Consumers Union: Difference between revisions
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[[Category:Consumer organizations]] |
[[Category:Consumer organizations]] |
Revision as of 00:11, 18 March 2007
Consumers Union is an independent, nonprofit testing and information organization serving consumers in the United States. Its mission is to test products, inform the public, and protect consumers. Its income is derived from the sale of Consumer Reports and other services, and from noncommercial contributions, grants, and fees.
Integral to its mission, Consumers Union has four advocacy offices that address the crucial task of influencing policy that affects consumers. Its advocates tackle consumer issues that are regional, national, and even international in scope from their offices in Washington, D.C.; San Francisco, California; Austin, Texas; and Yonkers, New York. They testify before federal and state legislative and regulatory bodies, petition government agencies, and file lawsuits on behalf of the consumer interest.
Consumers Union's advocacy staff focus on policy issues related to telecommunications, media, auto safety, health care, product safety, financial services, investing, food safety, housing, and energy and utility deregulation.
History
Founded in 1936 by Arthur Kallet, Colston Warne, and others who felt that the established Consumers Research organization was not aggressive enough. Kallet, an engineer and director of Consumers Research had a falling out with F.J. Schlink, who busted Consumers Research's union and started his own organization with Amherst College economics professor Colston Warne.
The House Un-American Activities Committee placed Consumers Union on a list of subversive organizations only to remove them in 1954. Consumers Union has also helped start several consumer groups and publications, in 1960 helping create global consumer group Consumers International and in 1974 providing financial assistance to Consumers' Checkbook which is considered akin Consumer Reports for local services in the 7 metropolitan areas they serve.
Advocacy & Campaigns
Consumers Union has thousands of e-advocates who take action and write letters to policymakers about the issues its advocates take on. CU has also launched several new advocacy websites including HearUsNow.org which helps consumers with telecommunications policy matters. In March 2005, CU campaign PrescriptionforChange.org released an animation with a song from the Austin Lounge Lizards that was featured by The New York Times, JibJab, BoingBoing, and hundreds of blogs.
Consumers Union is a sponsor of the Stop Hospital Infections campaign, whose goal is to aid consumers in finding the best quality of health care by promoting the public disclosure of hospital-acquired infection rates.[1]
The campaign works to obtain petition signatures in many US states, calling for legislation requiring hospitals to disclose infection rates to the public. Currently only 6 US states require such disclosure, although legislation is currently being debated in many other states.[2]
The news about CU is not all positive. There are those who claim that CU is not a Union of Consumers but a Union of Consumer Manipulators. The most vocal of these is the International Myopia Prevention Assn. From their home page, a link is provided to a page about CU which describes their behind-the-scenes ties to big business. These Wikipedia comments are important to understand this organization because, without them, the entire page is a whitewash of CU's activities, possibly monitered by CU activists. This link is needed because there is too much relevant, negative information to put on this page. [3]
The US Center for Disease Control states that about 2 million patients annually (about 1 in 20) will acquire an infection while being treated in a hospital for an unrelated health care problem, resulting in 90,000 deaths and $4.5 billion in excess health care costs.[4]
Campaign for Children's Health Care
Consumers Union is a partner in the Campaign for Children's Health Care, a multi-year campaign to raise awareness about the problem of uninsured children in America.
See also
- Consumers International
- Australian Consumers' Association
- Consumers Union
- Consumer Reports
- Consumer Scribbler (Consumers Union Blog)
- Hear Us Now
- Stop Hospital Infections
- Center for Disease Control Infection Control
- Prescription for Change
- Financial Privacy Now
- Campaign for Children's Health Care
- Consumer Complaint Form, U.S. Federal Trade Commission
- CU's Hidden Ties to the Business World