Consumers Union 2007 Activist Summit

Consumers Union invited dozens of our activists to Yonkers, NY for a first-ever Summit to meet each other, train in media, lobbying, and internet skills, and go to Washington for meetings with lawmakers and the media. Our volunteers have already helped pass bills in nearly every state, and prescription drug reform legislation is likely to pass in Congress in the coming weeks--with your help.

Activist Photos!

You are making real reform happen

Activists passing hospital infection bills nationwide

Activists promoting drug safety reform in Congress

Many of you jumped in to help when we asked, and it's time we brought you together with others like you.

You regularly write to your state and federal lawmakers online, and your efforts have helped us grow into a national movement for change--safer foods, effective and affordable prescription drugs, greater control over our private financial information, better cell phone and cable service, an end to dangerous hospital infections.

Not long ago, Consumers Union's advocacy was limited to lobbying in a handful of states and investigative articles in our magazine. We realized that our real impact was too limited, and the need for change was too great. We had to do something differently.

We launched new websites to support national campaigns--like the Stop Hospital Infections campaign, one of our first--so that you could communicate with lawmakers in your own state quickly and easily.

We found that hundreds of thousands of people jumped in to help, and we found that lawmakers wanted to get these kind of good reform ideas from their constituents. The Stop Hospital Infections campaign has passed laws in 15 states, even though most hospital industry lobbyists have opposed these reforms. The Financial Privacy Now campaign passed even more!

Its not easy to pass new laws. Its not easy to change an industry practice. But step by step you are learning how to do just that. At this Summit, activists from across the country join with us to learn additional lobby, media and policy skills, and we will all get to know each other. Perhaps the most important part of building our movement for reform is creating personal connections with each other.

This is the first, but not the last, Consumers Union Activist Summit. As you become more deeply involved in your state or your favorite campaign, you will bring us new ideas, new problems and new challenges. We will grow our movement together, and become a force for positive change.