Coming this week: Legislation threatening your rights to hold corporations and powerful interests accountable.
A new bill coming up in the Senate will limit the rights of citizens to file class action lawsuits when they are victimized by greedy corporations. When pharmaceutical companies like Merck, the maker of Vioxx, or companies like those depicted in the movie “Erin Brockovich” cause harm to regular Americans, class action lawsuits provide critical protections from companies that put profits ahead of health and safety.
With this new law, it will be harder for victims to seek justice!
Consider the case of Janet Huggins, a 39 year-old woman who died of a sudden heart attack while taking Vioxx. Ms. Huggins, a mother to a nine-year-old son, began taking Vioxx for early onset rheumatoid arthritis. Janet was a young healthy woman, with no prior history of heart problems. Lawyers for her family fear that the proposed legislation will stall their search for justice and take years to get through the legal system. (Get more information here)
Sign this petition and send an email to your Senator asking him/her NOT TO SUPPORT class action bill S.5 – a law that would benefit polluters and big corporations at the expense of people wronged and communities harmed by health and environmental disasters.
We signed the “Stop Law Changes That Will Put Polluters and Corporate Profits over Peoples Rights” petition!
# 20,001:
2:46 pm PST, Feb 14,Julia Sheehy, New York
Please do not be an accessory to this move to protect
corporations from being held accountable, especially when
their actions pollute communities, cause cancer, and harm
people and the environment.
# 20,000:
2:41 pm PST, Feb 14,Linda Taylor, Arizona
# 19,999:
2:31 pm PST, Feb 14,Name not displayed, Wisconsin
Don't be
fooled by the name - this bill is only fair to polluters
and companies hoping to get away with harming consumers
and the environment.
One of the
major provisions of this legislation is that it would
shift class action lawsuits out of state courts into the
already overburdened federal courts. Guess what? Both
federal judges and state attorney generals have come out
and said this is a bad idea.
So why are you not voting NO on this bill?
You don't want any of the Judges in that the President request's, so let's turn all this over to the federal judges, right?
It's about time you start using your head's and vote for what is right for YOUR country. That's why we voted you into the Senate.
Enough of this playing around with our lives on this land!
# 19,998:
2:19 pm PST, Feb 14,Dr thom robinson of jacks Florida, Florida
Greedy attorneys are just like greedy politicians, driven by profit.
# 19,997:
2:17 pm PST, Feb 14,Susanne Madden, California
# 19,996:
2:15 pm PST, Feb 14,M. Imfeld, California
# 19,995:
2:12 pm PST, Feb 14,Erik Pryor, Pennsylvania
By limiting class action lawsuits you are allowing large corporations to be relatively unscathed when they create a product that is ultimately harmful to consumers and/or the general public. In a billion dollar industry, companies will do almost anything to make money but they do not want to face the ramifications if they release a product to the public without proper testing, making ALL of the results known, or burying the harmful results under a mountain of paperwork. What ever happened to the concept of releasing a 'quality' product? Companies should pay for their mistakes.
# 19,994:
1:54 pm PST, Feb 14,Stephen Wallisch, Minnesota
# 19,993:
1:50 pm PST, Feb 14,Dolores Mauloff, Illinois
# 19,992:
1:39 pm PST, Feb 14,Name not displayed, Michigan
I sign this with cynicism. I've long since given up hope that senators will have a conscience, or get the guts to stand up to corporate interests.
# 19,991:
1:38 pm PST, Feb 14,Gina M Milite, Ohio
The more power you give just a few, the more you are playing with fire. We need to have our rights and freedoms and voices heard as is was originaly intended in the Amendments of the Constitution. We are eroding away all which makes this country sacred. People will not accept being put down and not allowing our voices to be heard, that's what's wrong with this society , it is a sell out . Everything is for the corporations. power to the people! Unite and revolt. Don't take a back seat to this. They are taking away your birthrights!!!!!
# 19,990:
1:38 pm PST, Feb 14,Kathleen McCuistion, Washington
# 19,989:
1:21 pm PST, Feb 14,Cari Bivona, California
# 19,988:
1:19 pm PST, Feb 14,Name not displayed, New York
# 19,987:
1:14 pm PST, Feb 14,Mary Jane Galbiso, California
I urge you - Senator Florez - to vote NO without hesitation.
# 19,986:
1:05 pm PST, Feb 14,Jeremy Berger, Maryland
Everyone needs to be responsible for their actions. In the light of the recent findings of Enron and other companies putting profits before people, I think it would be a crime to create a law like this.
Don't do it!
# 19,985:
1:01 pm PST, Feb 14,Sara MacKenzie, New York
# 19,984:
1:01 pm PST, Feb 14,Chris West, California
# 19,983:
12:56 pm PST, Feb 14,Jayelle Sargent, California
# 19,982:
12:56 pm PST, Feb 14,Amalia Hicks, Colorado
# 19,981:
12:45 pm PST, Feb 14,Name not displayed, Washington
# 19,980:
12:40 pm PST, Feb 14,Susan Casper, Colorado
# 19,979:
12:31 pm PST, Feb 14,Julie Hill, Florida
# 19,978:
12:31 pm PST, Feb 14,Sean Peters, New York
Class acton suits are one of the few ways that individuals can limit the "bad behavior" of some huge companies who have nothing to lose in polluting the environment. These short-sighted companies think only about their responsibility to their stock-holders and disregard their responsibilities as coporate citizens. Gone are the days when a company had a relationship to a particular city or region and was therefore limited in what they would do or risk public outcry. Nowadays, sad as it is, lawsuits are often the only recourse. An individual could never "take on" these corporate giants. Individuals need to band together in class action suits to make a statement and hold this bad corporate behavior in check. Companies that take responsibility and resist polluting activities have nothing to fear from the law the way it is now. Do not move class action suits to Federal Courts.
# 19,977:
12:23 pm PST, Feb 14,Angela Kneece, South Carolina
# 19,976:
12:21 pm PST, Feb 14,Tracy Vasquez, California
# 19,975:
12:20 pm PST, Feb 14,Cassandra Houghton, California
Big Fat pharmaceutical companies need to be responsible for the damage that insufficiently tested drugs and products cause to consumers.
# 19,974:
12:17 pm PST, Feb 14,Amanda Pampena, Colorado
# 19,973:
12:07 pm PST, Feb 14,Robert Rutecki, Illinois
# 19,972:
12:06 pm PST, Feb 14,Marlene Tauber, New York
people have lost enough rights already..greed is on the march...enough already...
# 19,971:
12:05 pm PST, Feb 14,Clarice Lowy, New York
# 19,970:
11:56 am PST, Feb 14,Kathleen Crawford, South Carolina
# 19,969:
11:55 am PST, Feb 14,Kenneth Grueschow jr, Wisconsin
# 19,968:
11:35 am PST, Feb 14,Sharon Bahus, New York
The courts are the last place a citizen can look for restitution from faulty products or actions by corporations. Do not take away our power or you will leave us no other alternative but rage and violence.
# 19,967:
11:33 am PST, Feb 14,Nancy Correll, California
# 19,966:
11:25 am PST, Feb 14,Elizabeth Halley, Washington
# 19,965:
11:10 am PST, Feb 14,Shelly Gaines, South Carolina
# 19,964:
11:09 am PST, Feb 14,Katie Mae Simpson, Massachusetts
Polluters should not be able to easily get away with destroying a public good. Do not limit these lawsuits, as they are the only option for many victims and public citizens to realize justice.
# 19,963:
10:50 am PST, Feb 14,Name not displayed, New York
This bill is only fair to polluters and companies hoping to get away with harming consumers and the environment.
# 19,962:
10:48 am PST, Feb 14,Carolynn LaRocca, California
Do not take away what is often the ONLY weapon to battle big businesses bent on putting monetary gain over the health of our citizens. Vote NO on this bill.
# 19,961:
10:37 am PST, Feb 14,Deirdre Brennan, New York
# 19,960:
10:29 am PST, Feb 14,Jamie Kerry, Louisiana
# 19,959:
10:25 am PST, Feb 14,Name not displayed, California
With out laws that allow the public redress for corporate greed, and disregard of public safety, the private citizen has no hope of fairness, or safety.
# 19,958:
10:23 am PST, Feb 14,Andrew Hartley, Ohio
Because power does not pay attention unless a group of people rise up to oppose or suggest alternatives. Only groups can make changes in corrupt corporations or governments. Lookout, Bush administration.
# 19,957:
10:23 am PST, Feb 14,Lori M. Moyer, Pennsylvania
People are entitled to more.
# 19,956:
10:12 am PST, Feb 14,Name not displayed, Washington
Try balancing the budget by CUTTING BACK,not by favoring corporate lobbists.
# 19,955:
10:11 am PST, Feb 14,Name not displayed, California
# 19,954:
10:00 am PST, Feb 14,Wanda K Smith, California
# 19,953:
10:00 am PST, Feb 14,Nicole Montgomery, California
