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Over the past 18 months, we at Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports, have been forming a modern incarnation of the “Letter Writing Brigade”: e-activists. More than 900,000 messages have already been written by consumers via CU Web sites in support of state and federal bills ranging from tainted-meat recalls to cell-phone number privacy. We’re not so naïve as to believe that a fair, just, and safe marketplace is just a click away. But almost 70 years of consumer work has taught us that consumers themselves are the best advocates for a better life in their homes and communities. Part of our mission at CU is to monitor lawmakers and regulators, and enlist you in pushing them to act in the consumer interest. Our goal is to build a critical mass of CU citizen activists--one million by the end of five years. Nearly 200,000 of you have signed up in our first year of expanded grassroots advocacy. Together, we’ve won victories in Missouri and Virginia, where hospital infection rates must now be made public; in Montana, which now regulates the conversion of nonprofit health insurers into for-profit businesses; in Washington state, where consumers can now “freeze” access to their credit-bureau files; and in California, Georgia, and Washington state, where cell-phone companies must get subscribers’ permission before listing their cell-phone numbers in a directory. What’s pending in your state? Go to the Action Center at www.ConsumersUnion.org for information about state and federal legislation, letters you can e-mail or post to lawmakers and others, and a roundup of CU campaigns. The stakes are high; consumers can’t afford to lose.
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