NCL joins 9 other groups in calling on Administration to fill upcoming Commissioner vacancy on the Consumer Product Safety Commission – National Consumers League

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August 3, 2011

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

Washington, DC– Breast Cancer Fund (BCF), Consumer Federation of America (CFA), Consumers Union (CU), Kids In Danger (KID), National Consumers League (NCL), National Research Center for Women & Families (NRCWF), Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Public Citizen (PU), U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), and the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) urged President Obama to quickly nominate a Commissioner at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in a letter sent today.

After serving three terms (16 years) of distinguished service, Commissioner Thomas Moore will leave the CPSC on October 26th, 2011, leaving an unfilled Commissioner slot, which could have unfortunate consequences for the CPSC and for consumers.

If Commissioner Moore’s vacancy is not filled before he must leave the CPSC, the Commission will unfortunately be hampered by a deadlock. Without a full complement of Commissioners, the agency may be prevented from making final decisions on numerous safety matters. The Commission has had close (3-2) votes about lead limits for children’s products, the implementation of the consumer incident database, and extending the deadline for compliance with the crib standard. The Commission has been working hard to meet its Congressional mandates as required by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). This progress would not have been possible without five CPSC Commissioners in place.

The CPSC is committed to the mission of protecting consumers from hazards posed by unsafe products and needs all five Commissioners to work effectively. A vacancy at the Commission could place CPSC progress on key safety issues in jeopardy.

To read the complete letter, click here

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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

Death of two 14-year-olds girls in an Illinois field underscores the need for an overhaul of U.S. child labor laws, groups condemn new laws that weaken protections for young workers – National Consumers League

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August 1, 2011

Contacts: Reid Maki, Coordinator, Child Labor Coalition (202) 207-2820, reidm@nclnet.org & Nick Grisewood, Executive Director, Global March +353 61921685, nick@globalmarch.org

Washington, DC—The tragic death of two 14-year-old girls while detasseling corn in Tampico, Illinois last week stands as a painful reminder that U.S. child labor laws are inadequate and efforts by states to weaken current protections are further endangering the lives of American children.

Hannah Kendall and Jade Garza, two friends from Sterling, Illinois, were electrocuted while they worked with a crew of about 70 others, including workers as young as 13. Ten workers were injured in the electrocution incident whose cause is still unknown. According to news reports, the girls were employed by Monsanto Corporation, which was acting as a contractor. They worked in a muddy field, detasseling corn—a common job for many teenagers in the Midwest that involves removing tassels to encourage cross-pollination—when they received a shock from a nearby center pivot irrigation system. Fourteen-year-old Delanie Knapp, was taken to a Rockford hospital and listed in “serious” condition. Seven other workers were taken to the hospital and released.

“We are devastated by this terrible news and our thoughts go out to the families of these young workers,” said Sally Greenberg, the co-chair of the Child Labor Coalition (CLC) and the executive director of the National Consumers League (NCL). “Across the nation, legislators in Maine and Wisconsin have weakened child labor laws by allowing teens to work longer hours in recent months. In Missouri, the state’s child labor inspection team was eliminated. Legislators need to know that child labor laws save lives and any weakening of protections has very serious potential consequences.”

Agriculture is consistently ranked as one of the two or three most dangerous industries in the U.S. Each year, NCL produces an annual report titled, “The Five Most Dangerous Jobs for Teens” and agriculture regularly tops the list. “Young teen should not be allowed to work in the fields, given the dangers posed by chemical fertilizers and pesticides, as well as heavy machinery and razor-sharp tools,” said Reid Maki, coordinator of the CLC, which believes that 14- and 15-year-olds should only be allowed to perform agricultural jobs deemed safe for them by the Secretary of  Labor after careful evaluation. In March of this year, two 18-year-old Illinois teens were electrocuted as they worked with irrigation piping.

“As a child, I spent every summer since the age of 12 detasseling cornfields in Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa,” said Norma Flores López. “This work is grueling and puts children’s health at risk, yet exemptions to U.S. child labor laws allow 12- and 13-year-olds to perform back-breaking farm labor for very low pay.” Flores López is the Director of the Children in the Fields Campaign for the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs and the chair of the CLC’s Domestic Committee.

The CLC strives to protect children around the world, including the estimated 300,000 to 400,000 children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers in the U.S. who work long hours in the fields. The CLC is working to help pass the Children’s Act for Responsible Employment (CARE), HR 2234, federal legislation to remove the child labor exemptions for agriculture and prohibit farm work for kids under 14 (unless children are working on a family farm for their parents). The proposed law would require the U.S. Secretary of Labor to determine if specific farm jobs like detasseling corn are safe enough for 14-and 15-year-olds to perform and would prevent 16- and 17-year-olds from doing agricultural jobs already determined to be hazardous.

“Children working as farm laborers suffer serious educational impacts in addition to the physical health threats,” said Toni Cortese, the Secretary-Treasurer of the American Federation of Teachers, which represents 1.5 million public service employees. “They drop out at rates several times that of other kids because they miss so much school and experience so many disruptions in their education. They are sacrificing their futures to put fruits and vegetables on our tables and it isn’t right.”

“The U.S. has worked diligently to reduce child labor around the world, but it must address its own child labor problem,” said Kailash Satyarthi, Chairperson of the Global March Against Child Labor. “Internationally, child labor in agriculture is the most frequent type of child labor, experienced by 60 to 70 percent of child laborers around the world. The conditions experienced by migrant children in the U.S. are not much different than the conditions experienced by child laborers in the cocoa fields of Ghana or the school children who are forced to pick cotton in Uzbekistan.”

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About the Child Labor Coalition. The Child Labor Coalition is composed of 28 organizations, representing consumers, labor unions, educators, human rights and labor rights groups, child advocacy groups, and religious and women’s groups. It was established in 1989, and is co-chaired by the National Consumers League and the American Federation of Teachers. Its mission is to protect working youth and to promote legislation, programs, and initiatives to end child labor exploitation in the United States and abroad.

About the Global March Against Child Labor. The Global March Against Child Labour was established in 1998 to plan and coordinate a worldwide social mobilisation effort involving thousands of organisations and people in all four corners of the globe to raise awareness of child labour and to support the adoption of ILO Convention No. 182 on worst forms of child labour in Geneva in 1999. It is a global network of trade union, teachers’ and civil society organisations that work together towards the shared development goals of  eliminating and preventing all forms of child labour and ensuring access by all children to free, meaningful and good quality public education. Global March mobilises and supports its constituents to contribute to local, national, regional and global efforts and support for a range of international instruments relating to the protection and promotion of children’s rights and engages with UN and international and inter-governmental agencies on the same.

NCL urges ACIP to consider the routine early childhood vaccination with the meningococcal vaccine – National Consumers League

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August 1, 2011

Washington, DC- In a letter sent today, the National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s oldest consumer organization, founded in 1899, urges the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to give serious consideration to recommending “routine” vaccination of children under age two with the meningococcal vaccine when it considers meningococcal vaccine at its upcoming October 25-26, 2011 and February 22-23, 2012 meetings.

To read the full letter, please click here.

 

 

NCL calls on the FDA to investigate misleading labeling on David Sunflower Seed products – National Consumers League

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July 28, 2011

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

Washington, DC–The National Consumers League (NCL) today sent a letter to Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, M.D. Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), calling on her agency to review the misleading nutrition facts labeling of David Sunflower Seed products, manufactured by ConAgra Foods, Inc.

“The David Sunflower Seed nutrition panel is terribly misleading,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “The sodium listed is for the kernels only – not for the whole seed. But the back of the package instructs consumers to put the whole seed in their mouth, and in the process, they consume far more sodium than indicated on the panel.”

The fine print on the package, tucked below the list of ingredients, makes clear that when calculating the salt content of both the seed and the shell, the sodium count rises 833% to 1260mg of sodium per serving. A 5.25-ounce bag has 2.5 servings. Consuming a single 5.25 bag would mean a sodium intake of 3,150 mg. Current dietary guidelines recommend that healthy adults should consume no more than 2,300 mg of sodium per day. Thus, consuming a single 5.25-ounce bag of sunflower seeds would put one’s sodium intake at 850 mg over the recommended daily amounts.

NCL’s letter asks the agency to require the company to indicate a far higher content than is currently listed for sodium and to do so in the place where consumers expect to find it.

“These David Sunflower seeds, when consumed in the way the package recommends, are loaded with sodium. Excessive sodium intake is a leading cause of hypertension or high blood pressure. Hypertension, in turn, greatly increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, the first and third leading causes of death in the United States.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two out of three (66%) adults in the United States are at especially high risk for health problems from too much sodium – three groups in particular are at risk: those over 40 years old, African Americans and those with high blood pressure. CDC recommends eating less sodium as a means of preventing, lowering or controlling blood pressure.

“With so many Americans suffering from hypertension or pre-hypertension, we need clear and accurate labeling of products so consumers can make healthy choices. We call on the FDA to require that David Sunflower Seed packages indicate clearly – in the place where consumers expect to find it – the sodium content in the seeds and not simply in the kernel.”

Click here to view NCL’s letter to the FDA.

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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

NCL denounces H.R. 2587 which would eliminate key worker protections, legalize retaliation against workers for exercising their rights – National Consumers League

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July 26, 2011

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

Washington, DC–The National Consumers League’s Sally Greenberg issued the following statement denouncing the introduction of H.R. 2587, ‘Protecting Jobs From Government Interference Act’ which would allow companies to eliminate or outsource work in violation of workers’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act:

The National Consumers League (NCL), which has been protecting and promoting social and economic justice for workers and consumers in the United States and abroad for 112 years, opposes H.R. 2587, ‘Protecting Jobs From Government Interference Act’.

H.R. 2587 would remove the only meaningful remedy available to workers if a company illegally moves operations or eliminates work because workers engaged in protected activities such as organizing a union. An employer can outsource for any reason, except for an unlawful reason. Retaliating against workers for exercising their rights under the National Labor Relations Act is one unlawful reason.

The National Labor Relations Board plays a historic and invaluable role as the body mandated to interpret our nation’s labor laws.  H.R. 2587 would strip away a critical tool in the board’s mandated to safeguard employees’ rights to organize, and to prevent and remedy unfair labor practices committed by employers and unions.

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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.

National Consumers League hails the launch of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; first ever agency to provide consumers with protections in financial transactions – National Consumers League

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July 25, 2011

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

Washington, D.C.— Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act one year ago. This was a sweeping financial reform law designed to overhaul the nation’s financial regulatory system.  On July 21, 2011, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), created through the Dodd Frank Act, opened its doors.

This is the first federal agency solely devoted to fighting for the financial protections of average Americans. CFPB has already stood up for consumers by fighting to make lending terms clearer and advocating for commonsense disclosures that plainly detail fees and penalties.

“The tricks and traps in mortgages, credit card agreements, cell phone contracts and so many other documents consumers must sign to get goods and services will now be subject to scrutiny from an outside consumer protection agency,” said Sally Greenberg, NCL’s Executive Director. Greenberg continued, “Predatory mortgage lending was central to the housing crisis and the hardest hit consumers were lower income and communities of color. As consumer advocates, we welcome the oversight that CFPB will provide over products and services that can help families secure financial stability.”

NCL strongly backs the nomination of Elizabeth Warren to head the agency, however members of Congress made it clear they would not support her nomination. Today NCL supports the newly nominated former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to head the agency. Cordray has a reputation as a spirited advocate for families, and in the past has taken on deceptive mortgage servicing practices that were robbing people of their homes. In the process, he also recaptured $2 billion dollars for retirees.

“NCL decries efforts to block Cordray’s nomination or dilute CFPB’s authority by handing decision-making power to a commission. This will only harm American consumers and hinder the ability of CPFB to deliver relief to so many families,” said Sally Greenberg.

“CFPB must not fall victim to politics. We need a strong CFPB to enforce our nation’s consumer protection laws and help put consumers on a level playing field with banks and other financial institutions,” Greenberg noted.

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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.

Consumer advocates urge USDA to declare ‘big six’ E. coli STECs adulterants in beef – National Consumers League

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July 14, 2011

 

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

Washington, DC — STOP Foodborne Illness (STOP, formerly S.T.O.P. – Safe Tables Our Priority), the National Consumers League (NCL), the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and the Center for Foodborne Illness Research & Prevention, applauded today the announcement by Beef Products, Inc. (BPI) to voluntarily expand the company’s “hold and test” program to include the six additional strains of E. coli identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as harmful pathogens in the food supply. The groups expressed hope that BPI’s decision to begin voluntarily testing and holding for other pathogenic E. coli strains in addition to E. coli O157:H7 will inspire the Obama administration to take additional steps to protect public health and cause the meat industry to cease their opposition to ensuring a higher level of protection for consumers.

FSIS has proposed declaring these strains as adulterants and requiring industry to sample and test for these pathogens and hold the product until final laboratory results declare the product has no detectable level of E. coli O157:H7 and these other six pathogenic strains of E. coli. The Office of Management and Budget has sidelined the proposal since January 2011.

“We now know that other strains of E. coli produce the powerful Shiga toxin, are similar to E.coli O157:H7 in virulence, and are much more prevalent than we once thought.” said Chris Waldrop, Director of Consumer Federation of America’s Food Policy Institute.  “It’s time for the Obama Administration to declare these additional six strains adulterants, require robust sampling protocols by the entire industry and require all companies to hold product from commerce until a negative test result is determined.”

The six strains of non-O157:H7 Shiga-toxin producing E. coli, or non-O157 STEC identified by the CDC as responsible for the majority of the non-O157 illnesses and deaths are O26, O111, O103, O45, O121 and O140.  These strains, like O157, have the ability to cause Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) which is life-threatening.  Unlike other pathogens, such as Salmonella, it only takes a very small number of these STEC organisms to cause illness.

“These strains of E. coli have been identified for years as causing serious illness and even death to consumers.  We have been pressing FSIS, members of Congress and anyone else who will listen about the need to keep these pathogens out of the food supply,” states STOP Foodborne Illness president, Nancy Donley.  “What is it going to take to get FSIS to do the right thing and declare these six identified strains as adulterants and enact programs and standards to prevent them from reaching the marketplace?  We are encouraged to see a company like BPI taking the bull by the horns and independently test for these killer pathogens before being required by government, but we need the entire industry involved and that will only happen when government mandates it.”

“We appreciate that one member of the beef industry is taking a leadership role,” said Sally Greenberg, Executive Director of the National Consumers League.  “BPI is well equipped to do this, and will be able to apply their experience with sampling and hold and test for E. coli O157:H7 with the Big Six STECs.”

“A robust sampling program is essential to effective verification that food safety controls are working,” says Sarah Klein, an attorney with Center for Science in the Public Interest.  “We’re pleased that the company is expanding their testing to include additional E. coli hazards and urge them and FSIS to consider antibiotic-resistant Salmonella known to cause illness as well. Consumers deserve protection from all of these hazards, and companies should pursue every approach to provide it.”

“Non-O157 STECs can have a significant public health impact. Many of those sickened will suffer secondary life-long medical complications. We must start tracking and condemning products contaminated with E. coli strains that cause human illness,” notes Center for Foodborne Illness Research & Prevention’s CEO, Barbara Kowalcyk.  “Unfortunately, a USDA proposal to declare the Big Six as adulterants in meat and poultry products has languished in the White House Office of Management and Budget. We have the technology to test for these pathogens. FSIS can and should immediately begin monitoring for the Big Six in meat and poultry products.”

While the consumer groups do not endorse companies or products and are not familiar with the specific test to be used nor the sampling protocol, the groups are pleased that BPI is taking this step to hold and test for non-O157:H7 STECs and encourage others in the industry to do the same. The consumer groups strongly urge OMB to finalize FSIS’ proposal to immediately declare the “Big Six” non-O157 STEC adulterants and put a robust and meaningful testing regiment in place.

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The Center for Foodborne Illness Research & Prevention is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing foodborne illness through research, education, advocacy and service.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest is a non-profit consumer advocacy and education organization that focuses largely on food safety and nutrition issues. It is supported principally by the 850,000 subscribers to its Nutrition Action Healthletter and by foundation grants.

The Consumer Federation of America is a nonprofit association of nearly 300 consumer groups that, since 1968, has sought to advance the consumer interest through research, advocacy, and education.

The National Consumers League is the nation’s oldest consumer organization, representing consumers on marketplace and workplace issues.

STOP Foodborne Illness is a national nonprofit public health organization dedicated to the prevention of illness and death from foodborne pathogens by advocating for sound public policy, building public awareness and assisting those impacted by foodborne illness.

Contact:

Barbara Kowalcyk, Center for Foodborne Illness Research & Prevention, 724-58-0767

Sarah Klein, Center for Science in the Public Interest, 202-332-9110

Chris Waldrop, Consumer Federation of America, 202-797-8551

Sally Greenberg, National Consumers League, 202-835-3323

Nancy Donley, STOP Foodborne Illness, 773-269-6555

NCL statement on Senate Commerce Committee Cramming Report and recent FCC proposal to address mystery fees – National Consumers League

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July 13, 2011

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

Washington, DC–The following statement is attributable to National Consumers League Executive Director Sally Greenberg:

Chairman Rockefeller’s report on the impact of cramming on landline phone bills confirms our fears about the extent of the problem. As reported by the Federal Communications Commission, this is an issue that touches tens of millions of households, with few even aware that they are victims. At a time of economic distress, it is unacceptable that billions of dollars in cramming charges are being siphoned out of consumers’ pockets. That the nation’s telecommunications carriers were aware of the problem, and indeed may have profited from this fraud belies the futility of voluntary industry efforts to address cramming.

The FCC’s proposed rules to increase disclosure requirements and require free third-party billing blocking do not go far enough. For more than a decade, consumers have been asked to rely on weak regulatory safeguards and voluntary industry standards for protection from cramming. As Chairman Rockefeller’s report vividly illustrates, these half-measures are not working.

Third-party billing on landline phone bills is a relic of a previous telecommunications era that scam artists are exploiting to steal billions from consumers. We see few legitimate reasons why a consumer would need to have a charge for a product or service billed on a landline phone account. It is for these reasons that NCL is calling on Congress to pass national legislation modeled on Vermont’s recently enacted law that prohibits third-party billing on landline phone accounts, with few exceptions.

Cramming fraud has gone on long enough and cost consumers far too much. Where federal regulators and the telecommunications industry have failed in protecting consumers, Congress must act.

NCL’s letter to Chairman Rockefeller regarding this issue is available here.

Consumer who have been victims of cramming fraud are encouraged to file a complaint with NCL’s Fraud Center at www.fraud.org.

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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.

NCL endorses Next Generation Wireless Disclosure Act – National Consumers League

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July 7, 2011

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

Washington, DC – The National Consumers League (NCL) today announced its endorsement Representative Anna Eshoo’s Next Generation Wireless Disclosure Act. NCL applauded the bill’s pro-consumer goal of increasing transparency in the market for “4G” mobile broadband service.

“Consumers are relying more than ever – and in some cases exclusively – on their mobile broadband devices to get online,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “Confusing coverage maps, data caps, and pricing plans full of ‘mouseprint,’ too often leave the average consumer at the mercy of wireless carriers’ marketing hype. Representative Eshoo’s bill would do much to provide some sorely-needed clarity for shoppers in this market.”

The wireless broadband market is awash in technical jargon like LTE, WiMAX and HSPA+, all claiming to provide “4G” service. Representative Eshoo’s bill would help consumers make sense of these new technologies by requiring carriers to provide consumers with important information, including guaranteed minimum data speeds, network reliability, coverage area maps and pricing. This information would be made available on bills and at the point of sale to help consumers more effectively comparison shop and evaluate the level of service they are receiving. The bill would also require the Federal Communications Commission to review the speed and prices of the top 4G wireless data providers to help consumers better compare services.

“Ubiquitous, always-on mobile broadband access is becoming indispensable to millions of consumers,” said John Breyault, NCL Vice President of Public Policy, Telecommunications and Fraud. “It’s high time that consumers get some measure of certainty that what’s being advertised to them is what they will get when they sign up for service. Representative Eshoo’s bill would go a long way towards giving consumers that peace of mind.”

NCL’s letter of support to Representative Eshoo is available by clicking here.

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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.

NCL statement on Supreme Court decision in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes et al – National Consumers League

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June 20, 2011

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

The following statement is attributable to National Consumers League Executive Director Sally Greenberg:

The Supreme Court today continued its disappointing assault on the interests of consumers and workers. As in its previous decisions in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion and AT&T v. Hulteen, a divided Court in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes et al found that the rights of consumers and workers matter less than those of the nation’s largest corporations.

NCL condemns this decision. Workers must have access to the courts to collectively pursue redress of grievances. We concur with Justice Ginsburg’s dissent, where she noted that this decision “leads the court to train its attention on what distinguishes individual class members, rather than on what unites them.”

The courts are the ultimate protector of consumer and worker rights against the excesses of big business. In this role, the highest court in the country today failed. We call on the Congress to seek a legislative remedy to this decision, restore workers’ protections from discrimination and allow for easier collective access to the court system.

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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.