Fitness Anywhere Recalls Early Model Suspension Trainer Devices Due to Fall Hazard

Incidents/Injuries: Fitness Anywhere has received 570 reports of the strap length-adjustment buckles breaking with 82 reports of the user falling, including 13 reports of head, face, shoulder and hip injuries.

If you or anyone you know has been injured by this or any other product contact Attorney Robert L. Vogel at rlvogel@robertvogellaw.com at the The Vogel Law Firm or call 865-357-1949 for a free consultation.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

Name of Product: Suspension Trainer Devices

Units: About 40,000

Importer: Fitness Anywhere LLC, of San Francisco, Calif.

Hazard: The strap length-adjustment buckles can break, posing a fall hazard.

Description: This recall involves older model "Professional" (P1) and "Tactical" (T1) TRX Suspension Trainer devices manufactured between January 2006 and July 2007. The recalled products' anchor straps are yellow or khaki nylon with a carabiner at the top end and a black nylon loop on the bottom end. A black and yellow or black and khaki nylon strap is threaded through the black nylon loop on the anchor strap to form a "Y." On each side of the "Y," the strap has a cam buckle, which is used to adjust the length of the straps. Each end of the "Y" strap has a foam-covered hand grip and a foot cradle. The recalled devices have hand grips with no end bumpers, which are black plastic caps covering the ends and preventing the plastic under the foam from being exposed. They do not have an extra nylon loop, called a locking loop, attached at the point where the anchor strap and the "Y" straps are joined and designed to limit the slippage of the straps. The recalled products also have badges on the straps with the TRX logo and the word "Professional" (for P1 devices) or "Tactical" (for T1 devices) on them. The words and logo are surrounded by raised dots or have double lines through them.

Sold at: Health and fitness stores and studios nationwide and online at www.FitnessAnywhere.com from January 2006 through December 2009 for about $150 to $200.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled product and contact Fitness Anywhere to arrange to return the recalled product for a replacement TRX Suspension Trainer device. Return authorization is required prior to returning the units.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Fitness Anywhere toll-free at (888)-221-7417 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. PT or CustomerCare@trxtraining.com, or visit the company's website at www.trxtraining.com

Recalled - no nylon locking loop	Not recalled - has a nylon locking loop

Recalled P1 and T1 TRX Suspension Trainer devices do not have end bumpers on the hand grips.





Recalled P1 and T1 TRX Suspension Trainer devices have badges with raised dots or double lines

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The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is still interested in receiving incident or injury reports that are either directly related to this product recall or involve a different hazard with the same product. Please tell us about your experience with the product on SaferProducts.gov

CPSC is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of the thousands of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $900 billion annually. CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

Under federal law, it is illegal to attempt to sell or resell this or any other recalled product.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, go online to: SaferProducts.gov, call CPSC's Hotline at (800) 638-2772 or teletypewriter at (301) 595-7054 for the hearing and speech impaired. Consumers can obtain this news release and product safety information at www.cpsc.gov. To join a free e-mail subscription list, please go to www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx.

Bicycle components fail, cause serious injuries

Hazard: The front fork can break, posing fall and injury hazards to riders.

Incidents/Injuries: Specialized has received four reports of front forks breaking, resulting in facial fractures, head and shoulder injuries and cuts.

If you, or someone you know, has been injured by this or any other product, contact Bob Vogel at The Vogel Law Firm right away by emailing rlvogel@robertvogellaw.com or calling 865-357-1949.

Specialized Bicycle Components Recalls Bicycles Due to Fall and Injury Hazards

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

Name of Product: Bicycles

Units: About 12,000

Distributor: Specialized Bicycle Components Inc., of Morgan Hill, Calif.

Manufacturer: Kinesis, of China

Description: This recall involves some 2008 and 2009 models women's and men's Globe model bicycles. Recalled models include the Globe Elite, Globe Sport, Globe Sport Disc, Globe Centrum Comp, Globe Centrum Elite, Globe City 6, Globe Vienna 3, Globe Vienna 3 Disc, Globe Vienna 4, Globe Vienna Deluxe 3, Globe Vienna Deluxe 4, Globe Vienna Deluxe 5 and Globe Vienna Deluxe 6 bicycles. The bicycles were sold in various colors, including gun, silver, black, khaki, navy, bone, blue, charcoal, burgundy and gold. The brand name "Specialized" is on the lower frame tube and the model name is on various locations on the bicycle frame.

Sold at: Authorized Specialized retailers nationwide from July 2007 to July 2012 for between $550 and $1,100.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop riding these bicycles and return them to an authorized Specialized retailer for the free installation of a free replacement fork.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Specialized toll-free at (877) 808-8154 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT Monday through Friday, or visit the company's website at http://www.specialized.com and click on Support/Safety Notices.

2008 Globe Elite




2008 Globe Elite Women's




2008 Globe Sport




2008 Globe Sport Women's




2008 Globe Sport Disc




2008 Globe Centrum Comp




2008 Globe Centrum Elite




2008 Globe City 6




2009 Globe Vienna 3




2009 Globe Vienna 3 Women's




2009 Globe Vienna 3 Disc




2009 Globe Vienna 4




Globe Vienna 4 Women's




2009 Globe Vienna Deluxe 3




2009 Globe Vienna Deluxe 4




2009 Globe Vienna Deluxe 4 Women's




2009 Globe Vienna Deluxe 5




2009 Globe Vienna Deluxe 6

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The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is still interested in receiving incident or injury reports that are either directly related to this product recall or involve a different hazard with the same product. Please tell us about your experience with the product on SaferProducts.gov

CPSC is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of the thousands of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $900 billion annually. CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

Under federal law, it is illegal to attempt to sell or resell this or any other recalled product.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, go online to: SaferProducts.gov, call CPSC's Hotline at (800) 638-2772 or teletypewriter at (301) 595-7054 for the hearing and speech impaired. Consumers can obtain this news release and product safety information at www.cpsc.gov. To join a free e-mail subscription list, please go to www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx.

Legal reform is needed because lawsuits hurt small businesses.

This is a myth. 

 

Multiple surveys have shown that lawsuits are not a concern for small business owners. A survey from the National Association of Manufacturers suggests that “lawsuit abuse” ranks at the bottom of concerns for manufacturers.⁷ The fact is that the propaganda put out by large corporations is the source of this myth. For several decades, corporate-speak has been telling us over and over again that business is hampered by lawsuits, that business owners are scared to do things for fear of lawsuits. This is simply a fabrication designed to scare us.

 

A 2008 survey from National Federation of Independent Business had similar results, with “costs and frequency of lawsuits / threatened suits” ranking 65th on a list of small business owners’ worries. ⁸ 

Small business owners have a lot more pressing worries. In reality, only big corporations and their front groups want to destroy the legal system so they can’t be held accountable for negligence and misconduct. Drug, oil, and insurance companies have tried to hide behind small business owners to accomplish this; however, these surveys reveal their true intentions.

And, you have to wonder, if they are so worried about lawsuits, what are they doing wrong?

 

Attorney Robert L. Vogel can be reached atThe Vogel Law Firm by calling 865-357-1949, or by emailing rlvogel@robertvogellaw.com. Please visit our website. We are happy to provide free legal consultations.

 

Death of Child Prompts Recall of Window Blinds by Blind Xpress

If you, or anyone you know, has been injured by a defective product, contact Attorney Robert L. Vogel at The Vogel Law Firm by calling 865-357-1949 or email rlvogel@robertvogellaw.com

Two-year-old strangles in cord

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in cooperation with Blind Xpress of Livonia, Mich. is announcing the recall of about 139,000 custom-made vertical and 315,000 horizontal blinds. In 2009, a 2-year-old girl from Commerce Township, Mich. reportedly strangled in the loop of a vertical blind cord that was not attached to the wall or floor.

Blind Xpress custom vertical blinds have an adjustment cord that forms a loop that is not attached to the wall or floor. In some instances, this loop has a weighted device at the bottom. The custom horizontal blinds do not have inner cord stop devices to prevent the accessible inner cords from being pulled out. A child can become entangled in a cord loop and strangle.

This recall involves all Blind Xpress custom-made vertical blinds that do not have a cord-tensioning device that attaches to the wall or floor, as well as all horizontal blinds that do not have inner cord stop devices.

The blinds were sold at various blind specialty stores in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana from January 1995 through December 2011 for between $16 and $380. These blinds were manufactured in the United States.

CPSC urges consumers to immediately stop using the window coverings and contact the Window Covering Safety Council (WCSC) to receive a free repair kit. For more information, contact the WCSC toll-free at (800) 506-4636 anytime or visit www.windowcoverings.org

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The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is still interested in receiving incident or injury reports that are either directly related to this product recall or involve a different hazard with the same product. Please tell us about your experience with the product on SaferProducts.gov

CPSC is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of the thousands of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $900 billion annually. CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

Under federal law, it is illegal to attempt to sell or resell this or any other recalled product.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, go online to: SaferProducts.gov, call CPSC's Hotline at (800) 638-2772 or teletypewriter at (301) 595-7054 for the hearing and speech impaired. Consumers can obtain this news release and product safety information at www.cpsc.gov. To join a free e-mail subscription list, please go to www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx.

Myth: The number of lawsuits filed is skyrocketing.

Drug, oil, and insurance companies have spent millions of dollars to generate myths about how lawsuits are out of control and responsible for all of America’s ills. The facts tell a much different story.

The number of tort (personal injury) cases has been declining for years. According to the National Center for State Courts, tort cases accounted for just 4.4 percent of all civil cases filed in 2008, and declined by 25 percent between 1999 and 2008. Tort filings in state courts decreased by six percent between 2007 and 2008.

According to the Justice Department under President George W. Bush, the number of federal tort cases resolved in U.S. District Courts fell by 79 percent between 1985 and 2003. In 1985, 3,600 tort trials were decided by a judge or jury in U.S. District Courts. By 2003, that number had dropped to less than 800.¹

Additionally, the most recent statistics from the Administration’s Bureau of Justice Statistics show the number of tort trials at the state level has decreased. These statistics were compiled as part of the Bureau’s survey of state civil justice systems in the nation’s largest 75 counties. Among these counties, the number of tort trials decreased 31.8 percent between 1992 and 2001. ²

Attorney Robert Vogel and the attorneys at the Vogel Law Firm provide smart, aggressive representation to their clients. Contact The Vogel Law Firm by calling 865-357-1949 or email rlvogel@robertvogellaw.com for a free consultation concerning your legal issue.

1. "Federal Tort Trials and Verdicts, 2002-03”, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 8/17/05

2. "Civil Trial Cases and Verdicts in Large Counties, 2001”, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 4/04

36 Reasons to Thank Labor Unions

Did you know that labor unions made the following 36 things possible?

1. Weekends without work
2. All breaks at work, including your lunch breaks
3. Paid vacation
4. Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
5. Sick leave
6. Social Security
7. Minimum wage
8. Civil Rights Act/Title VII - prohibits employer discrimination
9. 8-hour work day
10. Overtime pay
11. Child labor laws
12. Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA)
13. 40-hour work week
14. Workers’ compensation (workers’ comp)
15. Unemployment insurance
16. Pensions
17. Workplace safety standards and regulations
18. Employer health care insurance
19. Collective bargaining rights for employees
20. Wrongful termination laws
21. Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)
22. Whistleblower protection laws
23. Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) - prohibits employers from using a lie detector test on an employee
24. Veteran's Employment and Training Services (VETS)
25. Compensation increases and evaluations (i.e. raises)
26. Sexual harassment laws
27. Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)
28. Holiday pay
29. Employer dental, life, and vision insurance
30. Privacy rights
31. Pregnancy and parental leave
32. Military leave
33. The right to strike
34. Public education for children
35. Equal Pay Acts of 1963 & 2011 - requires employers pay men and women equally for the same amount of work
36. Laws ending sweatshops in the United States

Thank a union member by buying union-made in America products!

Source: http://www.unionplus.org/about/labor-unions/36-reasons-thank-union

Labor Unions are important

Unions are important because most corporations focus on creating profits at the expense of employees.
The nature of work in America is changing. Employers are trying to shed responsibility for providing health insurance, good pension coverage, reasonable work hours and job safety protections. Instead, companies are making workers' jobs and incomes less secure through downsizing, part-timing, contracting out, and sending jobs off-shore.
More than ever, working people need the collective voice and bargaining power unions provide to keep employers from making the workplace look as it did in the early nineteenth century.
Without collective representation, the threat of sweatshop conditions, unlivable wages and 70-hour work weeks may become a part of working America’s future as well as its past.
Today and in the future, labor unions will continue to play an important role our country’s work force and the quality of life for working families. If you are not a union member, you can learn about the benefits of fighting for the middle class in America.
America’s working families need the representation, collective power, pride in work and fair treatment they in the workplace that they deserve.
Union members – workers like you -- benefit from the union’s collective bargaining power to negotiate with employers on their behalf. This basic right gives you as a union member more power than if you tried to negotiate as an individual. There is strength in numbers.

More benefits of union membership

• Union employees make an average of 30% more than non-union workers.
• 92% of union workers have job-related health coverage versus 68% of non-union workers.
• Union workers are more likely to have guaranteed pensions than non-union employees.

Unions help protect employees from unjust dismissal through collective bargaining agreements (CBA). Because of this, most union employees cannot be fired without “just cause.” This is unlike many nonunion workers who are considered “at-will” employees and can be fired at any time for almost any reason.
Union members also benefit from having the collective power to go on strike. A strike is when a group of workers stops working either in protest of labor conditions or as a bargaining tool during labor/management negotiations.

The origin of labor unions dates back to the eighteenth century and the industrial revolution in Europe. During this time there was a huge surge of new workers into the workplace that needed representation.
In the United States history of unions, early workers and trade unions played an important part in the role for independence. Although their physical efforts for the cause of independence were ineffective, the ideas they introduced, such as protection for workers, became part of our American culture.

Labor union history in the U.S. began in the 19th Century

The history of unions in the United States exploded in the nineteenth century with the founding of the National Labor Union (NLU) in 1866. Unlike today’s unions, the NLU was not exclusive to a particular type of worker. And although the NLU crumbled without making significant gains in establishing workers' rights, its founding set an important precedent in our country.
Soon after, the Knights of Labor emerged in 1869. This group’s membership peaked at about 700,000 and its efforts were focused on addressing key issues such opposition to child labor and demands for an eight-hour day.

In the history of America’s trade and labor unions, the most famous union remains the American Federation of Labor (AFL), founded in 1886 by Samuel Gompers. At its pinnacle, the AFL had approximately 1.4 million members. The AFL is credited with successfully negotiating wage increases for its members and enhancing workplace safety for all workers.
The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) under John L. Lewis and the larger AFL federation underwent a huge expansion during World War II. The AFL-CIO merger occurred in 1955.
Union membership and power peaked around 1970. At that time, private sector union membership began a steady decline that continues today. However, membership in public sector unions continues to grow consistently. According to a 2010 Bureau of Labor Statistic report, union membership is over 14 million in the United States and in the public sector has grown to over 37%.