Nearly 100 days into 2014, women finally earn what men earned in 2013 – National Consumers League

/in imported/by

By Michell K. McIntyre, Outreach Director, Labor and Worker Rights

“Today, women make up about half our workforce. But they still make 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. That is wrong, and in 2014, it’s an embarrassment. … It’s time to do away with workplace policies that belong in a ‘Mad Men’ episode.”

Today is the day we can start to put these words from President Obama during his State of the Union address into action. In a matter of hours, the U.S. Senate will vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act — a bill that would deter wage discrimination. Today, 98 days into 2014, is Equal Pay Day. This day symbolizes the extra time needed for women to earn the same salary as their male counterparts in 2013. The Paycheck Fairness Act would deter wage discrimination by updating the nearly 50-year-old Equal Pay Act, in part by barring retaliation against workers who disclose their own wages to coworkers.

It’s ridiculous, but right now, no federal law broadly prohibits employers from penalizing and even firing employees just for talking about their salaries. The wage gap does not only affect women, it affects whole families. At a time when women increasingly are the breadwinners, 71 percent of mothers are part of the labor force, a pay gap unfairly targets children in households with single mothers or where both parents work. The pay gap, when calculated over the course of a year, means women receive on average $10,784 less than males performing similar work.

The pay disparity is increased among African American women and Hispanic women, who make $19,575 and $23,873 less respectively than a white non-Hispanic male performing the same job. Using these figures, the Department of Labor estimates that women make on average $380,000 less over the course of their careers.

That is a huge sum of money when trying to put a child through college, buying healthy groceries for the dinner table, or paying the rent. Despite the passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the first bill signed into law by President Obama in 2009, more work needs to be done to ensure women have the resources and tools they need to confront discrimination and challenge unfair practices in the courts.

Current law forces women to jump through too many hoops in order to make claims of gender discrimination. For Lilly Ledbetter, she was told on her first day of work at Goodyear never to discuss her salary with anyone. It wasn’t until she found an anonymous note in her locker years later that Lilly realized she was being paid as much as 40 percent less than her male colleagues in the same position. This is exactly why these pay-secrecy policies that punish employees and hide discrimination must go! It’s time to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act!  

National Consumers League supports OSHAs proposal to protect workers from silica dust by updating ‘badly outdated’ standards – National Consumers League

/in imported/by

April 4, 2014

Contact: Ben Klein, NCL Communications, (202) 835-3323, benk@nclnet.org

Washington, DC – Yesterday at a hearing of the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), the National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s pioneering consumer and worker advocacy organization supported OSHAs proposal to better protect workers from the dangers of silica dust.

NCL cited OSHA data that an estimated 2.2 million American workers are exposed to silica dust every year, with about 1.8 million of those working in the construction industry. NCL’s Executive Director Sally Greenberg testified on the League’s history of fighting for worker health and safety – for Women who made luminous watches exposed to toxic radium in the 1920s and workers grinding buttons out of shells and inhaling dust day after day – in the 1913 era. Today’s worked are exposed to silica dust when cutting, drilling, or grinding material. Exposure can lead to silicosis, as well as increased susceptibility to lung cancer, kidney disease, and autoimmune disorders. The current silica standards, adopted more than 40 years ago, are badly outdated, new proposed limits would reduce dust exposure for workers and prevent an estimated 1,600 new cases of silicosis annually.

The following may be attributed to Sally Greenberg, Executive Director of the National Consumers League:

We applaud OSHA for proposing a new standard limiting exposure to silica, a known carcinogen. As demonstrated by the extensive evidence compiled by the agency, the current standard is badly outdated and does not adequately protect workers from exposure. 

We support a requirement for the employer to post a warning sign at each regulated area. This requirement would be consistent with OSHA’s other health standards that address toxic substances.  The warning sign should be in languages appropriate for all workers on the site. When applicable, the sign should note that respiratory protection and protective clothing are required.

We urge OSHA to prohibit the use of silica sand for abrasive blasting. Many countries have banned the use of silica sand in abrasive blasting including Great Britain, Germany, Sweden and Belgium. These industrialized nations have demonstrated that the abrasive blasting process can done effectively without the use of sand. The U.S. Navy, the Air Force, the U.S. Coast Guard, and twenty-three state Departments of Transportation have banned the use of silica in abrasive blasting.  

OSHA should explicitly state in the regulatory text that discriminating against a worker for exercising their rights is prohibited and will be deemed a violation of the standard.

###

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.

Survey: One third of American parents mistakenly link vaccines to autism – National Consumers League

/in imported/by

April 2, 2014

Washington, DC—According to a survey released today by the National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s pioneering consumer organization, adult Americans lack sufficient information about the safety of vaccines and the risks of failing to vaccinate for highly contagious diseases. Despite scientific studies clarifying that vaccines are not linked to autism in children, 33 percent of parents of children under the age of 18 and 29 percent of all adults continue to believe “vaccinations can cause autism.” According to public health experts, the failure to vaccinate children has recently led to outbreaks of highly contagious, preventable, and sometimes deadly diseases, like whooping cough.

NCL’s survey of 1,756 U.S. adults, conducted online by Harris Poll in August and September, also revealed that 50 percent of parents are aware of the study that linked autism to childhood vaccinations, but only half of these parents are aware that the study has since been discredited and retracted.

“The anti-vaccination movement that has gained so much momentum in recent years is doing real, measurable damage to the health of our communities,” said Sally Greenberg, Executive Director of NCL. “Vaccinations for diseases that had been wiped out until recently are being rejected by a small but significant number of parents, causing some of these virulent diseases to emerge once again. Those who choose not to vaccinate put the rest of us at risk.”

Examples of the re-emergence of diseases caused by failure to vaccinate include the following, according to a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report:

  • An outbreak of mumps on the Ohio State University campus infected 69 individuals;
  • 27 people were infected with mumps after an outbreak at Fordham University; and
  • New York City recently warned of a measles outbreak that infected16 individuals. According to the CDC report, “The increase in measles cases in the United States in 2013 serves as a reminder that imported measles cases can result in large outbreaks, particularly if introduced into areas with pockets of unvaccinated persons. During 2013, nearly two-thirds of the cases came from three outbreaks. Transmission occurred after introduction of measles into communities with pockets of persons unvaccinated because of philosophical or religious beliefs.”

According to NCL’s survey, while most Americans understand the benefits of vaccination, many still see it as an issue of individual choice. More than 4 in 5 (82 percent) adults agree that vaccinations help reduce health care costs, and 72 percent are concerned about the drop in vaccination rates in the United States. However, 60 percent say they respect the decision of parents when choosing whether or not to vaccinate their children.

Survey findings

Only two in five (39 percent) of parents surveyed describe themselves as being extremely or very knowledgeable about how vaccines work. But, among those, 35 percent also believe that vaccinations can cause autism.

Who parents trust for information about vaccines:

81% health care providers
37% Web-based sources
32% the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
22% family
10% child’s school

Nearly a quarter of parents (23%) trust physicians on TV like Dr. Oz and Dr. Gupta to relay medical information to the public, 11 percent trust morning shows like the ‘Today Show,’ and 7% trust talk show hosts to relay medical information.

Nearly two in five adults (37 percent) who are somewhat or not at all knowledgeable about how vaccines work say they trust the doctors on TV to relay medical information to the public. Less than a third (29%) of adults who are extremely or very knowledgeable feel the same.

On mandatory vaccination policies:

  • A majority of adults (87%) and Parents (81%) support mandatory vaccinations for school-aged children.
  • 76% of parents say that they think parents or guardians should have the final say about whether or not children should be vaccinated (vs. 64% of all adults).

For more information about the survey, contact the National Consumers League.

###

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.

About the Survey
The national survey was conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of the National Consumers League among 1,756 U.S. adult Americans (ages 18 and older), of whom 993 are parents of children under 18, in August – September 2013. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact the National Consumers League.

FTC crackdown on telemarketing scams is a reminder that the phone is a potent weapon for fraudsters – National Consumers League

/in imported/by

By Evelyn Wong, NCL Public Policy Intern

The Federal Trade Commission this week announced that it has pulled the plug on a multi-million dollar cross-border telemarketing scam operation that can be traced back to 2009. The FTC’s complaint against First Consumers, LLC, Standard American Marketing, Inc., and PowerPlay Industries LLC alleges that the companies used telemarketing boiler rooms in Canada to “cold call” tens and thousands of consumers claiming to sell fraud protection, legal protection, and pharmaceutical benefits services.

These unsolicited services would often charge anywhere between $187 to $397. Between May 2011 and December 2013 the scheme brought in $20 million.

The defendants are said to have targeted senior citizens who were given false information and were compelled to reveal their bank account information. The scammers used scare tactics and sometimes even went so far as to impersonate bankers and government officials. The account information would then be used to create “remote checks” drawn on the consumers’ bank accounts. These remotely created checks were then deposited into a network of corporate accounts established in the United States. The U.S. based defendants then transferred money to the Canadian accounts.

The Internet has certainly become a haven for scam artists, but this case is a reminder that consumers need to be on guard for scammers contacting them via the “old-fashioned” telephone. In fact, according to Fraud.org’s 2013 Top Ten Scams report, the telephone was the most-frequent way that consumers reported being contacted by scammers in 2013.

Tips to avoid being a victim of telemarketing scams include:

  1. Never give out sensitive personal information such as Social Security Numbers, bank account numbers or credit/debit account numbers in response to an unsolicited telephone call.
  2. Telemarketing scammers will often try to pressure the person on the other end into making a quick decision. Remember, if it sounds like a good deal today, then you should be able to take the time to research it thoroughly.
  3. Be wary of any telemarketer who requests payment via wire transfer, cash or prepaid card.
  4. Information on spotting telemarketing scams targeting seniors is available at “They Can’t Hang Up,” a joint educational initiative between NCL and AARP.
  5. For more tips from Fraud.org on spotting telemarketing scams, click here.

LifeSmarts 20th anniversary season! Countdown to nationals – National Consumers League

/in imported/by

ls_championship.jpgFor its 20th anniversary year, NCL has launched an all-new, improved, and rebranded LifeSmarts.org, providing new opportunities for participants and cultivating new partnerships. LifeSmarts has a new Web site with better navigation, usability, and social media integration, and a variety of new coaching and study resources, such as ConsumerMan Herb Weisbaum podcasts for LifeSmarts, are available on the site, too.

NCL rolled out a major expansion to LifeSmarts in partnership with the global safety science company Underwriters Laboratories, UL, to provide participants with a community service learning opportunity in their communities. LifeSmarts students are becoming Safety Ambassador, sharing environment and safety lessons with elementary school children in classrooms across the nation. More than 1,000 children have participated in presentations made by LifeSmarts students so far, with many more presentations scheduled before nationals.

LifeSmarts has become an official competitive event open to the 250,000 students involved in Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) chapters. FBLA participants have the opportunity to compete through FBLA or LifeSmarts – and this year hundreds of teams have taken advantage of the two ways to win. One FBLA team will represent FBLA at nationals in an at-large berth, and as many as 10 other state champions teams are comprised of FBLA members.  In addition, the 24 top FBLA teams will advance to compete live at the FBLA National Leadership Conference in June.

The 2014 season is in the home stretch. The majority of state competitions are taking place in February and March, with 20 state champion teams already determined. The 2013 national champion team from Paxon School for Advanced Studies, in Jacksonville, Florida, will return to defend its title.  At last year’s national competition held in Atlanta, the Florida team took home top honors after competing for four days against 38 state champion teams from across the country.

LifeSmarts is an educational competition run by the National Consumers League to test middle school and high school students nationwide on real-life consumer issues through online quizzes and live competition LifeSmarts provides participants with practical advice and information on consumer issues ranging from personal finance and health and safety to the environment, technology, and consumer rights and responsibilities. Starting online each fall, the competition progresses to live state play-offs, and then builds to a high-spirited National Championship.

Over the years, LifeSmarts has steadily grown in numbers of student and adult participants, state partnerships, and corporate sponsorships. In the most recent season, an estimated 125,000 students and teachers across the country formed nearly 2,000 LifeSmarts teams and answered more than 3.5 million LifeSmarts questions.

This year, LifeSmarts state champion teams from across the country will be treated to the Disney experience, staying at a resort in Orlando on the Disney campus, visiting DisneyWorld, and meeting Timon, a beloved character from Disney’s The Lion King, who also stars in the UL Safety Smart videos.

“The National Consumers League’s mission is to inspire confidence and safety in the marketplace. The LifeSmarts program fosters students’ understanding of consumer issues and provides them with real-world knowledge they will need to take charge of their lives,” said Lisa Hertzberg. “We are looking forward to our best national event ever!”

Federal agency issues long-delayed life-saving standard to require rear visibility for cars and SUVs – National Consumers League

/in imported/by

March 31, 2014

Contact: NCL Executive Director, Sally Greenberg 202-835-3323,  sallyg@nclnet.org

Washington, DC – On the eve of a federal court hearing on the topic, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a long-delayed auto safety standard to improve vehicles’ rear visibility and prevent deaths that occur when drivers back over pedestrians. In a 2008 law named after Cameron Gulbransen, a toddler backed over and killed at age 2, Congress directed DOT to issue a rear visibility standard by 2011. The Obama Administration delayed the deadline numerous times, finally issuing today’s rule after a coalition of safety advocates, including Cameron’s father, sued DOT. The National Consumers League, the nation’s pioneering consumer advocacy organization, is grateful that the agency issued the long overdue new standard. This announcement came one day before a federal appeals court was set to hear arguments on whether to order DOT to issue the rule.

“It’s inexcusable that it took so long, but finally having this rule in place is a huge milestone for auto safety,” said Sally Greenberg, Executive Director of the National Consumers League. Before coming to NCL, Greenberg served as Product Safety Counsel for Consumers Union and worked alongside Janette Fennell of Kids and Cars and with families from across the country to bring this issue to the attention of members of Congress in 2000-2001. “Today is a day to celebrate; children’s lives will be saved by this rule.” 

Each year, according to DOT, more than 200 individuals are killed and 15,000 injured in “back over” crashes. Drivers using all three mirrors cannot see anything in a blind zone 10-40 feet long directly behind their vehicles. Over half of those killed in back over accidents are children under 5 or adults 70 or older, DOT’s analysis shows. The new rule will set a standard for rear visibility that effectively requires rearview cameras in new vehicles under 10,000 pounds (excluding motorcycles) by 2018.

On four separate occasions from 2011 to 2013, the administration told Congress that it was delaying the Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act. In November 2011, DOT sent a draft final rule to the White House Office of Management and Budget, where it languished for nineteen months before being withdrawn in June 2013. After DOT announced that it intended to complete the rule by January 2015, taking twice as long as Congress had directed, safety advocates and two parents who hit their children because they couldn’t see them in the vehicle’s blind zone sued DOT. The lawsuit asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to order the agency to issue the rule promptly. The federal court was to hear the case on April 1, 2014.

The lawsuit was filed by Public Citizen on behalf of Dr. Greg Gulbransen, Susan Auriemma, Consumers Union of the United States, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, and Kids And Cars, Inc. Gulbransen, of Syosset, N.Y., backed over his 2-year-old son Cameron in his driveway in 2002; Auriemma, of Manhasset, N.Y., backed over her 3-year-old daughter Kate in her driveway in 2005, injuring her.

 

###

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 FCC actions promoting media diversity and competition – National Consumers League

/in imported/by

March 31, 2014

Contact: NCL Communications, Ben Klein, (202) 835-3323, benk@nclnet.org

Washington, DC – The National Consumers League today applauded the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for its vote to attribute the Commission’s media ownership rules to Joint Sales Agreements between television stations. NCL also applauded the Commission’s unanimous vote to prohibit certain joint retransmission consent negotiations by broadcasters.

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

“The promotion of diversity, competition and localism in the media is central to the FCC’s mission. It is therefore imperative that agreements allowing broadcasters to avoid the Commission’s media ownership limits be prohibited, absent a compelling public interest reason that they be waived. The Commission’s action today rightfully supports consumers’ access to a wide variety of voices on the nation’s public airwaves.”

“As NCL has stated in the past, consumers should not be pawns in the seemingly never-ending retransmission fights between billion-dollar cable companies and media conglomerates. The FCC’s action to prohibit certain joint retransmission consent negotiations by broadcasters will help prod all parties at the table to focus on the best interests of their ultimate customers – bill-paying consumers.”

###

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.

America: Land of the free, home of the wasteful? – National Consumers League

/in imported/by

Have you ever wondered what happens to the food you throw away? A quarter to a third of all food worldwide goes to waste, and in America an astonishing 40 percent of our food is wasted. For many Americans, bounty and convenience make it easy to be out of touch with where food comes from and where it ends up. Learn what you can you do about it, starting today!

Since the 1970’s, when industrial farming became a significant means of feeding the public, food waste in the U.S. has increased by 50 percent. While Americans’ growing interest in the origin of their food is a step in the right direction, we need to complete the circle by also taking note of what happens to our food that we toss away. 

Food waste can happen at many points throughout the supply chain but consumers and commercial establishments, like restaurants and grocery stores, are the largest wasters of food. American families throw away 25 percent of the food they purchase which costs a family an estimated $1,350 to $2,275 a year.  Not only is this bad for our wallets, but it’s also bad for the environment. Food waste typically ends up in landfills creating methane gas, the second most prevalent greenhouse gas emitted in the U.S. The UK estimates that if everyone on earth stopped wasting food that could be eaten, it would have the environmental equivalent of removing every one in four cars from the road. 

We at the National Consumers League found these statistics disturbing and we’ve decided to do something about it.  The League will begin working on a food waste project to educate consumers and put pressure on both federal and local governments to reduce food waste. Improved expiration date labeling, compost pick up, and food handling education are all important steps to help consumers reduce their food waste. 

America may be the land of plenty but there are still plenty of Americans that go hungry every day; One in six to be exact. If we reduced our food waste losses by 15% we could feed 25 million more Americans each year, that’s half of all Americans that are currently food insecure. As a nation, we have no reason to ignore this massive problem.  Both the United Kingdom and the European Union have resolved to drastically reduce their food waste and the United States should follow their lead. As a nation we cannot continue to throw food prematurely or unnecessarily into the garbage as tens of millions Americans struggle to find food to put on the table to feed their families. 

Last day! Visit healthcare.gov to sign up for health insurance before it’s too late. – National Consumers League

/in imported/by

The last day to sign up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is here! Monday, March 31 is the last day that eligible adults can enroll in health insurance without being penalized.

For those who miss the deadline, most won’t be able to sign up for Marketplace health insurance again until the next open enrollment period, which starts on November 15, 2014. Important things to know:

  • The penalty for those who don’t sign up for health insurance this year is $95 for each adult for the year ($47.50 per child) or 1% of your annual household income (whichever number is higher). This penalty is only for those who can afford health insurance. For more information on, who is exempt from this penalty, visit HealthCare.gov.
  • More than 6 million people have signed up for private health insurance coverage since ACA’s care’s open enrollment began in October 2013. More are expected to sign up before the March 31 deadline. It’s expected that federal and state health exchange will be swamped over the next week as procrastinators try to make the deadline. If you need extra help signing up and access the federal or state hotlines, you may experience longer wait times as the deadline approaches.
  • If you have had a “qualifying life event” such as losing your employee health insurance, having a baby, or getting married, you will be able to sign up for health insurance after the March 31 deadline.
  • The March 31 deadline does not apply to those eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program. These programs are open year-round to those who are eligible.

One important note, there has been media buzz over the last few days about an ACA extension. Basically, if you are not signed up by March 31 because of website glitches and delays, or if you have started the process on the Marketplace website but have not finished, you will be allowed to enroll after the March 31 deadline. You can do this by asking for an extension on the HealthCare.gov website, which will give you until mid-April to finish your enrollment. For more information on the March 31 deadline, the next enrollment period, qualifying life events, and any other questions you may have about the ACA and signing up for health insurance, visit HealthCare.gov for more information.

Fraud alert: New malware scams making April fools out of victims – National Consumers League

/in imported/by

March 27, 2014

Contact: NCL Communications, Ben Klein, (202) 835-3323, benk@nclnet.org

Washington, DC—Anti-fraud advocates at the National Consumers League are warning consumers this month about a scam being tracked by the Federal Trade Commission, the FBI, and other federal agencies: Cryptolocker malware. Crooks are targeting consumers and businesses with sophisticated technology that, spread through email and difficult-to-detect downloads, encrypts the contents of a hard drive, making it impossible to use one’s files. According to the FTC, after the malware is installed by an unsuspecting computer user, the Cryptolocker crooks send a ransom note demanding hundreds of dollars in payment via Bitcoin or another anonymous payment method before they will unlock the files. Once a consumer pays the ransom, there’s no guarantee that the fraudster will not simply ask for more money.

“Even if you pay the ransom, are you really willing to bet that the criminals running this scam will honor their promises and unlock your computer files?” said John Breyault, director of NCL’s Fraud.org campaign.

Ransomware has been around for a decade, but the frequency and severity of CryptoLocker scams appears to be on the rise. According to Dell SecureWorks, CryptoLocker raked in $5 million dollars in the last four months of 2013 alone.

A study by the University of Kent found that 2 out of every 5 CryptoLocker victims pay the ransom. This malware is especially sneaky, as it can be disguised as JPEG images, as PDF files, as Microsoft Office files, and other innocuous, familiar files. There are even reports that Facebook could be one of the likeliest places to get a CryptoLocker malware. Businesses have also been reported to be victimized by these scams.

Tips for avoiding Cryptolocker and other malware scams

  1. Back up your files frequently on a separate device (which does not remain connected to your main computer) or use free cloud storage systems that are available online.
  2. Be on the lookout for suspicious looking phishing emails and links. Do not click on links or attachments from untrusted senders.
  3. Consider using ad-filtering applications that are free for your web browser to avoid clicking on suspicious links from ad pop-ups either by accident or by compulsion.

###

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.