National student financial literacy competition opens 2016-17 season – National Consumers League

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September 12, 2016

Contact: NCL Communications, Cindy Hoang, cindyh@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC–Today marks the official launch of the 23rd season of LifeSmarts, with a new competition going live at the online home of the program, LifeSmarts.org. LifeSmarts, a program of the National Consumers League (NCL), is a national scholarship competition and educational program for middle-school and high-school students that tests knowledge of real-life consumer issues and aims to create a future generation of savvy-consumer adults.

“We are very excited to launch our 23rd season of LifeSmarts,” said national Program Director Lisa Hertzberg. “LifeSmarts gives students the skills they need to succeed as adults. We see students gain knowledge, confidence, leadership skills, and teamwork. The competition is a lot of fun, and the impact of LifeSmarts is lifelong.”

LifeSmarts focuses on five main content areas: consumer rights and responsibilities, personal finance, technology, health and safety, and the environment. Students are quizzed on their knowledge of these subject areas during online competition. Top-performing teams then advance to statewide competitions, and state champion teams advance to the national championship held each year in a different American city. The 2017 National LifeSmarts Championship will take place April 21-24, in Pittsburgh, PA. Winning teams receive scholarships and other prizes.

Last year, students answered more than 3 million consumer questions about credit reports, recycling, nutrition, social media, state lemon laws, and everything in between. By being consumer savvy and quick on the buzzers, the LifeSmarts team from Dallas High School in Dallas, PA took home top honors last April at the 22nd national event in Denver.

In addition to state and national competitions, LifeSmarts recognition and awards occur throughout the program year:

  • Teams of students vie for cash prizes in the online TeamSmarts quiz, which focuses on a specific LifeSmarts content area each month.
  • Six $1,000 scholarships will be awarded this winter to winning LifeSmarts students who become Safety Smart Ambassadors, using the joint UL and LifeSmarts program to present safety messages to younger children in their communities.
  • Partnering with FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) and FCCLA (Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America), LifeSmarts offers special competitive events for student members of both student leadership organizations.

“We are excited to continue to grow the LifeSmarts program into new states and regions, to continue to educate students about financial literacy and being responsible consumers, and to create a new generation of savvy, market-ready consumers and workers,” said Sally Greenberg, executive director of NCL. “Too often traditional high school curriculum fails to teach students vital information that will be crucial once students go to college, get their first job, or move out of their parents’ house.”

In addition to hosting the official LifeSmarts competition, LifeSmarts.org provides resources for teachers to supplement existing lesson plans. These include daily quizzes, educational videos, social media competitions, focused study guides, and scholarship opportunities. LifeSmarts lessons closely align with courses taught in family and consumer sciences, business, technology, health, and vocational education. Math and English teachers have also had success with LifeSmarts, as have homeschool and community educators.

Major LifeSmarts contributors include: Experian, McNeil Consumer Healthcare, Underwriters Laboratories, Western Union, LifeLock, Comcast NBC Universal, Intuit, American Express Company, and others. Visit LifeSmarts.org for more information. LifeSmarts: Learn it. Live it.

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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: LifeSmarts.org, email lifesmarts@nclnet.org, or call the National Consumers League’s communications department at 202-835-3323.

NCL joins other consumer groups in strong support of CFPB rule to limit use of forced arbitration clauses against consumers – National Consumers League

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August 26, 2016

Contact: NCL Communications, Cindy Hoang, cindyh@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s pioneering consumer and worker advocacy organization, founded in 1899, joins comments by other consumer groups in support of a rule proposed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to limit the use of forced arbitration clauses by banks, credit card companies, lenders, and other financial services. Nearly 13,000 comments were filed with the CFPB on this important rule. NCL is a signatory to a letter signed by 281 consumer and labor groups praising the CFPB’s rule.

Sally Greenberg, NCL’s executive director, stated: “This rule will finally help to even the playing field and work to curb the worst abuses in the financial services marketplace. While we would like to see additional reforms to help restore consumer rights, promote transparency, and improve the market, we see this as a significant step forward in efforts to curb industry practices and make consumer financial markets fairer and safer.”

The Dodd-Frank Act required the CFPB to study the use of arbitration provisions, and the bureau produced a lengthy report in March 2015 to lay out the basis for its curbs. Based on the report, the CFPB unveiled its proposed rule to prohibit companies from putting forced arbitration clauses in new contracts that block consumer participation in class action lawsuits in May.

While the proposed rule does not bar all uses of forced arbitration, as NCL had hoped, the rule will make a meaningful difference in consumer transactions moving forward. NCL has long advocated against companies’ use of arbitration clauses, which are often found hidden deep in the fine print of consumer contracts and user agreements.

Forced arbitration clauses eliminate the rights of consumers to go to court over future disputes that they may have with the company. Instead of having the right to bring cases to a court of law before an impartial judge paid by taxpayers and have a case heard on a public record, consumers have to go before an arbitrator–who is often chosen from a list created by the company. The company can keep choosing that arbitrator for repeat business, so there’s an incentive for the arbitrator to favor the company. This arbitrator is not required to follow established law or procedure. The arbitrator’s decisions cannot be appealed, and are often kept secret.

“These clauses are found in nearly every conceivable consumer contract, including those for credit cards, bank accounts, mobile homes, nursing homes, wireless cell phone carriers, physicians’ offices, and many others,” said Greenberg.

The Federal Arbitration Act, a statute enacted in 1925, was designed so that businesses could elect to settle their own disputes out of court if they wished to do so. “It was never intended to be used to deprive consumers of their rights. Unfortunately, a conservative Supreme Court, often decided by a close 5-4 vote, has approved business’ use of these clauses in consumer contracts,” said Greenberg. “The law has been converted into a weapon against consumers to force them to ‘agree’ to give up their rights.”

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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 submit comments to FDA on Prescription Drug User Fee Act VI – National Consumers League

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August 15, 2016

Contact: Cindy Hoang, National Consumers League, cindyh@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832 

Washington, DC–Today the nation’s pioneering consumer advocacy organization, the National Consumers League (NCL), will submit comments to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on the reauthorization of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act for fiscal years 2018 through 2022 (PDUFA VI). Founded in 1899, the National Consumers League has long been concerned with ensuring the safety of foods and drugs. Among NCL’s top priorities are ensuring the safety, effectiveness, and appropriate use of both prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, and medication adherence, which NCL has helped to advance through its Script Your Future Campaign.

“As PDUFA VI goes through the reauthorization process, NCL urges the FDA to remain mindful of the concerns expressed by some that because industry pays user fees, industry thereby controls the FDA’s agenda and process. It is critical for the agency to act independently of industry influence and to uphold its high standards for safety, efficacy, and quality of prescription drug products,” said Karin Bolte, NCL director of health policy, who will deliver a statement and submit comments on behalf of NCL today. 

“NCL wants to be sure that in the quest to reduce barriers to new drug approvals, FDA does not lose sight of the importance of the agency’s mission of protecting and promoting the health of consumers and patients. The FDA must balance the needs of consumers who are concerned about serious side effects with the concerns of patients who may be facing a life-threatening illness where time is of the essence. However, even patients in great need may be harmed rather than helped by drugs that have been approved too quickly without adequate consideration of safety and effectiveness or toxic side effects.”

NCL’s full comments are available 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 Delta Airline’s mass cancellations – National Consumers League

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August 11, 2016

Contact: Cindy Hoang, National Consumers League, cindyh@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832 

Washington, DC—In light of this week’s system-wide failure at Delta Airlines and subsequent cancellations of thousands of flights, the National Consumers League (NCL) today calls on Congress to investigate the lack of consumer protections when airlines suffer from widespread outages. The following statement is attributable to Sally Greenberg, executive director of NCL:

“It is outrageous that while airlines are enjoying record profits, they remain unable to provide the most basic level of customer service. Delta’s system failure that resulted in flight cancellations was compounded by ineffective interlining agreements between carriers, which left consumers stranded and without alternative transportation options. This failure is yet another example of how the lack of competition is harming consumers. It is up to leaders in Congress to hold the airlines accountable and to demand stronger consumer protections from industry and the Department of Transportation to not only ensure that this never happens again, but to also ensure that consumers receive the refunds they deserve for their canceled flights.”

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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 settlement with BBUSA Bakeries USA – National Consumers League

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April 20, 2016

Contact: NCL’s Cindy Hoang, cindyh@nclnet.org, (202) 835-3323

Washington, DC–The National Consumers League (“NCL”) and BBUSA Bakeries USA (“BBUSA”) are pleased to announce that they have resolved consumer-related litigation pending in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, NCL v. BBUSA Bakeries USA, Case No. 2013 CA 006548 B. NCL and BBUSA recognize the importance of a focus on nutritional content in bread product offerings and ensuring that customers have nutritious options.  Without admitting liability, BBUSA has agreed to provide additional disclosures on the back of product packaging and on the Thomas’® and Sara Lee® websites and to make a donation to Feeding America.

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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 statement on FTC’s settlement with Herbalife – National Consumers League

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July 15, 2016

Contact: NCL Communications, Cindy Hoang, cindyh@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League (NCL) today welcomed the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) action to require fundamental restructuring and significant consumer redress as part of its settlement with multi-level marketing company Herbalife. In March 2013, NCL was the first consumer group to call on the Commission to investigate allegations that Herbalife was engaging in a sophisticated pyramid scheme. In March 2014, the FTC responded to calls from NCL and others by opening an investigation into the company’s conduct.

The following statement is attributable to NCL Executive Director, Sally Greenberg:

“The FTC’s action today addresses many of the concerns that NCL and other experts on pyramid schemes raised about Herbalife’s business practices. Specifically, consumers will benefit greatly from the settlement’s requirement that Herbalife base its compensation structure on verifiable retail sales to end-users of the product, not recruitment of new distributors. This is the core distinction, as enumerated by more than 30 years of case law, between a legal direct-selling company and a fraudulent pyramid scheme. The settlement’s requirement that at least 80 percent of product sales, companywide, must be made to end-users will further address concerns about a lack of retail sales to buyers outside the business opportunity. The FTC’s settlement will also address many of the blatantly unsubstantiated earning claims made by Herbalife’s distributors to entice new recruits to join the business opportunity and keep existing distributors paying to remain in the business opportunity. We look forward to the FTC’s forthcoming guidance to the direct selling industry as an opportunity to address the persistent lack of clarity that has characterized many industry practices.”

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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 House Energy and Commerce Committee votes on H.R. 5104 and H.R. 5111 – National Consumers League

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July 14, 2016

Contact: NCL Communications, Cindy Hoang, cindyh@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League (NCL), America’s pioneering consumer and worker advocacy organization, today released statements regarding the passage of two consumer-focused bills in the Energy and Commerce Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives.

NCL applauds the House Energy and Commerce committee’s passage of H.R. 5104, the Better On-line Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act of 2016, an excellent first step forward toward the goal of promoting a fair live event ticketing marketplace.

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

“The bipartisan BOTS Act represents an important first step in promoting a fair ticketing marketplace for all consumers. Prohibiting the use of ticket bots to electronically ‘jump the line,’ ahead of consumers patiently waiting to purchase tickets will help promote a fair live event ticketing marketplace for consumers. Although this bill’s passage is a significant win for consumers, this bill also represents a missed opportunity to protect consumers from unethical ticketing practices. Prohibiting bot usage alone as the BOTS Act proposes, only fixes part of the problem. To put more tickets in the hands of everyday fans at a fair price, the live event ticket market needs additional transparency to require disclosure of how many tickets actually go to general sale as well as greater consumer protections to help empower fans to make better purchasing decisions.”

NCL applauds the Commerce Committee’s bipartisan passage of H.R. 5111, the Consumer Review Fairness Act. H.R. 5111 will protect consumers’ First Amendment right to provide honest reviews of products and services without fear of legal retribution from merchants who hide behind non-disparagement clauses in their terms of service agreements.

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

“Consumers rely on honest product reviews to make many important purchasing decisions. Unfortunately, some merchants and vendors want to remove this quintessential American right of  free expression by inserting so called “non-disparagement” clauses that threaten legal action against consumers who post negative reviews  H.R. 5111 would nullify these ‘terms of service’ rules aimed at silencing honest feedback, allowing consumers to benefit from accurate reviews. NCL welcomes these protections.“

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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 beer industry nutritional labeling initiative – National Consumers League

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July 12, 2016

Contact: NCL Communications, Cindy Hoang, cindyh@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC–For decades, the National Consumers League (NCL) has been fighting to get nutritional information, specifically an “Alcohol Facts Label” on all alcoholic beverages sold in the US. Consumers very much want this information and have come to rely on nutritional facts labeling on foods they consume.

Consistent with this theme, NCL is pleased that a new initiative from the Beer Institute will mean that participating companies will display specific consumer information on products, packaging or websites. Entitled “Brewers’ Voluntary Disclosure Initiative,” the participants in the initiative make up 81 percent of the beer industry in the US. These companies will voluntarily include a serving facts statement on their products, and will disclose ingredients on either the label or secondary packaging via a list of ingredients, a reference to a website with the information or through a QR code.

“The Beer Institute initiative is a milestone; beer is the most popular alcohol beverage in the United States, and having nutritional information on beer labels is a game changer,” said Sally Greenberg, NCL’s Executive Director. “We applaud the Beer Institute’s leadership for rolling out the Brewers’ Voluntary Disclosure Initiative, which will list calories, carbohydrates, protein, fat and alcohol by volume on their beer products.”

The serving facts statement is consistent with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Trade Bureau (TTB) ruling 2013-2. In addition, participants in the voluntary agreement will provide freshness dating, and disclose ingredients via a list, a reference to a website with the information, or a QR code on the label or secondary packaging. Beer Institute member companies, including industry leaders such as Anheuser-Busch, MillerCoors, HeinekenUSA, Constellation Brands Beer Division, North American Breweries, and Craft Brew Alliance, have agreed to follow these standards. These companies together produce more than 81 percent of the volume of beer sold in the U.S.

While NCL applauds the Beer Institute’s initiative, Greenberg noted that there are some missed opportunities in the announcement: providing alcohol content information and acknowledging the validity of the standard drink definition, as defined in the US Dietary Guidelines issued by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Those guidelines provide consumers with equivalencies in comparing beer, wine and spirits. Namely, that the average 12 oz of beer, average 5 oz of wine, and average 1.5 oz of spirits all contain the equivalent amounts of alcohol. Given the many positive aspects of the Beer Institute’s initiative today, NCL is urging the industry to embrace this common-sense definition of a standard drink as well.

“Thanks to the leadership of the Beer Institute and its members, consumers can look forward to having much sought nutritional information available for the first time on the label of the beer they consume. This is an encouraging and welcome development,” said Greenberg.

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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 responses to question from the June 15, 2016 pubic hearing on CPSC’s agenda and priorities for FY 2017 and FY 2018 – National Consumers League

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July 1, 2016

 Question 1: During the hearing, Commissioner Buerkle inquired whether the Active Injury Mitigation System (AIMS) technology could be used on all different sizes of table saws.  You answered tentatively that you thought it could be used on all, but indicated that you would like to check and get back to CPSC on that.

NCL Response: AIMS technology is currently being used on both larger and smaller table saws.  Indeed, one manufacturer, SawStop, is currently selling larger cabinet saws and smaller benchtop style jobsite saws, both with an AIMS design.  Another manufacturer, Bosch, is currently selling benchtop style jobsite saws with an AIMS design.  Hence, it is technologically and economically feasible to produce table saws in any size with an AIMS design. 

It is very important that any table saw safety standard that CPSC promulgates include an AIMS requirement for all table saws.  There are significant injury patterns associated with the use of each size of table saw—they all present an unreasonable risk to users, regardless of size.  It is important to stress that the smaller benchtop saws, which are less expensive, are often used by consumers and hobbyists.  For the same reasons that every passenger vehicle sold in the U.S., regardless of size or cost, must provide its occupants with adequate crash protection, so, too, table saws should provide all users with adequate protection from the foreseeable and all-too-frequent injuries from hand-blade contact.  Table saw safety is not a luxury and should not be reserved only for users who can afford to buy larger, better equipped machines.  It is important for hobbyists and less-experienced table saw users to have the same protection as users with more experience who might purchase bigger and more expensive table saws. 

We recognize that adding AIMS technology to table saws will increase the price at retail.  However, as consumers, we believe that, given the frequency and severity of injuries endured by consumers and other users over the past many years, the presence of AIMS is a significant value added to the product and to the overall well-being of society—the benefits far outweigh the costs.  Moreover, as we have seen with many other product categories that have undergone significant safety improvements, once an industry begins to focus its expertise and technological prowess on compliance, the cost of such compliance will fall significantly.

In short, AIMS technology can be applied to all table saws regardless of size—and AIMS technology should be required for all table saws regardless of size.

Question 2:  During the hearing, you commented that the UL Technical Panel on table saws is “heavily dominated by industry members” who have voted against AIMS requirements.  My understanding is that even one of the strongest proponents of a particular mitigation technology voted against including it in the voluntary standard, and that the technology was also omitted from the recently updated IEC standard.  Do these events suggest that industry’s representation on the UL panel is not the key issue?

NCL Response: The industry’s dominant control of the UL committee that votes whether to allow implementation of UL’s safety proposals is very much a key issue.  When CPSC published its ANPR for table saws in October 2011, UL came to the commission in February 2012 and presented a plan for reducing the predictable injuries associated with table saw use by developing and adopting an AIMS requirement for use in its own table saw standard, UL 987.  In essence, working with a special outside Working Group of technical experts, UL would direct its technical staff and test laboratories to develop the performance criteria and test methods needed to upgrade its standard for table saws that would greatly reduce the enormous risks associated with most table saws sold in today’s market.  The final step would put the proposal to a vote of one of UL’s standing Scientific Technical Panels (STP). 

Today, more than four years after UL made that commitment, its effort has ended in failure.  To be clear, UL completed the research and developed the requisite performance criteria and test methods for an AIMS that it believed would reduce or eliminate the types of tragic injuries that occur by the tens of thousands each year.  UL proposed including the AIMS requirement in the next version of its table saw standard.  The decision-making mechanism for final acceptance of the proposal for its own standard was handed over to STP 745 for a vote. 

For table saws, STP 745 was comprised of 21 voting members.  Fifteen members are either employees of the table saw industry, former senior employees of the table saw industry, or staff of the industry trade association, the Power Tool Institute (PTI).  The other six voting members represent consumers, specialty users, etc.  After more than four years of research and laboratory testing, UL developed the performance criteria and test methods for including an AIMS requirement in its own standard, UL 987, the STP voted 14 to 7 against adoption.  With the exception of SawStop, all the industry members and their surrogates voted NO.  SawStop voted YES, as did the other six voting members of the committee, including the three consumer members and the UL member on the committee. 

UL then made adjustments to its first AIMS proposal and proposed adoption of the second version.  Again the industry and its surrogates voted NO via the same overwhelming bloc of votes, thus blocking the adoption of AIMS a second time. 

Clearly, the composition of this committee overwhelmingly favors the industry perspective, and their unified stance on issues controls and dominates the outcome of the committee’s decisions.  The fact that UL’s proposal to upgrade its own table saw standard with an AIMS requirement to protect consumers was summarily blocked by the industry is a prime example of how the application of the consensus process in practice can impede progress in matters of public safety. 

In fact, many of the voluntary standards committees that deal with consumer product safety are severely imbalanced by a dearth of consumer and non-industry representatives, the predictable effect of which is that committee decisions are controlled by the interests of the industry.  While the application of a balance of interests is the theoretical goal for consensus-based decision making, the reality is that far too often there is a tiny number—often zero—of consumers and non-industry members to balance, challenge, and negotiate with the industry members when the critical decisions are being made.  Such circumstances leave the industry free to write standards that suit its specific needs, and then masquerade behind the banner of using a consensus process that offers the opportunity for balanced inputs. 

The same structural flaw exists with international product safety standards.  In this case, for example, the committee that controls the U.S. national position, and therefore its vote, on the IEC standard for table saws is comprised of most of the same industry organizations and surrogates as the industry bloc that controls UL’s STP, with virtually no consumer participation or input.  Indeed, the U.S. committee is managed by the staff of the Power Tool Institute.  Hence, the absence of an AIMS requirement in the “updated” IEC standard is entirely predictable. 

In summary, the lack of committee balance to articulate the needs of consumers and other key safety-focused stakeholders cannot help but result in weak voluntary safety standards, especially where the industry chooses for whatever reason to resist making the changes needed to address serious injury patterns.  The practical effect of relying on the voluntary consensus standards process is that it is virtually impossible to make progress to protect consumers from unreasonable risks unless the industry agrees to negotiate the issue in good faith. 

Fortunately, in the long painful journey for table saw users where meaningful voluntary corrective action has been stalled for years, CPSC has the statutory mandate and the authority to intervene on behalf of consumers. 

  

Sally Greenberg
NCL Executive Director

Karin Bolte
NCL Health Policy Director