• Require information brokers to enforce tight security practices to keep your data safe;
• Mandate that companies notify you if your information has been compromised; and
• Limit the widespread use and display of Social Security numbers that puts your identity at risk.

It must stop - but giant cell phone companies are doing everything they can to continue their unfair practices! State consumer advocates favor eliminating these penalties because they violate the law in their states, and in some states there are lawsuits challenging the legality of termination fees. However, the giant cell phone companies are using their financial muscle to pressure the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) into issuing an order that would override state law and lock customers into these harmful penalties indefinitely.

If the cell phone giants get their way, cell phone users will remain at their mercy because these companies will have little incentive to improve their service and lower their rates. But we can stop them! Let the FCC know that you're fed up with unreasonable cell phone penalties and that you want real freedom to choose the best cell phone service provider.

The FCC is accepting public comments until August 5 about whether these illegitimate penalties should continue. Sign our petition and tell the FCC that you want an end to cell phone cancellation penalties.

Take Action]]>
The House however, has yet to consider the pact. House Democrats are launching staunch resistance to the pact, which with the aid of a few Republicans may lead to its failure.
More...]]> Hundreds of thousands of workers and consumers have died or will die from diseases that result from asbestos exposure.

So how is Congress responding to these victims? By proposing legislation that would shield asbestos manufacturers from lawsuits and deny justice and fair compensation for the innocent victims of asbestos poisoning, depriving them of their day in court.

The trust fund that would be established to compensate victims under the so-called Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act (FAIR Act) is unfair, underfunded, unworkable and unconstitutional. It would make asbestos victims overcome huge new hurdles to prove that they are eligible - and if they are able to do this, they would then be forced to wait years for the compensation they deserve. And in a particularly outrageous provision of this bill, many who were exposed to asbestos in the World Trade Center collapse on 9/11 would be ineligible for compensation.

Take action today: sign this petition to your senators, and urge them to protect innocent victims of asbestos poisoning by OPPOSING the FAIR Act!

Take Action]]> Gas-guzzlers got you down?

Give the thumbs up to hybrid drivers - they think before they drink!! (gasoline, that is :)

Get out your camera, and get out your thumb. Post your photo of a hybrid getting the Thumbs-Up!

Typical mpg for a Hummer: 8-10 mpg
Typical mpg for a Toyota Prius: 42 mpg
You do the math. And then give a hybrid the thumbs-up!

Take Action]]> One after another, the scandals emerge revealing Wal-Mart's ruthless campaign against workers' rights.

When Wal-Mart employees attempt to stand up for themselves and try to form a union, they face threats, propaganda, discrimination, intimidation, and even firings.

Is this any way to treat employees who just want to negotiate for better wages, more affordable health care, and basic protections on the job?

It's a struggle of epic proportions: 1.3 million employees versus Wal-Mart. College students, single parents, the elderly—barely making enough to cross the poverty line, competing against the world's largest employer and corporation—raking in $10,000,000,000 in profits last year. Clearly, Wal-Mart can afford to do the right thing and treat its workers with the respect they deserve. The question is, will it?

It's time to demand Wal-Mart stop denying its employees a voice at work. Tell Wal-Mart enough is enough!

Take Action]]> The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed in June that a cow born and bred in the United States had tested positive for mad cow disease. This was the second confirmed case of mad cow in the United States. The animal was originally suspected of having the disease last November, but the USDA failed to use the best available tests to diagnose the case for seven months.

This is a wake-up call to American consumers. We need swift and decisive action from federal regulators to ensure that the U.S. beef supply remains safe, and recommend that the USDA test all cattle over 20 months of age for mad cow disease.

USDA claims it can measure the extent of the mad cow risk because it tests the highest risk animals – approximately 1% of all cattle slaughtered each year. But USDA's surveillance and testing program is so secretive that the public has no way of knowing whether they are targeting high-risk or low-risk animals, or if their methods are based on sound science.

We must act sooner rather than later. If people eat beef from an animal infected with mad cow disease, they are at risk of contracting the incurable brain-wasting disorder, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The United Kingdom illustrates what can happen when regulators are slow to react; in that country an outbreak of mad cow disease resulted in millions of cattle being destroyed, beef exports being blocked for many years, and 147 human deaths.

Urge the USDA to take immediate action to keep the U.S. food supply safe from mad cow disease.
Take Action]]> TV Execs need a wake up call! Britney Spears' life is not reality. Carefully selected beautiful people romping around on a remote island are not reality. However, unemployment, job insecurity, and skyrocketing health care costs ARE reality for the majority of America. Britney probably can't handle the truth - but we can.

1.7 million people tuned in to watch Morgan Spurlock (the creator of "Super Size Me") try to live on minimum wage for 30 days. That means 1.7 million people want to learn more than how to become a Hilton. There is an audience out there that wants to put the real back into reality.

It's time for a reality check! Tell TV Execs you are tired of watching celebrities like Paris Hilton make fun of real life struggles. Ask them to create reality TV that informs, enlightens, and connects the people of America. Tell TV Execs it's time to get real!

Take Action]]> Did you know there is a California tax loophole that lets some corporations do business in California and elsewhere without being taxed?

That's right. Because of one loophole, some companies can do business in California and avoid paying taxes anywhere!

And did you know that by closing this loophole, the state would save enough to offer a refundable health insurance tax credit to California National Guard members returning home from overseas duty and their families?

These soldiers have left their lives and families behind to defend our country. It is time to make sure they are protected against the financial risk of sickness and injury when they return home.

Sign the petition below and tell Arnold Schwarzenegger to do the right thing: close the corporate tax loophole and provide health insurance for our Guard members.

Take Action]]>
Only after many months of intense lobbying efforts by the White House involving backroom deal-making and partisan pressure was the agreement passed in the House of Representatives by two votes. "In forcing passage of an unpopular trade agreement, the administration chose to ignore widespread concerns raised by many members of Congress and their constituents, as well as by farmers, trade unions, and church and community groups in the US, Central America and the Dominican Republic," stated Stephanie Weinberg, trade policy advisor with Oxfam America. "Whatever the spin, DR-CAFTA will institutionalize an uneven playing field instead of establishing fair and equitable rules for trade."

DR-CAFTA rigs the rules in favor of the interests of transnational companies. While the agreement provides virtually no new US market access to developing countries (with the limited exception of textiles), it extends monopoly rights for international pharmaceutical companies, thereby limiting marketing of generic medicines, and prohibits governments from using policy tools designed to ensure that investment provides maximum benefit to local communities. Furthermore, DR-CAFTA requires these developing countries to open their markets to the dumping of US rice and other commodities and to forbid use of adequate safeguards to ensure food and livelihood security and rural development. DR-CAFTA also blatantly ignores the fact that US agribusiness receives extensive subsidies and domestic supports, estimated to be around $24 billion this year alone, making it impossible for Central American and Dominican farmers to compete.
More...]]>
The regional trade agreement will require the developing countries of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic to open their markets to dumping of U.S. rice and other commodities and forbid use of adequate safeguards to ensure food and livelihood security and rural development. The agreement also blatantly ignores the fact that US farmers receive extensive subsidies and domestic supports, estimated to be around $24 billion this year alone. DR-CAFTA imposes strict new rules that extend the monopoly held by brand-name pharmaceuticals, which will limit generic competition and reduce access to affordable medicines in the future. The trade agreement also provides special rights and privileges to foreign investors that can create major new liabilities to governments and undermine efforts to protect public health, the environment, and workplace safety.

"No matter the spin, DR-CAFTA is a bad deal for millions of farmers, workers, and consumers in Central America and the Dominican Republic," says Stephanie Weinberg, Trade Policy Advisor at Oxfam. "The U.S. should do better if it wants to promote peace, political and economic security in this region that has struggled with poverty and inequality, and the resulting instability, for so long."

Read more.
More...]]> Wal-Mart currently faces the largest class-action sex discrimination lawsuit in American history.

Plaintiffs in the Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. case have provided evidence that women working in Wal-Mart stores are paid less than their male counterparts for comparable work in every region of the country and in most job categories. What’s worse, data show that the pay gap between men and women gets worse over time, and that women get promoted to management roles at Wal-Mart at a much slower rate than men.

As the world's largest corporation and America's largest private sector employer, Wal-Mart clearly has some explaining to do.

But rather than address the serious issues raised in the sex discrimination lawsuit, the company has aggressively fought the charges, even refusing to implement recommendations of its own diversity task force back in 1998. Tellingly, Wal-Mart disbanded the task force in 1999; and the percentage of women in management positions declined at the company in the two years that followed.

It's time to demand that CEO Lee Scott take concrete and measurable steps to end the systematic discrimination against women at Wal-Mart Stores.

Take Action]]>
But we face a growing caregiver crisis. As many as 75% of these support positions turnover each year because of poor wages and high job demands, putting the quality of life for people with disabilities at risk once again.

Hundreds of thousands of people with disabilities are already waiting for services and the demand for support services will grow 62% by 2010 as Americans age. We need to act today.

Sign this petition to your representative in Congress asking him or her to make sure that people with disabilities get the quality supports and services they need and deserve by co-sponsoring H.R. 1264, The Direct Support Professionals Fairness and Security Act of 2005.
Take Action]]> This is it: the most important vote to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will take place in September - and we need your signature today.

The showdown vote to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge -- America's greatest wildlife sanctuary -- will occur in both the House and Senate in mid-September. A provision to open the Refuge to drilling is expected to be buried in the massive Budget Reconciliation Bill.

Please sign this petition to your Senators and Representative today to urge a vote against the Budget Reconciliation bill! The stakes for the Arctic Refuge have never been higher.
Take Action]]> The Great Bear Rainforest is the largest intact, unprotected coastal rainforest in the world. It is also home to one of the world's most mystical creatures--the pure white Spirit Bear.

In an historic effort, corporations and loggers have worked with environmentalists and local communities to create an agreement to protect the habitat of this magnificent creature. It’s called the Great Bear Rainforest Solution: a groundbreaking measure that outlines sustainable logging in British Columbia, Canada--and protects five million acres of rainforest from all logging.

It has taken eight years to craft this vital solution and gather support from a remarkably diverse coalition. But time is running out! The government must act to permanently protect the Great Bear by September 30, 2005--as it has promised!

Please urge Premier Campbell to ensure the survival of the rare white Spirit Bears, wild salmon, and 1,000-year-old cedar of the Great Bear Rainforest by supporting the Great Bear Rainforest Solution.
Take Action]]> some in Congress have chosen to exploit this national tragedy to renew their misguided calls for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

"Sometimes it takes a crisis to realize we've got to be more dependent on our own resources," Rep. Capito told the Charleston Daily Mail.

Rep. Joe Barton, Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, was also quick to call for drilling in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, arguing that "We could be drilling in Alaska right now."

But short-sighted expolitation of the Refuge would do nothing to alleviate problems at the pump. Oil and gas from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge wouldn't hit the market for 10 years and even then would provide less than a one-year supply.

What drilling would do is devastate crucial habitat. The Arctic Refuge is such a special place because it is home to countless wildlife -- from the great predators like the polar bear to the Porcupine Herd, one of the largest caribou herds in North America.
More...]]> "Gosh, I don't think of us as being anti-union..."

Those are the latest words from Lee Scott, the CEO of Wal-Mart, who is notorious for his approach to workers' rights. Mr. Scott obviously doesn't recall the great lengths to which his company goes to prevent employees from standing up for themselves. When Wal-Mart employees try to form a union, they often face threats, propaganda, discrimination, intimidation, and even firings. Is this any way to treat employees who just want to negotiate for better wages, more affordable health care, and basic protections on the job?

New employees at Wal-Mart are often indoctrinated against unions the moment they're hired. During orientation Wal-Mart reportedly forces associates and management to:

• Watch anti-union videos,
• Read a section in the employee manual against unions, and
• Learn the number of the hotline to call if they suspect a fellow employee of supporting a union.