angelica Valencia. She brought a case against her New York City employer – Fierman Produce Exchange – where she sorts potatoes –under the city’s Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Valencia is 39 weeks along; she has a high-risk pregnancy and makes $8.70 an hour. Her husband drives a bus; she needs the job, but was told by her doctor not to work overtime. When she asked for accommodation, her company let her go because her “at-risk” pregnancy didn’t work with their need for someone who could keep up with the “fast pace”. Really? The woman’s having a baby, she has an at-risk pregnancy, and your company policies are so lacking in flexibility and humanity that you fire her. I hope she wins big against Fierman.

And on the national stage, we need once and for all to give pregnant workers the same accommodations that those with disabilities receive. It’s so sad that we have to revisit Gilbert all over again, but that’s the reality and low-income women are paying the price.   I’ll be at the Peggy Young argument in the Supreme Court and cheering her on.

Group calls on Burger King, others to match European fast food worker wages – National Consumers League

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October 28, 2014

Contact: Ben Klein, National Consumers League, benk@nclnet.org, (202) 835-3323

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League (NCL) is calling on the CEOs of three companies to pay their workers a living wage in the United States, after a story appeared in the New York Times documenting that three chains–Burger King, McDonalds, and Starbucks–pay the equivalent of $20 an hour and provide myriad vacation and sick leave benefits to fast food workers in Denmark. 

“We are writing to you and to your competitors in the industry to ask that [you] pay a living wage to your entire workforce, starting in the United States, because clearly you can and will in countries that demand it,” said the letter, signed by Sally Greenberg, the League’s executive director.

The letter continued: “We believe it is both callous and unpatriotic for Burger King to shortchange the wages of your workforce, while paying more than double those wages in other countries where unions are more powerful.” 

NCL is demanding that these fast food outlets act to close this wage gap immediately. The Times story, written by Liz Alderman and Steven Greenhouse, noted that the average wage for fast food workers in the United States is $8.90/hour. According to a recent study from the University of California at Berkeley, half of American fast food workers have to rely on public assistance to make ends meet.

“The obvious conclusion is that Burger King and its fast food competitors also mentioned in the story can and do pay a living wage and decent benefits in other countries, but refuse to do so for your very own American workforce,” said Greenberg. NCL also noted that the National Restaurant Association, an industry trade group, regularly opposes increased wages and benefits fast food and other workers in the restaurant industry.

NCL noted that while hamburgers in Denmark might cost a bit more — 80 cents or so according to the Times — “… they sell there as they would here. If doing the right thing requires raising the price of a Whopper by 80 cents, so be it. Consumers will pay that in the United States, as they do in Denmark.”

Finally, the NCL letter asked the company not to offer up the usual excuses. “Please don’t respond by telling us how good Burger King is to its workforce or try to defend this behavior by explaining why things are different in Denmark. Consumers and workers support companies that treat their workforces with respect and pay them a living wage. This revelation about Burger King paying $20 and myriad benefits to your workforce across the Atlantic calls out for a company response.”

The NCL letter offered to work with the companies and support serious efforts to close the wage gap.

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Its 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.

National Consumers League statement on FTC action on data throttling – National Consumers League

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October 28, 2014

 

Contact: Ben Klein, National Consumers League, benk@nclnet.org, (202) 835-3323

Washington, D.C. – The National Consumers League today applauded the Federal Trade Commission for its actions to address consumer complaints that AT&T engaged in unfair throttling of consumers’ wireless data services. The following statement is attributable to Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director:

“It is important that wireless carriers be clear and upfront with their customers about what level of service they should expect when they pay for ‘unlimited’ data services. What should be unacceptable is if carriers allow consumers to pay for ‘unlimited’ plans but then use unreasonable throttling for business reasons instead of true network management reasons. It is clear from the FTC’s complaint that more than 3.5 million consumers did not get the level of service they expected based on the information they received. It is our hope that the FTC’s investigation will prompt a reevaluation of throttling practices that may be widespread in the wireless industry.”

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Its 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.

 

Consumer group welcomes ‘Food Scores’ rating tool – National Consumers League

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October 28, 2014

Contact: Ben Klein, National Consumers League, benk@nclnet.org, (202) 835-3323

Washington, DC- Today the National Consumers League (NCL) commends new consumer food education database recently released by the Environmental Working Group (EWG). The tool, called “Food Scores,” awards packaged food products ratings on a 1-to-10 scale that takes into consideration nutrients, ingredients and processing  as well as identifying how the food measures up on a variety of criteria such as organic certification, the use of antibiotics in livestock, animal welfare, and exposure to pesticides. With more than 80,000 packaged foods in its database, the tool can serve as a source for providing consumers with quick, clear answers to their questions about what is in—and behind—the foods they purchase.

“Food Scores is a tool for consumers looking to learn as much as they can about a product in one place,” said Sally Greenberg, executive director of NCL. “Educating consumers about which foods measure up and which are actually filled with fat, sugar, and sodium is a vital step in promoting healthier eating and ending the obesity crisis.”

The Food Scores database is a combination of information gleaned from manufacturer labeling and Environmental Working Group’s own research. In addition to the overall score, the database provides three more detailed scales addressing nutrition, ingredient, and processing concerns. It also provides the Nutrition Facts panel, ingredient list, and any certifications or seals the product bares.

With the release of the database, EWG hopes to point out the prevalence of excessive sugar in products consumers wouldn’t suspect such as salad dressings, yogurt, and granola bars. Advocates expect the database to also apply pressure on industrial food makers to stop adding unnecessary ingredients out of convenience. Food Scores is currently an online tool but will be made available as a mobile app.

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Its 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.