November 1, 2010

Contact: 202-835-3323, media@nclnet.org

Washington, DC – With the 2010-2011 National LifeSmarts Competition well underway in high school classrooms across the country, the National Consumers League has announced a new study aid for coaches and students prepping for nationals: the Question-of-the-Day Calendar. Covering a range of subjects from health and safety to personal finance and the environment, the LifeSmarts Question-of-the-Day Calendars are underwritten by major companies, government agencies, and organizations. The November calendar, featuring practice questions with an emphasis on consumer rights and responsibilities, was sponsored by Western Union.

Each month, the official LifeSmarts Web site (www.lifesmarts.org) features a calendar containing dozens of retired competition questions for use as a study aid. The LifeSmarts daily calendars provide one challenge question related to the monthly topic area for each school day.

“Teachers and coaches may use the calendar questions to spur class discussion by asking one question per day, developing a mini-quiz given weekly, or running a simulated LifeSmarts competition,” said LifeSmarts Program Director Lisa Hertzberg. “We are grateful for Western Union’s support in making this resource available to students and coaches who are spending this fall prepping to compete in the online and state competitions for a shot at the 2011 National LifeSmarts Championship event in Los Angeles in April.”

LifeSmarts–the ultimate consumer challenge–is an educational opportunity that develops the consumer and marketplace knowledge and skills of teenagers in a fun way and rewards them for the knowledge they demonstrate. The program complements the curriculum already in place in high schools and can be used as an activity for classes, groups, clubs, and community organizations. LifeSmarts, run as a game-show style competition, is open to all teens in the U.S. in high school and middle school.

LifeSmarts topics have been chosen to encourage and reward knowledge in the areas that matter most to consumers and workers in today’s marketplace: personal finance; health and safety; the environment; technology; and consumer rights and responsibilities.

In LifeSmarts, teams of four to five teens, coached by an adult participant, compete in district and state matches with the state winners going to the national competition to vie for the national LifeSmarts title. The National Consumers League will host the 17^th annual LifeSmarts National Competition in Los Angeles, California from April 30 – May 3, 2011.

The National Consumers League appreciates the financial support that makes LifeSmarts possible, which allows us to provide this program at no charge to teens and adult coaches. Our sponsors — community-minded businesses, associations, labor unions, government agencies, other organizations and individuals — understand the benefits of providing meaningful consumer education for young adults.

Western Union has been a major LifeSmarts sponsor in recent years. In 2009 Western Union provided an unrestricted education grant to NCL to develop three LifeSmarts U lessons focusing on fraud awareness and prevention. LifeSmarts U provides interactive online learning for individual students and classrooms across the United States.

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About the National Consumers League and LifeSmarts

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.

LifeSmarts is a program of the National Consumers League. State coordinators run the programs on a volunteer basis. For more information, visit: www.lifesmarts.org, email lifesmarts@nclnet.org , or call the National Consumers League’s communications department at 202-835-3323.

October 7, 2010

Contact: 202-835-3323, media@nclnet.org

Washington, D.C.—The National Consumers League will honor ‘Compensation Czar’ Kenneth Feinberg, the Special Master for TARP Executive Compensation and administrator of the BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster Victim Compensation Unit and United States Surgeon General Vice Admiral Regina Benjamin, M.D. with its highest honor, the Trumpeter Award, today in Washington DC. The event will bring together a diverse group of representatives of the labor unions, advocates, legislators, organizations, and industries touched by the two advocates’ esteemed careers.

“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 Kenneth Feinberg and Dr. Regina Benjamin,” 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 Jean Ann Fox, Director of Financial Services at Consumer Federation of America, 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 two honorees, as well as:

The Honorable Chuck Hagel, Distinguished Professor, Georgetown University; Co-Chair, President’s Intelligence Advisory Board and Chairman of The Altantic Council

Dr. Winston Price, President, National African American Drug Policy Coalition

Teresa Schwartz, Professor at George Washington University Law School and Chair of the Consumers Union Board of Directors

Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director

Jane King, NCL Board of Directors, Chair

Pastor Herrera, Jr., NCL Board of Directors, Vice Chair

What: National Consumers League’s 2010 Trumpeter Awards Dinner

When: Thursday, October 7, 2010 | 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.

September 22, 2010

Contact: 202-835-3323, media@nclnet.org

Washington,DC — Hours before a Congressional hearing on the largest egg recall in U.S. history, the National Consumers League, the nation’s oldest consumer organization, and The Humane Society of the United States, the nation’s largest animal protection organization, joined forces to call on the egg industry to phase out the cage confinement of laying hens in order to reduce food safety risks and animal cruelty. The half-billion egg recall is the latest in a series of reminders that how we treat animals can have significant food safety and public health implications.

“It is the very system of cramming birds into cages – in warehouses on operations that may confine more than a million animals – that exacerbates the spread of infectious diseases like Salmonella,” said HSUS president and CEO Wayne Pacelle. “The industry must phase out these hazardous and merciless cages.”

Even before the recall, the FDA estimated that 142,000 Americans are sickened by Salmonella-tainted eggs every year. The elderly, infants, pregnant women, and those with impaired immune are especially vulnerable to developing severe—even life-threatening—complications.

The egg industry has unfairly placed the blame on consumers, but given the potential for cross-contamination and the fact that many common egg cooking methods are insufficient to eliminate the threat, it is incumbent on industry to reduce Salmonella risk on the farm. An abundance of evidence suggests this can be accomplished by phasing out cage confinement, which carries greater risks due to the enormous flock sizes, the propensity for rodent and fly infestations, and an inability to adequately disinfect the cage equipment between flocks.

“Consumers don’t want to buy products from companies that abuse their workers, mistreat their animals, or pollute the environment, and they certainly don’t want to buy food that contains pathogens that could make them or their families sick.” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “The link between caging of birds and increased Salmonella makes this animal protection issue a food safety one as well. This large-scale egg recall comes from a company that appears to routinely violate the rights of workers, engage in cruel treatment of animals, and dispose improperly of waste; it’s no surprise to us that this same company would produce goods that are harmful to consumers.”

Numerous public opinion polls show that most Americans oppose this extreme confinement. California and Michigan have passed laws phasing out cages, and California is phasing out sale of cage eggs. Many major retailers, including Burger King, Subway, Quiznos, IHOP and Denny’s, are already using cage-free eggs.

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About the National Consumers League

Founded in 1899, the National Consumers League 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. NCL is a private, nonprofit membership organization. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

About The Humane Society of the United States

The Humane Society of the United States is the nation’s largest animal protection organization—backed by 11 million Americans, or one of every 28. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education, and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty—on the web at humanesociety.org.

September 13, 2010

Contact: 202-835-3323, media@nclnet.org

Washington, DC—The 2010-2011 LifeSmarts season is officially underway this week, with a new competition year going live at the program’s online home, www.lifesmarts.org, along with a variety of new resources for adult and youth participants. LifeSmarts is an educational competition run by the National Consumers League that tests middle school and high school students nationwide on real-life consumer issues through online quizzes and live contests. It culminates in the annual national LifeSmarts championship, where winning teams and individuals are awarded academic scholarships and prizes.

“We’re thrilled to be launching the 17^th year of LifeSmarts,” said Program Director Lisa Hertzberg. “LifeSmarts delivers real-world knowledge to students and allows them to shine in competitions where they demonstrate all that they have learned,” said Hertzberg. “It also provides thousands of teachers across the country access to much-needed consumer curriculum, which they unfortunately often aren’t getting elsewhere.”

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 100,000 students and teachers across the country answered more than 3.5 million LifeSmarts questions.

“As the consumer marketplace has become more challenging to navigate, LifeSmarts content is keeping up, preparing our teens and tweens to become the next generation of smart consumers and workers,” Hertzberg said.

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, which will be held in 2011 in Los Angeles, California. At last year’s national competition held in Miami Beach, Florida, students on the state champion team from Frederick, Maryland were crowned the 2010 national champs.

NCL partners with coordinators in more than 30 states, including Better Business Bureaus, credit unions, state attorneys general and consumer protection agencies, State FCCLA organizations, Jump$tart Coalitions, and others, to staff and promote the program. Interested students and adults can visit the LifeSmarts Web site to connect with the program in their state.

“The National Consumers League’s mission is to inspire confidence and safety in the marketplace,” said Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director. “The LifeSmarts program, our consumer education initiative for youth, fosters students’ understanding of consumer issues and provides them with real-world knowledge they will need to take charge of their lives.”

New this fall at www.lifesmarts.org are dozens of up-to-the-minute teaching resources for coaches, including innovative lessons housed within the new LifeSmarts U, curriculum divided into a campus of major topic areas. Major LifeSmarts contributors include Experian, Western Union, American Express, American Century Investments Foundation, Bridgestone Retail Operations, LLC, McNeil Consumer Healthcare, Toyota Financial Services, TracFone Wireless, Inc., and others. To see a full list of current LifeSmarts contributors, visit www.lifesmarts.org.

To test your LifeSmarts, take a sample quiz at https://start.lifesmarts.org/. From there, click on “Daily Quiz” to get started.

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About the National Consumers League and LifeSmarts

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.

LifeSmarts is a program of the National Consumers League. State coordinators run the programs on a volunteer basis. For more information, visit: www.lifesmarts.org, email lifesmarts@nclnet.org , or call the National Consumers League’s communications department at 202-835-3323.

July 16, 2010

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

The National Consumers League hails the passage of  the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill in the Senate as major victory for American consumers. The following statement is attributable to Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director:

The financial devastation of the past three years has put millions of Americans out of work, caused them to lose their homes and their retirement savings. Reckless banking, mortgage and Wall Street practices  created the problem, while the protections consumers and working families needed were woefully inadequate. Consumer groups, labor unions, civil rights organizations have sought for years to protect consumers, homebuyers, and small businesses. This bill will help us get those protections.

The bill will:

• Create a strong consumer protection agency to protect consumers and working people  from predatory lenders;

• Require most derivatives to clear and trade on open, transparent exchanges and mandate that managers of hedge and private equity funds register with the Securities and Exchange Commission;

• Give long term investors tools to hold corporate boards and senior management accountable; and

• Help prevent future bank bailouts by creating a council of regulators to oversee systemic risk, giving regulators authority to dissolve failing financial institutions while prohibiting bailouts for bank shareholders and executives

• Move us toward restoring of Glass Steagall by limiting banks’ ability to make risky bets backed by taxpayer funds.

We also commend those House and Senate members who stepped up to protect consumers, hold the banks accountable, and provide a level playing field for all citizens. NCL looks forward to seeing President Obama sign this into law.

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About the National Consumers League

Founded in 1899, the National Consumers League 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. NCL is a private, nonprofit membership organization. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.