2008 Trumpeter Awards: National Consumers League to honor Ehrenreich, Blumenthal for careers in service – National Consumers League

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September 30, 2008

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

Washington, D.C.—The National Consumers League will honor author and activist Barbara Ehrenreich and Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal with its highest honor, the Trumpeter Award, this week on Capitol Hill. 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 Barbara Ehrenreich and Richard Blumenthal,” 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.”

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

Hon. Ann Brown, Former Consumer Product Safety Commissioner Chair
Esther Lopez, United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Civil Rights and Community Action Director
Jane King, NCL Board of Directors, Chair
Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director

Event Details

What: National Consumers League’s 2008 Trumpeter Awards Dinner
When: Thursday, October 2, 2008 | 6 p.m. Reception | 7 p.m. Dinner and Presentation of Awards
Where: Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill, 400 New Jersey Avenue, 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.

NCL applauds House Calling Card Consumer Protection Act – National Consumers League

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September 26, 2008

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

Washington, DC – The National Consumers League today issued the following statement regarding the passage in the U.S. House of Representatives of H.R. 3402, the “Calling Card Consumer Protection Act.” The statement is attributable to Sally Greenberg, Executive Director at the National Consumers League:

“We applaud the House for taking action to protect consumers from the deceptive practices of prepaid calling card companies.  While we support federal action in this area, we have concerns related to the bill’s reliance on disclosure—in place of stronger action—to prevent some of the most egregious anti-consumer practices related to these cards.  We are also troubled by the addition of language preempting states from protecting consumers by requiring additional disclosures, particularly given the leading role that many states, including Florida, New York, and Texas, have taken in this area.  We look forward to working with the bipartisan supporters of the Senate version of this bill to craft stronger legislation that protects consumers of these cards.”

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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 welcomes John Breyault, Vice President, Public Policy, Telecommunications and Fraud – National Consumers League

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September 25, 2008

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

Washington, D.C. — John Breyault, formerly of Amplify Public Affairs (APA) in Washington, DC, has joined the staff of the National Consumers League, where he has been named Vice President, Public Policy, Telecommunications and Fraud. At NCL, Breyault will advocate for stronger consumer protections before Congress and federal agencies and serve as director of NCL’s Fraud Center (www.fraud.org).  Additionally, Breyault will coordinate the Alliance Against Fraud, a coalition convened by NCL of consumer and business organizations, government agencies, and companies that are committed to winning the fight against consumer scams.

The National Consumers League is the nation’s oldest consumer group. In 1992, NCL founded the National Fraud Information Center to fight the growing menace of telemarketing fraud, and in 1996, NCL created the Internet Fraud Watch in order to expand its watchdog activities to cover online scams. Today, NCL’s Fraud Center works with more than 200 law enforcement agencies that subscribe to its Fraud Alert system, and it is the sole consumer organization that engages directly with consumers, law enforcement, and industry to document cases, identify emerging trends, and execute consumer education efforts. In recent years, NCL has led the fight against cons such as fake check scams (fakechecks.org) and has collaborated with government agencies, businesses, and other groups to spread the word to consumers about avoiding these scams and decreasing financial loss.

“We are thrilled to have John join our staff,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “His expertise in and dedication to the issues of telecommunications and consumer fraud and his commitment to advocating on behalf of consumers will benefit NCL.”

“I am excited and honored to have the opportunity to join the National Consumers League in its fight on behalf of consumers,” said Breyault. “The current marketplace is complex, even without the pitfalls posed by predatory scam artists. I am very much looking forward to helping NCL educate—and advocate on behalf of—the consumers who need it most.”

Before joining NCL, Breyault spent five years at APA, where he focused on public policy research for APA’s telecommunications, energy, environmental, and health care clients. He was instrumental in helping launch APA’s Web 2.0-related services, including its blogger relations, online social network, and virtual worlds-based practices. Concurrent with his work at APA, Breyault served as Research Director at the Telecommunications Research and Action Center (TRAC), advocating on behalf of residential consumers of wireline, wireless, VoIP, and other IP-enabled communications services.  Prior to joining APA and TRAC, Breyault worked at Sprint in its International Carrier Services Division and at the American Center for Polish Culture in Washington, DC.

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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 to House Committee: Are we adequately protecting our child workers? No! – National Consumers League

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September 23, 2008

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

WASHINGTON, DC – At a subcommittee hearing of the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor, where members gathered to consider this question: “Child Labor Enforcement: Are We Adequately Protecting our Children,” Sally Greenberg, Executive Director of the National Consumers League (NCL), issued a resounding “no.” According to Greenberg, who spoke to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections for NCL, whose history has deep roots in concern for the welfare of child laborers, “much more can and must be done to better protect our young people from the hazards and dangers they confront in the workplace.”

Greenberg cited federal government statistics that reveal a harrowing reality: every 10 days in America, a young person is killed on the job. Every day, more than 100 young workers under the age of 19 are seriously injured or become ill from their work. Greenberg’s testimony focused onthe U.S. Department of Labor’s poor enforcement of the federal child labor laws and recommendations for reforms—both at the department and in legislature to be considered by Congress—to strengthen protections for America’s working children.

“Enforcement of the child labor law is no longer a high priority for DOL,” Greenberg said, citing declines in both the number of investigations and time spent on them by DOL. Further, Greenberg argued, the penalties imposed by DOL aren’t strong enough to deter corporations, especially large companies, from violating child labor law, and agriculture, an industry that employs an estimated half-million minors and poses some of the biggest dangers to working youth, sees disproportionately low enforcement.

Greenberg’s called for increases in DOL investigations and in penalties for violators, updated, tougher regulations, and investigations specifically into two industries: agriculture and meatpacking. Referring to recent investigations into child labor abuses at the Agriprocessors kosher meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, Greenberg urged DOL not to “look the other way,” as abusive employers have been revealed to do. “Given that meat processing plants tend to attract an impoverished, mostly immigrant work force, the possibility that child laborers may be employed in slaughterhouses around the nation should be investigated by U.S. DOL with vigor.”

Read the full statement submitted by NCL’s Greenberg, which contains further recommendations for DOL and legislators, as well as examples of the decline in enforcement.

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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.

‘Wild west’ prepaid calling cards industry unregulated and preying on poor, immigrant, military consumers – National Consumers League

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September 16, 2008

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

Washington, DC – At a hearing of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce on HR 3402, the “Calling Card Consumer Protection Act” today, Sally Greenberg, Executive Director of the National Consumers League, said the largely unregulated industry was a “Wild West” and spoke in support of greater consumer protections in the purchase and use of prepaid calling cards. Greenberg commended the bill’s lead sponsor, Representative Eliot Engel (D-NY), and other supporters for their leadership in offering HR 3402.

“Prepaid calling cards are already a $4 billion industry, projected to grow to $6.4 billion,” Greenberg said. “Unfortunately, too many of the prepaid calling card companies engage in fraud and deceptive practices with the most vulnerable consumers falling prey. Consumers need more transparency and full disclosure as outlined in Congressman Engel’s bill.”

Greenberg added that the terms found in the fine print on the back of prepaid calling cards are unreasonable and one-sided. “Anytime you have an industry like this, with low barriers to entry and a totally unregulated market, you can be sure there will be unscrupulous operators who will take the money and run,” said Greenberg.

For the full statement submitted by NCL’s Greenberg, which contains a timeline of the growth of the prepaid card industry, examples of the outrageous fine print found on the backs of real prepaid calling cards, and more detailed policy recommendations.

Excerpts follow:

“The rapid growth of the prepaid calling card industry combined with, until recently, a lax enforcement of consumer protection statues at the state and federal levels, has enabled consumer fraud to flourish. Like so many other scams, the most frequent victims of the fraud and deception are the most vulnerable consumers: immigrants and the working poor; military families, and those lower income Americans who often cannot afford or obtain regular phone service, relying on calling cards to stay in touch with friends and loved ones in the US and abroad. Sadly, along with immigrants, military families are so often targeted for many scams and rip-offs we see at the National Consumer League’s Fraud Center.

Hispanic consumers may be losing up to $1 million per day because of fraudulent phone cards. Examples of fraudulent practices used by the prepaid companies include “hang-up fees,” periodic maintenance fees, destination surcharges, and high billing increments. Companies that try to “play by the rules” are often punished by a loss of market share due to fraudulent carriers.

While some state attorneys general have taken the lead in prosecuting fraudulent prepaid card companies, and the Federal Trade Commission has done commendable investigations and brought important cases against individual prepaid phone card providers, we need basic federal protections to stem the ongoing tide of the many deceptive practices in this industry. Only 11 states, including California, Connecticut, Florida, and Illinois, currently have laws pertaining to calling card fraud, specifically.

While HR 3402 requires disclosure of the name of the prepaid calling card service provider, we recommend that this section of the bill be expanded to include requiring the address of card originator and a toll free number, and that operators answering the phone be able to speak the language in which the card was advertised. The requisite disclosures should be in the same language. We also support requiring that the disclosure text on the calling card itself, packaging, or other promotional material (including online) be in same language used to advertise the card.

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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.

LifeSmarts to kick off 15th competition year – National Consumers League

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September 4, 2008

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

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League announced the start of the 2008-2009 LifeSmarts season, with a new competition year beginning Sept. 15 at the program’s online home, www.lifesmarts.org, along with a variety of new resources for state coordinators, mentors, and youth. LifeSmarts is an educational competition that tests middle school and high school students nationwide on real-life consumer issues through online quizzes and live contests. While the competition formally begins Sept. 15, students and coaches may register online and begin taking practice quizzes and downloading resources today.

“We’re thrilled to be launching the 15th year of LifeSmarts,” said Program Director Lisa Hertzberg. “This program delivers real-world knowledge to students and then allows them to shine in competitions. In its first 15 years, LifeSmarts has grown in numbers of student and adult participants, state partnerships, corporate sponsorships, and, most importantly, quality of the program’s content,” said Hertzberg. “LifeSmarts competition questions have become more and more challenging, reflecting the increasingly complex marketplace that today’s consumers face. We’re proud to be preparing our teens and tweens to become the next generation of smart consumers and workers.”

Each year, thousands of students answer millions of questions on consumer-oriented 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 2009 in St. Louis, MO. At last year’s national competition held in Minneapolis, MN, students on the state champion team from Arizona were crowned the 2008 national champs.

NCL partners with coordinators in 30 states, including Better Business Bureaus, credit unions leagues, state attorneys general and consumer protection agencies, FCCLA chapters, Jump$tart Coalitions and others, to staff and promote the program.

“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, gives students the tools to make smart decisions and feel confident about their place in today’s fast-paced marketplace.”

New this fall at www.lifesmarts.org are dozens of up-to-the-minute teaching resources for coaches, including innovative personal finance lessons made possible by an unrestricted educational grant from Visa. Other major LifeSmarts contributors include the Verizon Foundation, American Century Investments, Best Buy, American Express and Toys“R”Us. To see a full list of current LifeSmarts contributors, visit www.lifesmarts.org. To test your LifeSmarts abilities, 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

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.

Protect your phone records and your privacy – National Consumers League

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September 2, 2008

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

Washington, DC- Phone records have become another opportunity for identity thieves, warns the National Consumers League, but there are new security measures for protecting personal information and phone records. This month, NCL is offering consumers advice on how to protect themselves from pretexting in its “2008 Consumer Calendar Tips: Do We Have Tips for You!”

“Pretexting,” when an ID thief contacts a telephone company pretending to be a customer, is an illegal way people may attempt to obtain your personal information. The Federal Communications Commission has implemented new rules to make this attack more difficult, by requiring that all people calling for phone records provide their password to the company before any information is released. Over the Internet, access to records will also require a password, and in-person, it will require a photo ID.

The nation’s oldest consumer advocacy organization, NCL works to educate people about how to make wise decisions in today’s marketplace. Each month, NCL’s Web site, www.nclnet.org, will feature the calendar and tips for the month. Covering a range of subjects from medication safety, to avoiding scams, the tips are sponsored by major companies, government agencies, and organizations. The September tips about protecting telephone records were sponsored by Verizon.

The print version of the calendar was distributed to consumers free of charge through agencies and organizations around the country. There are no printed copies of the calendar remaining.

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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 applauds passage of historic product safety bill – National Consumers League

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August 4, 2008

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

Washington, DC – The National Consumers League commended the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate for passing “truly historic reforms in the way we deal with consumer products” – reforms the League’s Executive Director, Sally Greenberg, said were “mere pipe dreams only a few years ago.” First and foremost, “the bill will provide badly needed improvements that will help enormously in keeping kids safe,” Greenberg said. The bill, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, awaits the President’s signature.

Greenberg noted that the presence of excessive levels of lead discovered in toys only a few years ago was a “wakeup call to consumers and Congress,” and opened the door to broad and badly needed reforms of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, its budget, and its underlying statute.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission was “withering on the vine” Greenberg said, despite being the only federal agency charged with keeping over 15,000 consumer products – many of them children’s products safe. Traditionally underfunded and under the radar screen, the CPSC was operating with half the employees it began with in the mid-1970s and a fraction of its original budget, while the number of consumer products has increased exponentially.

“To the credit of consumer advocates, they rolled up their sleeves and worked closely with Congress, notably Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-HI), Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK), Chairman Mark Pryor (D-AR), Senator John Sununu (R-NH), Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO), and Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). Ultimately they came up with historic reforms aimed at a system in deep need of repair. Greenberg noted the bi-partisan support for the bill, and the positive comments of the head of the Toy Industry of America, who called the bill’s passage “the right thing to do.”

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 will:

  • Effectively ban lead from children’s toys, a position NCL has long endorsed. Lead is a proven toxin for children’s development and can do lifelong damage. No object intended for use by children should contain anything but the most minute amounts of lead.
  • Require toymakers to have independent labs to test products before they are sold; many consumers assumed this was happening already, but instead, too many toys and products intended for use by children were introduced into the marketplace without proper testing and analysis. Consumers may eventually see labels certifying toys have been tested before being sold, and consumers buying online or through a catalog will be able to see the same warning label that appears on packaging to warn parents of small parts or other potential hazards.
  • Allow the CPSC to post information about products that consumers have reported to the agency as being dangerous or defective; other federal agencies allow consumers to go to their Web sites to check on products before they purchase them. A provision of CPSC’s law prevented it from posting this information until the agency checked in with the manufacturer. That will change under the new law.
  • Increase fines against companies who fail to report to the CPSC– as required by the statute – evidence that a product may be present a substantial product hazard.
  • Allow state attorneys general to help enforce federal product safety laws and take manufacturers to court to keep dangerous products off the market. This is important. Attorneys general play a critical health and safety role for their own citizens. These state officials have often incubated consumer cases and protections that would take the federal government far longer to adopt.
  • Give this beleaguered agency the funding it needs to carry out its many and growing responsibilities. The CPSC budget will nearly double to $136 million, from $80 million for this fiscal year; the agency has already hired additional inspectors for the nation’s largest ports, where dangerous imports can enter the country currently unnoticed because of weak enforcement.

Finally, the bill contains a provision that Greenberg said consumer advocates and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) had been working on for years. Named after a little boy who died when a recalled portable crib collapsed, choking him, the Danny Keysar Product Safety Notification Act, which is contained within the new bill, would require mandatory standards and testing for specific infant and toddler products, ban the sale, lease or use in commercial settings of cribs that do not meet current safety standards, and would require manufacturers to include product registration cards with new products to facilitate notice of recalled products.

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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.

Stop for Brake Safety Month – National Consumers League

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August 1, 2008

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

Washington, DC – Keeping your car in good shape can prevent crashes and protect your investment, and brakes are one of the most important systems in a vehicle. In the National Consumers League’s 2008 Consumer Calendar this August, NCL is helping consumers learn the importance of a safe brake system and urging them to pull into an auto repair shop to get their brakes checked during Brake Safety Awareness Week (Aug 24-30).

During Brake Safety Awareness Week, an initiative of the Motorist Assurance Program (MAP) and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), all MAP Participating Service Facilities will check your car’s brakes for free by technicians that are MAP qualified or ASE certified.

The nation’s oldest consumer advocacy organization, NCL works to educate people about how to make wise decisions in today’s marketplace. Each month, NCL’s Web site, www.nclnet.org, will feature the calendar and tips for the month. Covering a range of subjects from medication safety, to avoiding scams, the tips are sponsored by major companies, government agencies, and organizations. The August tips were sponsored by Firestone Complete Auto Care, Just Brakes, Midas, and the Motorist Assurance Program.

The print version of the calendar was distributed to consumers free of charge through agencies and organizations around the country. There are no printed copies of the calendar remaining.

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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.

 

Groups call for clear, concise single document from pharmacy – National Consumers League

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July 29, 2008

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

Washington, DC – The National Consumers League has asked the Food and Drug Administration to issue a guidance for a combined and simplified document for patients when they receive their prescription drugs. In a petition filed on June 30, NCL was joined by several national healthcare organizations including the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, the National Community Pharmacists Association, the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, the National Alliance for Caregivers, the Food Marketing Institute, Healthcare Distribution Management Association, and Catalina Health Resource.

“It is very important that patients receive clear, useful information in plain language with their prescription drugs. They should be able to talk to their pharmacist about potential interactions, how to take their medicine and what side effects to expect. Patients do not need to receive multiple and lengthy pieces of paper that are often redundant and may even contain conflicting information,” said Sally Greenberg, Executive Director of the National Consumers League. “The present jumble of documents ill-serves the patient who simply needs enough information to take a prescription drug safely and effectively.”

The multitude of documents delivered to patients in pharmacies arises from different FDA legal requirements or unwritten, informal interpretation of those requirements from offices within FDA. Some of the legal requirements were established long ago, and were intended to regulate communications directed to healthcare professionals and not directly to consumers.

The FDA-mandated documents for patient communications can be just “too much information,” said Greenberg. For example, a person refilling a prescription for an anti-depressant could, theoretically receive:

  • Consumer Medication Information (CMI) describing how to take the prescribed drug, its risks, and other information including risk information from the Medication Guide.
  • A Patient Package Insert from the manufacturer with a Medication Guide.
  • A Medication Guide provided by the pharmacy.
  • Full professional labeling if the patient receives a sponsored message about the anti-depressant from the drug manufacturer describing, for example, the importance of adhering to the doctors’ orders.

The National Consumers League and other petitioners believe that it makes more sense to provide a single, clear, patient-friendly document with information for the patient that reinforces the communications between the patient, the pharmacist, and the prescribing healthcare professional. This single patient document would consolidate the many documents now in use and replace them with one that is easy to read, in plain language, in a consistent format, with plain instructions informing the patient where he or she can reliably obtain additional information.

“Many of these documents were never designed for nor intended to apply to the unique pharmacy environment,” said Greenberg. “The risks of patient confusion, conflict, redundancy, and pharmacy burden would be eliminated if FDA permitted a ‘single document solution’ for all patient-directed information disseminated in the pharmacy.”

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.