Teen’s Death Raises Concern About One of the “Worst Jobs” for Teens Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Posted by savvyconsumer in Child Labor Coalition, child labor, kids, legislative issues, worker's rights issues.Tags: Five Worst Jobs for Teens, Jennifer Hammond, traveling sales crews
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by Reid Maki, Coordinator of the Child Labor Coalition
For the last several years, the National Consumers League (NCL) has warned parents and teens that traveling sales crews are too dangerous for young workers. The discovery last week of the remains of Jennifer Hammond, who was only 18 when she disappeared from a sales crew six years ago, heightens our concern about the safety of traveling sales crews for teen workers.
Jennifer Hammond was one of those teenagers who knocks on your door and tries to sell you magazines. In August 2003, co-workers at Atlantic Circulation, Inc. dropped Hammond, a native of Littleton, Colorado, off in a mobile home park in Milton, New York. She failed to show up at the designated pickup spot two hours later. Six years later, a hunter found some bone fragments and teeth in a forest in Saratoga County, New York and forensic specialists identified the remains as Hammond’s. Local police are investigating the case as a homicide.
Each year, traveling sales has consistently appeared as one of NCL’s list of “Five Worst Jobs for Teens.” Going door-to-door is a risky proposition these days and when you add doing it in an unfamiliar town without parental supervision, the dangers add up quickly. After reviewing this industry and scores of problems we’ve heard about over the years, NCL came to the conclusion last spring that under no circumstances should a minor be allowed to travel as part of a sales crew.
Members of sales crews are vulnerable to assault and exploitation from customers, fellow crew members, and their superiors. Over the years, we’ve heard and read many stories of crew members who were beaten because they wanted to leave their crews or did not sell enough magazines.
On October 15th, the New York Times published a story about two young magazine salesman who were beaten with baseball bats and golf clubs in Lakewood, Washington simply because they wanted to quit. The police arrested six men in the attack.
Unscrupulous traveling sales companies charge young workers for expenses like rent and food that in some cases requires them to turn over all the money they earn from selling magazines or goods. When they try to quit or leave the crew, they are told they can’t. Earlier this summer, NCL received a phone call from a young man who quit his crew and found himself stranded 1,000 miles from home. He was broke and trying to hitch-hike home.
Disreputable companies have been known to seize young workers’ money, phone cards, and IDs and restrict their ability to call their parents. Drug use and underage drinking are not uncommon. Another New York Times report in 2007 found that crew members often make little money after expenses are deducted.
Teen sales crews are often crammed into poorly maintained, unsafe vans and driven by young distracted drivers. In November 2005, two teenagers were killed and seven were injured when the van they were riding in flipped near Phoenix, Arizona. A month earlier, 20-year-old, James Crawford, was ejected and killed from a van crash in Georgia. Eighteen young adults were crammed into the 15-passenger van when the driver fell asleep.
Unfortunately, Jennifer Hammond’s suspected murder is not the first associated with work in traveling sales crews: In November 2007, Tracie Anaya Jones, 19, a member of a traveling sales crew, was found dead of stab wounds in Memphis, Tennessee. Her killing remains unsolved and is featured on “America’s Most Wanted” Web site. In Rapid City, South Dakota in April 2004, a 41-year-old man was charged with murdering a 21-year-old woman who came to his home to sell magazines.
Clearly, these are extreme examples of what can go wrong, but there is ample evidence that there is much to be concerned about when one contemplates traveling sales work. Last month’s Times article on the beating of the two young salesmen, noted that Parent Watch, an industry watchdog group, is receiving about 10 emergency calls a day from crew members with problems.
In Wisconsin, a new law designed to protect young sales people will take effect next April. We’ll take a closer look at it in the days ahead….Stay tuned.
Traveling Sales Crews: The Perils of Life on the Road Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Posted by savvyconsumer in Child Labor Coalition, Reid Maki, child labor, kids, legislative issues, worker's rights issues.Tags: traveling sales crews, Phil Ellenbecker, Malinda's Act
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By Reid Maki, Child Labor Coalition Coordinator, and Lauren Perez, NCL Communications Intern
Next in our five-part series of worst teen jobs is traveling youth crews who sell items—often magazine subscriptions— door-to-door.
When young workers leave the safety of home, family, and friends and hit the open road bad things can happen. Add into the mix selling door-to-door to strangers in unknown neighborhoods and the job can become quite dangerous.
In February 21, 2007 New York Times article about the industry told the story of one young recent high school graduate, Jonathan Pope, who spent six months with a magazine sales crew working 10 to 14 hours a day, six days a week. His pay was often withheld and he was forced to get by on a meager $10-a-day food stipend much of the time. He witnessed co-workers being beaten by his managers and, when he asked to leave, his manager left him at a train station 1,000 miles from home with $17 cash.
According to Dan Smith, a representative of the National Field Selling Association quoted in the article, at any given time about 2,500 young people aged 18-to-24 years old are selling magazines door-to-door in these traveling crews.
The National Consumers League recently received a call from one stranded young seller. Ricky, 24, said he’d been traveling with crews since he was 18. He’d recently been let go because a crew leader became angry with him. With no money, Ricky was trying to hitch hike 1,000 miles home.
Although it’s not an everyday occurrence, Ricky said he has also witnessed sellers get beaten because crew leaders were unhappy with their performance. “When you’re not getting your sales and not making your quota, the managers get really mad at you,” he said. I’ve seen someone “get jumped straight up and get beat down,” he said, noting that he has been threatened himself.
Ricky agrees with NCL’s advice that young workers should stay away from traveling sales crews. In his years on the road, he’s worked with sales crew members as young as 17 and he thinks that’s “way too young…to be traveling from state to state.”
Traveling youth sales crews are exposed to many hazards. Robbery and assaults, sexual exploitation, and exposure to the elements are all dangers of life on the road. According to Ricky, many of the young sellers engage in a “party lifestyle.” Drug and alcohol abuse are part of the scene, he noted.
One of the greatest dangers is all the driving in vehicles—often older vans that aren’t in the best shape—required by door-to-door sales. In 1999, 7 crew members of a traveling sales crew died in a car crash in Janesville, Wisconsin; five other passengers in the van were seriously injured. One of the dead was 18-year-old Malinda Turvey from Wisconsin. Since that tragedy, Turvey’s father, Phil Ellenbecker, has crusaded tirelessly to improve safety for young door-to-door sales people and curb the industry’s worst excesses. On his Web site, he has documented 86 deaths and 300 felony cases involving traveling door-to-door magazine crews.
Ellenbecker’s efforts helped bring about Malinda’s Act, which was signed into law by Wisconsin’s Governor Jim Doyle in March 2009. The law requires at least semi-monthly payment of wages and safety certification of the vehicles used to transport workers. It prohibits an employer from leaving employees stranded or taking away a worker’s money, ID, phone or any other personal property during the course of employment. It also prevents employers from restricting communication between the worker and family or friends and requires criminal background checks of crew members.
Wisconsin’s law is unique, and workers in most states enjoy few protections because they are often classified as independent contractors.
Consumers answering doors should also be careful. In May 2009, The Better Business Bureau said that in the previous 12 months it had received 1,100 complaints of deceptive sales practices from traveling crews working for 50 different companies. Employees are often not licensed for sales work and can be misleading in their pitches. The most common complaint was that the customer never received the magazine subscriptions they had purchased.
The National Consumers League offers tips for youth considering joining a sales crew, including questions to ask and warning signs. Youth considering a traveling crew can also find a list of companies that have had complaints filed against them through the BBB’s Web site.
Next, we will be covering landscaping, grounds keeping and lawn service jobs.
Tractors, Forklifts and ATVs Among Most Dangerous Teen Jobs Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Posted by savvyconsumer in child labor, health, kids, safety.Tags: Five Worst Jobs for Teens
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By Lauren Perez, NCL Communications Intern
Operating tractors, forklifts, and ATVs is one of the most dangerous jobs for young workers. From 1993 – 2002, the last year for which there is a statistic, 18 youths aged 14 and 15 and six youths aged 16 and 17 were fatally injured while operating farm vehicles or machinery. For the same time period, 11 youth workers between the ages of 14 and 15 and 23 youth between from 16 to 17 were fatally injured while riding as a passenger in an automobile or truck or a farm vehicle. In 2003, 26 percent of workers under the age of 17 suffered nonfatal injuries from contact with objects and equipment and 4 percent from transportation incidents.
Five summers ago, in 2004, an eight-year-old boy was assisting his father on their dairy farm and operating a full-sized ATV. The boy lost control of the ATV, causing it to roll over. The boy was killed. In addition to being properly fitted for the ATV, operators should also go through a safety course. 4-H also provides a Safe Riding Tips Brochure for those thinking of purchasing an ATV.
Operating a forklift falls under a “hazardous occupation” according to the Fair Labor Standards Act and youth workers in nonagricultural jobs are prohibited from using one. Youth workers in agricultural jobs who are over the age of 16 may operate a tractor or forklift. In 2004, a 17-year-old worker, on his new job at a grain and hay store for only an hour, was retrieving bales of hay for a customer when a forklift rolled over on him. The keys had been left in the ignition of the forklift, and the worker had not received proper safety training. Employers should be aware of laws prohibiting youth workers from operating forklifts and provide proper safety training.
The National Agriculture Safety Database provides guidelines on choosing an ATV for a young worker and safety measures to follow. Only one rider should be on an ATV at one time, which means no passengers. Youth from ages 8 to 16 may only operate ATVs on land owned or leased by their parent or guardian, however, the NASD warns that youth should not operate full-sized ATVs. The driver should be able to stand on the foot rests with 3” of clearance between their pants and the ATV’s seat. The youth should also be able to reach the handlebars with their elbows at an angle.
Stay tuned for an upcoming look at another of our Five Worst Jobs for Teens: traveling youth sales crews.
Wisconsin Cracking Down on Dangerous Traveling Sales Crews Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Posted by savvyconsumer in Child Labor Coalition, National Consumers League, child labor, kids, legislative issues, safety, worker's rights issues.Tags: Five Worst Jobs for Teens, traveling sales crews, Wisconsin
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Breaking news from Wisconsin, as reported by the Associated Press: state lawmakers moved Tuesday to approve the nation’s toughest regulations on companies that use traveling crews to sell products. The bill is expected to be signed into law, and this would put Wisconsin at the head of the pack for protecting kids from predatory traveling sales crews.
This is an issue that’s close to our heart at NCL, which operates the Child Labor Coalition. Working on a Traveling Sales Crew is one of the most dangerous jobs out there for kids, as we’ve reported annually in our Five Worst Teen Jobs. In 2008, Traveling Sales Crews was listed as the second most dangerous job.
Traveling sales might be a legitimate career choice for grown-ups, but our advice for parents is that they should not allow their children to take a sales job that requires them to travel. The dangers are just too great. Without parental supervision, teens are at too great a risk of being victimized by exploitative crew leaders, the dangers of the road, and more.
In May 2008, the Spokane, WA police investigated a 16-year-old’s claim that she was held as a captive worker by a traveling sales crew. She escaped after the crew leaders beat up her boyfriend because he wasn’t selling enough magazines.
Traveling sales companies often charge young workers for expenses like rent and food, requiring them to turn over any money they make from selling magazines or goods – which are sometimes scams against consumers based on products that don’t exist. When they try to quit or leave the crew, they are told they are not free to go. Not all sales jobs are on the avoid list. Teens considering a sales job that does involve door-to-door activity can check out these resources for determining whether it’s a good opportunity or one to run from.
Flying the Friendly Skies Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Posted by savvyconsumer in National Consumers League, Sally Greenberg, worker's rights issues.Tags: air travel, baggage fees, Communications Workers of America, USA Today
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by Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director
I write from a US Airways flight traveling cross-country from Portland to Philadelphia. At the ticket counter this morning, I was chagrined to be reminded that checking my luggage – one piece – would cost me $15. This is the first time I’ve ever paid to check luggage. Getting out to the West Coast for a conference on Southwest Airlines recently, I didn’t have to pay to ship my bag, and I flew from San Diego to Portland on Alaska Air and didn’t have to pay for the bag then either. Despite my recent varied experiences, the US Airways employees at the checkout counter claimed “every airline” is charging for luggage.
Once on the plane, the flight attendant rolled the cart past with drinks and snacks and headphones, announcing that cans of soda pop would cost $2.00, headphones $5.00, and snacks were available for 5 or 10 bucks.
This conversation followed the pricing announcement:
Me: You guys at US Air are the worst on nickel and diming consumers
Flight Attendant: Don’t say ‘you guys.’ Our union fought management on all these charges.
Me: Who is your union?
Flight Attendant: Communication Workers
My ears perked up. The Communications Workers of America holds a seat on the National Consumers League’s Board of Directors. My curiosity piqued, I made my way to the back of the plane a little later and struck up a conversation with two US Airways employees. Turns out that the employees haven’t had a raise in years. In fact, they tell me they’ve taken a series of pay cuts over the past decade.
Yes, of course, we all know the airline industry has been hit very hard by the increase in fuel prices, but those same prices have fallen significantly in the past several months, and the airlines are still collecting the same fuel surcharges on international flights. USA Today reported on October 28 that, “Despite lower jet fuel prices, fuel charges on international tickets are much higher than a year ago.” Domestic fares – 60 percent – also have fuel surcharges averaging around $170 a flight, though Southwest Airlines doesn’t tack on a fuel surcharge, and USA Today says US Airways has reduced its domestic flight surcharges by 11 percent, noting that the prices still aren’t coming down in proportion to jet fuel prices. All of this has prompted U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) to write to 11 airline CEOs, asking them to reduce fuel charges as soon as possible. Industry spokespeople defend the increases, arguing that fuel increases were significant and have been dropping only recently.
Meanwhile, US Airways is also pocketing more cash by demanding that consumers pay to check a single bag of luggage, and (talk about cheapskates!) asking me to pay two bucks for a soda! In 2007, US Airways executive William Douglas Parker raked in $5,444,996 in total compensation, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission. While large airlines fuel surcharges are estimated to add $10-20 million a year, neither US Airway employees nor consumers seem to reap the added revenues. If the airlines need to charge more for tickets, do it. But don’t call it a fuel surcharge and double the amount when the cost of fuel is down significant. It is business practices like this – and paying the CEO a 5.5 million-dollar-salary while forcing airline employees to take pay cuts – that make consumers and workers cynical about business.
Back to School, Back to Work? Monday, August 25, 2008
Posted by savvyconsumer in child labor, finances, kids, safety, worker's rights issues.Tags: back to school, Department of Labor, Five Worst Jobs for Teens, Teen Workers
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In Washington, DC, where the National Consumers League is headquartered, today is the first day of school for hundreds of thousands of kids. The DC Metro area is certainly not unique; students across the country will be filing back into school buildings across the country this week and next, following Labor Day weekend. Earlier this summer, we warned young people about the dangers of taking on summer work that falls into our Five Worst Jobs for Teens categories (landscaping, traveling sales crews, agriculture, and more). Just because summer’s coming to an end doesn’t mean that the hazards of dangerous work are no longer a threat.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 14- and 15-year-olds may work outside school hours in various non-manufacturing, non-mining, non-hazardous jobs under certain conditions.
Permissible work hours for 14- and 15-year-olds are:
- 3 hours on a school day;
- 18 hours in a school week;
- 8 hours on a non-school day;
- 40 hours in a non-school week; and
- between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., except from June 1 through Labor Day, when nighttime work hours are extended to 9 p.m.
Child labor laws vary from state from state. Please check with your state department of labor as well. The Department of Labor provides a list of contact information, according to where you live. To learn more about what jobs are too dangerous for underage workers, check out our Five Worst Jobs list. And to learn how to protect yourself on the job, check out our Six Tips for Working Youth. Parents, learn what to watch out for if your teen is working or looking for a job this academic year — or any time.
Hey, Teens: Think Your Summer Job Stinks? Friday, July 11, 2008
Posted by savvyconsumer in child labor, health, safety, worker's rights issues.Tags: Child Labor Coalition, Five Worst Jobs, Teen Workers
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Driving tractors has made the list.
Unless it’s in agriculture, landscaping, driving an ATV, or working for a traveling youth crew, it could be worse.
Check this list of NCL’s 2008 Five Worst Jobs for Teens, a compilation by child labor advocates of the most dangerous jobs for working youth under the age of 18. Some of the jobs are completely legal, and others are not, but they’re all very dangerous.
Each year, NCL staff assembles the list using government statistics and reports, results from the Child Labor Coalition’s annual survey of state labor departments, and news accounts of injuries and deaths. Statistics and examples of injuries for each job on the list are detailed in a report available here.
An Intern’s Insight: Introducing Tara Moore Monday, June 16, 2008
Posted by savvyconsumer in Uncategorized.Tags: NCL interns, Summer in DC
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By: Tara Moore, Communications Intern
Tara is interning this summer at NCL’s Communications Department. This fall, she will begin her junior year as a Magazine Journalism and Political Science major at Temple University’s School of Communications and Theater in Philadelphia, Pa.
Two months ago I received an acceptance letter from the Institute on Political Journalism at Georgetown University with The Fund for American Studies for this summer. I was very pleased to learn that through this prestigious program, I’d be interning either on Capitol Hill for the summer or at an advocacy group somewhere in the DC area as well as taking two Georgetown courses: Ethical Perspectives in the Media, and Economics in Public Policy.
At the beginning of May, I received even more great news about the National Consumers League’s interest in my resume as a possible intern for this summer. After a pleasant phone interview with the Communications Department, I started to think about how this position would benefit me and now that I’m here, I cannot think of anything that I won’t gain from this experience!
I mean truly we all need some knowledge on how to be a savvy consumer.
NCL has a clear mission, to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the U.S. and abroad, that can easily be seen in the consumer education projects the League is constantly working on: its work on Mortgage education, teen financial and consumer literacy, and even information about traveling sales jobs. This summer I’ll be working with the Communications Department, helping out with their efforts to spread the word about all the activities NCL is involved in, so you’ll be hearing more from me later!
Hitting the Pavement? Choose Sales Job Wisely! Thursday, May 22, 2008
Posted by savvyconsumer in child labor, kids, safety, worker's rights issues.Tags: DSEF, sales, teens, traveling sales crews, workers
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With summer just around the corner, many teens are on the prowl for the perfect job. NCL has partnered with the Direct Selling Education Foundation to offer advice to young adults considering door-to-door sales jobs. We have created two new brochures filled with tips to help keep teens and consumers safe by avoiding joining or buying from unethical traveling sales crews, which have been known to cause harm to both crew members and consumers!
Teens, be sure your contract spells out the terms of your agreement.
- How, when, and in what form will you be paid?
- Will the company pay for your living expenses (food, travel and housing)? Will this be deducted from your income?
- What are the working conditions? Ask about the hours, travel, and living arrangements.
- If you’re not completely comfortable with the answers, don’t agree to work for the company, it’s not worth the risk!
Want to learn how to spot the difference between a legitimate sales person and a traveling sales crew scam? Read more here.
Stay tuned for more tips from NCL this summer to help millions of teens avoid dangerous jobs.
NCL in the Land Down Under: Sally Meets with Australian Product Safety Compliance Official Friday, January 4, 2008
Posted by savvyconsumer in Sally Greenberg, global issues, toy safety.add a comment
by Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director
G’Day!
While traveling in Australia this week, I met with a colleague who works the product safety beat for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, (ACCC) the Australian government’s official consumer protection and enforcement agency. Gail O’Bryen, Director of Product Safety Compliance, and I have worked together on product safety issues for a number of years. Not surprisingly this year, Australia, like the United States and Europe, has had to grapple with the danger of lead in toys. Australia effectively banned lead in toys so that no toy may have more than .06 parts per million of lead. (more…)
