lgecker’s Articles at WOW Fellowship Blog

After NCL

Since finishing my internship at the National Consumers League in Washington, D.C., I’ve had time to reflect on the amazing experience. One of my learning goals was simply to learn about the federal policy process. By attending congressional hearings and regulatory commission meetings, I had the opportunity to learn about this firsthand. In addition, I learned about a nonprofit’s role in federal policy. NCL influences many laws and federal regulations, and works with agencies such as the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the FDA. Before working with NCL, I did not realize the prevalence and importance of regulation for food, product safety, and the internet, among others. While groups such as NCL defends the need for most times of regulation that protects consumers, other groups and policy makers express concerns about the cost of implementation of such safety standards.

We attended a hearing at the House, which was broadcast on CSPAN 2

I had great opportunities to connect with NCL staff and network in D.C. I felt the staff was very warm and welcoming toward interns, and I had numerous opportunities to connect with leaders in consumer, labor, and policy fields.

Interns and staff with president of umbrella federation for labor unions, AFL-CIO’s Richard Trumka

I also worked on my research and writing skills, and I am especially proud of my blog posts, such as this one, which have been published online on NCL’s website. As I learned about various issues that NCL works on, and the tools they use to progress their cause, my understanding of social justice has been reinforced and enhanced.

After interning at the National Consumers League, I want to learn more about labor issues and food safety. I would love to continue working on these issues at Brandeis and even in my career. In addition, I loved the experience of working with a progressive nonprofit, and that is also something I would like to pursue after graduation.

I would advise a student interested in interning at NCL to take advantage of every opportunity to attend hearings and events. They are extremely enriching, and unique to a D.C. internship. For students interning at a nonprofit, I think it’s important to find an organization or cause that matches your interests and passions. I also would advise anyone to connect with staff and seek out networking opportunities. I am extremely grateful to have had this opportunity—it truly was amazing.

– Lili Gecker ’13

National Consumers League Midpoint

It’s hard to believe I’m already more than halfway done with my time as a public policy intern at the National Consumers League. Through my work at NCL, I am learning a lot about the process to change regulations on the federal level. One way I experience this is through events I have the opportunity to attend. For example, I watched the executive director of NCL testify at the Consumer Product Safety Commission on issues such as the safety of table saws, an issue for which she has been a leading advocate.

I also attended a hearing where the NCL Executive Director testified before the Aviation Consumer Protection Committee at the Department of Transportation. She argued that airlines violate privacy by collecting personal information on passengers, and consumers consistently suffer due to increasing fees when they have to change the time of their flights or for seat assignments. After my supervisor testified, we had the opportunity to meet committee member Lisa Madigan, who is my Attorney General from Illinois. Watching experts testify before commissions such as these allowed me to learn about the process through which new regulations are passed, and the power of advocacy groups.

Interns and staff with Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan

One of the things I am most proud of is blogs I have written for the National Consumers League’s blog. So far I have written three: one on gender equity bargaining and legislation that limits equality in the labor force; one on student loan relief for college students; and one about the marketing of food to children and its health impacts. The blogs can be read online here. Through my work on these blogs, I had an opportunity to work both on research skills, as well as writing skills. I was able to connect a lot of dots based on articles from news sources, legislation, presentations from many of the events and hearings I attended, and work that organizations like NCL and partner groups do. In the future, I will be able to use these blog postings to show one of the ways in which I contributed to NCL this summer, and as writing samples for futures job opportunities.

One of my goals was to learn more about issues I am passionate about, including labor and food policy. I have had several opportunities to do so through events, hearings, and research. I attended the Trans-Atlantic Consumer Dialogue, where leaders in food safety and policy from both the United States and Europe met to discuss and compare current policies for addressing food safety. It became clear that despite the recent Food Safety Modernization Act, which shifts an focus from responding to contamination to preventing it, the U.S. is still significantly behind Europe in terms of inspection, safety procedures, and clear labeling standards.

An issue that relates to both food and labor safety that I have had the opportunity to work on is the USDA’s proposed change in poultry inspection, which would privatize inspection—so that instead of government inspectors, companies can hire their own inspectors. Studies have shown that defects are more likely missed when inspectors are company employees, most likely because the company wants to produce more, whether or not the product is safe. In addition, the proposal increases line speed to 175 birds per minute, which breaks down to 3 birds per second. It is nearly impossible to safely inspect at this line speed. Poultry workers have little control because they are only 30% union organized, which means weak contracts and poor security—especially considering many workers may be recent, or undocumented immigrants. This new policy will also not require inspectors to be trained. I learned a lot about this issue through meetings with leaders in labor and food policy, and had the opportunity to take action by handing out fliers at the Folk Festival on the National Mall. I talked to many people about the issue, and encouraged them to make calls to their Senators or Representative in Congress. I think this issue connects with almost everyone because it impacts the safety of our food.

Talking to a family about poultry inspection at the Folk Festival

– Lili Gecker ’13

Week 1 at the National Consumers League

This past week, I started my internship at the National Consumers League. The National Consumers League, or NCL for short, is the oldest consumer organization. NCL is dedicated to protecting the rights of consumers and workers through progressive legislative change. They are a nonprofit (501c3) located in Washington, D.C. For my internship, I am working both with the executive director, as well as the vice president of public policy. I am responsible for researching and supporting policy projects. I found this internship through the Hiatt Career Center. It was attached to the Social Justice World of Work grant.

My first week was a whirlwind of introductions, meetings, and of course, new assignments. Everyone in the office was incredibly welcoming. On my first day, there was a staff meeting, so I was able to meet just about everybody. After the meeting, the executive director invited me and the other intern to see her speak at the Woman’s National Democratic Club. The Club treated us to lunch, and we met several members. After lunch, the executive director of NCL spoke on a range issues, including the role of women’s clubs and female leaders in the consumer movement and NCL’s history. As she discussed various consumer issues, from clear unit pricing in grocery stores to safety of electric table saws, one thing she said especially resonated with me: that safe products, safe food, clean drinking water should not just be for the rich and those who can afford it, it should be for everyone.

I will research a variety of consumer issues, including phone “cramming,” which involves a third-party adding additional fraudulent charges to phone bills that appear as normal charges, such as “additional fees” or “voicemail.” The FCC now protects consumers from wireline cramming, but does not yet protect for wireless cramming. With cell phones, this often appears as text messaging scams, such as horoscope or celebrity gossip sent to cell phones via text message without the customers agreement. The problem has been written about in the New York Times.

I also began research on ticketing issues. Over the past few years, two coalitions have emerged arguing that they protect consumers’ rights. Fan’s First supports paperless tickets, in which one cannot receive an actual paper ticket, but must present his or her credit card and ID at the event in order to gain entrance. Paperless tickets essentially prohibit the resale of tickets in the secondary-market, such as on websites such as StubHub, or even to a friend. NCL stands with the Fan Freedom Project, which asserts that there should always be a paper ticket option and that paperless tickets promotes the monopolization of the market by Livenation/Ticketmaster, who controls the prices, and they continue to raise prices and add additional service fees. This video illustrates the problem:

“The Real Story Behind Paperless Tickets”

This summer I’m excited to learn a lot about various consumer issues that I did not know about before. In addition, I will learn more about the political processes, and have an opportunity to focus on issues of interest to me, such as labor issues and food safety.

– Lili Gecker ’13