Senate Showdown over child safety
Let your voice be heard by your Senator. Choose Kids Over Big Business!
Please stand up and be counted by contacting your local Senator about this important issue. We want to share the recent letter by the Public Affairs Director of the National Whistlebower Center urging concerned citizens to contact their local Senator.
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Would you want to know if a cargo ship full of lead-laden toys or toxic toothpaste were heading for U.S. ports and our stores? Protecting our children from defective or dangerous products depends on information provided by whistleblowers. Under current laws, a manufacturing employee who reports unsafe products is not protected from employer retaliation. A bill in the Senate, S. 2045, would protect these whistleblowers--but Big Business has declared war on the new law, and is fighting for the power to fire honest employees at will.
As you are well aware, defective and dangerous products have sickened our children and put us all at risk. The Senate Commerce Committee is set to vote on this legislation next Tuesday, October 30, and lobbyists (such as the National Association of Manufacturers) are lining up to voice their fervent opposition.
Perhaps the manufacturers should take a look at a new study conducted by Price Waterhouse which showed, once again, that whistleblowers are a company's #1 resource for upholding high standards. The study, available at http://www.pwc.com/crimesurvey/index.html, which included 5,400 corporate executives in 40 countries found that whistleblowers are over twice as effective as the companies' own auditors.
Big Business has fired the first shots; we must Fight Back. Whistleblower protections for manufacturing employees are indispensable, especially for those overseas. Without one honest manager, auditor or inspector in those far-flung factories who is willing to speak up without fear of retribution, we may not know about a defective or dangerous product until it is too late.
The bill is S. 2045, and it is being voted on by the Senate Commerce Committee Tuesday, October 30. We can win this fight, but not without an overwhelming response from determined citizens like you.
Sincerely,
Marshall Chriswell
Public Affairs Director
National Whistleblower Center
