June 6, 2013

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

Washington, DC – In a letter to the House Subcommittee on the Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet, the National Consumers League today called for legislation that would permanently allow consumers to unlock mobile devices without violating copyright laws.

The full text of the letter is available here.

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About the National Consumers League 
The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Its mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

May 31, 2013

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

Washington, DC–The National Consumers League issued this statement on the federal bankruptcy case against Patriot Coal:

NCL is deeply disappointed in the Court’s decision to allow Patriot Coal to eliminate retiree health care and retirement benefits. “Allowing Peabody Coal to throw workers and retirees under the bus by simply declaring bankruptcy is unfair and unjust. This unthinkable decision now gives companies the green light to offload their health care and retiree obligations to another entity that goes bankrupt,” said Sally Greenberg, Executive Director of the National Consumers League.

NCL has long been allied with the cause of American workers and has a close and abiding relationship with the UMWA. One of NCL’s early presidents, Josephine Roche, was closely associated throughout her career with legendary UMWA president John L. Lewis, and NCL honored UMWA President Cecil Roberts in 2012.

“There’s no harder or more arduous job than going down into the mines for 12 hours a day. The work results in ailments from breathing in coal dust and Black Lung disease to injuries caused by the hard labor involved in mining. It’s only fair that these miners and their families get good health care and a decent retirement plan. Courts are there to protect these basic rights. Sadly, this court failed to do that.”

The union has recently held many rallies, and NCL joined a recent protest in St. Louis aimed at Patriot’s financial problems that are directly related to corporate actions by Peabody and Arch coal companies. “NCL believes that Patriot was set up to fail when it was formed by Peabody with more liabilities than assets in 2007,” said Greenberg. “We stand with our brothers and sisters at the UMWA in supporting an appeal to U.S. District Court in a continuing quest for justice for these mine workers and their families.”

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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.

May 20, 2013

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

Washington, DC—Today, the nation’s pioneering consumer and worker advocacy group, the National Consumers League (NCL), is launching a social media campaign that enables consumers to send a message to retailers that they would be willing to pay 10 cents more per garment in order to improve worker safety in Bangladesh. In the wake of perhaps the deadliest-ever garment factory disaster, the NCL is launching the “10 cents” campaign in an effort to educate American consumers about the minimal investments needed from retailers to improve dangerous factory conditions for workers overseas.

“With the death toll following the Rana Plaza building collapse in Bangladesh on April 24 having climbed to more than 1,100 it is clear factory safety must be reexamined, and worker’s rights in Bangladesh must be given the highest priority,” said Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director. “We think consumers would be shocked to discover that paying a mere 10 cents more per garment could mean the difference between life and death for Bangladeshi workers.”

According to a Worker Rights Consortium calculation, rebuilding unsafe factories and installing appropriate safety equipment in Bangladesh would cost $3 billion, or a $600 million investment every year for five years. With approximately 7 billion individual garments exported annually from Bangladesh, a mere 10 cents tacked on to the price of each garment would generate $700 million per year – more than enough money to cover the costs for all necessary factory improvements.

Since the April 24 disaster, many European retailers signed onto an accord backed by European-based labor unions IndustriAll, Uni Global Union, and many non-profit groups that would mandate independent factory inspections and hold retailers financially responsible for fire safety and building repairs needed to correct violations.  American companies, however, have been slow to act. Before the May 15 deadline, only two US-Based companies (PVH and Abercrombie and Fitch) signed the accord.

“American companies like Walmart, JC Penney, and Gap, who depend on factories that employ low-paid workers in dangerous environments think consumers would not be willing to pay 10 cents more for clothing,” said Greenberg. “It’s time consumers prove them wrong, and let their collective voice be heard. By taking this pledge on Facebook, consumers can exercise their enormous power to influence retailers.”

The National Consumers League’s interest in the current situation in Bangladesh has historic ties. NCL has drawn parallels between the Bangladeshi factory fires that keep killing workers and the historic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City in 1911, a conflagration that killed 146 workers and galvanized the labor community and government to make workplaces safer. For the first time, factories put in place fire codes, sprinklers, and new restrictions related to smoking and open flames inside the factory as the result of the tragedy. Advocates hope the recent factory disasters in Bangladesh will have a similar effect on improving factory conditions for workers abroad.

To find out more about the 10 cents pledge, visit www.facebook.com/nationalconsumersleague

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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.

May 16, 2013

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

Washington, DC — Today, the National Consumers League (NCL) and its partners announced the awardees of the second annual Script Your Future Medication Adherence Team Challenge for health profession students. This month-long competition engaged health profession students and faculty in developing creative ideas for raising awareness about medication adherence as a critical public health issue.   This year’s awardees are:  St. Louis College of Pharmacy, University of Charleston School of Pharmacy, University of the Pacific Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy & Health Sciences, Touro University College of Pharmacy California, and The University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy.

The Medication Adherence Team Challenge is part of the Script Your Future public awareness campaign launched in 2011 by NCL. The campaign includes more than 130 public and private stakeholder organizations, including the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) Foundation, the American Medical Association (AMA), and the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA).  “We were excited to expand our competition this year beyond just student pharmacists to more broad outreach to additional fields of future  health professionals who interact with patients–doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and others,” said Sally Greenberg, NCL’s Executive Director. “This more comprehensive approach will ultimately result in patients hearing from multiple voices encouraging them to take their medication as directed.”

Research shows that nearly three out of four Americans don’t take their medications as directed. This may cause devastating results, particularly for people with chronic conditions. Poor medication adherence has been recognized by national health advocacy groups as a public health priority; it results in more than one-third of medicine-related hospitalizations and almost 125,000 deaths in the United States each year. Improved medication adherence leads to better health outcomes and reduced total healthcare costs.

The Script Your Future Medication Adherence Team Challenge was a month-long outreach competition held in February 2013 to engage interdisciplinary student teams from pharmacy, medicine, nursing, and other health professions charged with tackling the problem of poor adherence.  The teams implemented innovative solutions and outreach in their communities to raise awareness and improve understanding about medication adherence using Script Your Future materials. This year, the students also submitted entries in the categories of health disparity outreach, chronic condition outreach, and creative inter-professional team.

More than 1,700 future health care professionals held 200 events in 35 states and the District of Columbia, counseling over 12,000 patients and reaching more than 3 million consumers nationwide.

“Educating the next generation of pharmacists and other healthcare professionals is imperative to ensure that future patients practice better adherence,” said Dr. Lucinda L. Maine, Executive Vice President and CEO at AACP.  “The Script Your Future team challenge inspires students to think about new ways to address this issue and encourages innovative strategies to better connect with patients.”

“For patients to achieve optimal health outcomes, it is vital that they take their medication as directed,” said AMA President Jeremy A. Lazarus, M.D. “Patient education through community outreach enhances the conversations happening in doctors’ offices across the country and helps patients avoid adverse drug reactions and unnecessary hospitalizations. The Script Your Future challenge enables healthcare professionals-in-training to advance public health. ”

“The involvement of students and faculty in the effort to boost medication adherence is incredibly important” said NACDS Foundation President Kathleen Jaeger. “The Medication Adherence Team Challenge establishes this issue as a top priority for the next generation of health professionals, and inspires them to advance this goal within their own communities. The winners are showing the tremendous power that healthcare professionals can have on advancing patient care through medication adherence. We hope that is a lesson they will carry with them throughout their careers and that will inspire others to do the same.”

“Positive health outcomes for patients require good medication adherence and the collective efforts of community pharmacists and other health care professionals play a critical role in that equation. This is why the National Community Pharmacists Association is proud to be a sponsor of the Script Your Future team challenge, as it recognizes the indispensable role of each member of a patient’s health care team, and encourages each to be the best patient advocate they can be,” said NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hoey, RPh, MBA.

The recognized schools’ campaigns, selected from over 58 applications, and 85 participating colleges and schools of pharmacy and other health professions are listed below.  In addition, the following schools received Honorable Mention under the National Award category: Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine-LECOM School of Pharmacy; University of California San Francisco, School of Pharmacy; and Harding University College of Pharmacy.

National Challenge Award: St. Louis College of Pharmacy

An engaged, inter-professional team of students and their faculty advisors from schools of pharmacy, medicine, physical therapy, and occupational therapy raised awareness of medication adherence through sustainable outreach in their communities. The St. Louis College of Pharmacy conducted two-dozen events throughout the Challenge month, with a particular focus on cardiovascular disease. This team adapted the Script Your Future message to reach almost 50,000 consumers. Students appeared on morning television shows with the help of Miss Missouri USA, engaged with the public at every Metro stop in St. Louis, and staffed local pharmacies and workplaces to offer medication management, health screenings and tips on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. To capitalize on their adherence efforts, the team trained staff from local pharmacies on medication adherence, leaving a lasting impression on their community.

National Challenge Award: University of Charleston School of Pharmacy

University of Charleston School of Pharmacy (UCSOP) created 12 new and innovative activities and resources for this year’s Challenge, reaching over 6,000 consumers in the Charleston, West Virginia community. The team included a unique composition of students from the University of Charleston Pharmacy School, Physician Assistant Program, Athletic Training Education Program, and the Regional Tobacco and Substance Abuse Prevention Program. To showcase the activities during the month, UCSOP engaged in social media by creating a Facebook page and YouTube channel, and also created a cartoon strip contest for fellow students. The team printed unique QR codes on all materials created during the Challenge that linked to original medication adherence videos. UCSOP events included a Teen Expo at a local high school where teens were counseled on healthy lifestyles and adherence.  This team used campaign messages to create outreach tailored to their community for a lasting impact in Charleston, West Virginia.

Target Market Challenge Award: University of the Pacific Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

With a focus on diverse and underserved populations, the University of Pacific team reached a number of patients in the Stockton, California community. The University of the Pacific worked with the Script Your Future Sacramento coalition to translate resources into a variety of languages including Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean and Chinese. The inter-professional students took to the airways and produced a weekly, hour-long radio show on medication adherence. The team of students from medicine, pharmacy and physical therapy worked with local clinics to provide adherence information to Filipino, Hispanic, and rural populations. Participation in the Challenge has led to continuing partnerships with medical student-run clinics to incorporate medication adherence into the services offered and a collaboration with a university-led Medicare Part D program to provide adherence data on this unique population.

Health Disparities, Under-represented Community Outreach Award: Touro University, California- College of Pharmacy

Touro University targeted underserved populations in their outreach efforts, including uninsured, Hispanic, African American, South and Southeast Asian populations. Noting the high prevalence of chronic disease, non-adherence and barriers to accessing health care for these populations, 80% of the Challenge month events targeted under-represented communities, reaching over 1200 patients. The team conducted blood glucose and blood pressure screenings and referred a number of patients to seek further care due to high blood pressure. Learning from this outreach, Touro plans to work with partners to offer prescription assistance, health screenings and continued health literacy and cultural competency training with student-providers.

Chronic Condition Outreach Award: The University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy

The University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy partnered with public and private partners to focus on medication adherence in populations with cardiovascular disease. Mississippi has the highest cardiovascular disease mortality rate in the nation.  The team used Script Your Future materials to hold a number of health fairs at a local medical mall in Jackson, MS, designed to keep participants engaged with a series of activities and stations. Students from nursing, medicine, pharmacy and physical therapy conducted health screens and education with patients. An evaluation of patients who attended the fairs unearthed interesting population trends and led to a number of referrals for follow-up visits.  All involved in the outreach, from students to faculty to patients, recognized the importance and strength of inter-professional collaboration when addressing chronic diseases.

Creative Inter-professional Team Event Award: St. Louis College of Pharmacy

Partnering with health profession programs at the Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis College of Pharmacy led a robust inter-professional team to engage the St. Louis community. The team adapted Script Your Future materials to create a cohesive message “See it, Hear it, Write it, Understand it, Share it,” in which each profession describes how patients can improve adherence, adding their unique perspective. The largest team effort, Metro St. Louis Talks, involved physical and occupational therapy students educating commuters about adherence at every metro stop in St. Louis. 

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About Script Your Future

Script Your Future is a campaign of the National Consumers League (NCL), a private, non-profit membership organization founded in 1899. NCL’s mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad.For more information about the Script Your Future campaign, visit www.ScriptYourFuture.org. For more information on NCL, please visit www.nclnet.org.

April 29, 2013

My name is Sally Greenberg, and I am the Executive Director of the National Consumers League.

NCL is a consumer and worker advocacy organization that has been fighting for fair labor standards since 1899! Our founder, Florence Kelley, wrote and implemented the country’s first minimum wage laws, maximum hours laws and her pioneering work was instrumental in getting our nation’s children out of factories and mines. NCL’s early leadership advocated for national health insurance and social security benefits for retirees.

Today, we stand with the United Mine Workers of America to show our support and solidarity for the 22,500 people affected by this egregious and outrageous example of corporate greed. No one has done more to build this nation or worked harder by the sweat of their brow or given more lives than our nation’s coal miners! The loyalty and camaraderie demonstrated here today is remarkable and uplifting! We are HONORED to be among you today!

NCL represents both workers AND consumers. Consumers have an inherent sense of fairness, especially about hard won bargained for healthcare and retirement benefits. Together we will fight to ensure that this abuse of workers and abuse of power will not be a roadmap for any other company to follow!

The industry made promises to thousands of workers. NCL stands with those women and men and every working family to demand our voices are heard and those promises are kept!! This issue that not only affects coal miners but every single worker in this country. Fairness at Patriot represents Fairness for all!

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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.