From our President

This monthly letter to subscribers from Consumers Union President Jim Guest highlights the critical consumer issues behind our current reports. See archived letters.

Great minds meet

It takes a village to raise a child, but it takes some pretty determined villagers to raise an issue. This summer, more than 120 of Consumers Union's "villagers"—we work with some 850,000 consumer activists—went to D.C. for two days of workshops and talks with members of Congress. This summit, our third, included regular consumers who, like some of you, were so frustrated about an issue that they chose to act.

Three who wouldn't take 'no'

Jaimee Napp, a customer-service coordinator from Omaha, Neb., came to CU as a victim of identity theft. Napp formed the Identity Theft Action Council of Nebraska to help victims restrict access to their financial information. That's fitting for a citizen of Nebraska; an inscription on the state capitol reads, "The salvation of the state is watchfulness of the citizen."

Ann Schoenthaler-Ervin is a psychologist from Waterville, Maine, whose commitment to getting the profit motive out of health care led her to push Maine lawmakers for change. Twice her family switched insurance companies after she had conceived; because she was already pregnant the new insurers refused to cover the labor and delivery costs. Even though health-care reform has passed at the national level, Schoenthaler-Ervin is staying involved, focusing on addressing the dangerously long shifts that medical residents work.

Peter Hurley's 3-year-old son, Jake, was sickened by salmonella. Hurley, a police officer from Wilsonville, Ore., didn't suspect that peanut butter crackers were the source. Although several people across the country had died in an outbreak of foodborne illness, the snacks the family had at home hadn't been recalled. The 11 days Jake was sick spurred Hurley to lobby Congress and testify—sometimes with Jake by his side—for stronger food safety.

"Summit" may seem like a lofty word to describe a gathering of consumer activists. But they are so determined and so educated by their own experiences that they achieve change where others fail. Annoyed by something? Want to act? Go to www.ConsumersUnion.org/activist.

Jim Guest
President