Support the Arbitration Fairness Act Now!

Are you a consumer? An employee? A credit card user? Then you need to know about the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009. We’ve already explained a number of times why arbitration is awful for people like you. Is it any surprise, then, that credit card agreements, employment agreements and everything in between typically force you to agree to “mandatory arbitration”? The Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009 aims to let the consumer and employee make the choice to arbitrate or litigate.

The opposition against mandatory arbitration is building. The Consumerist has been a vocal critic of mandatory arbitration. And last year, BusinessWeek ran a cover story on the evils of mandatory arbitration provisions called “Banks vs. Consumers (Guess Who Wins)“.

The Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009 is in the House now and needs your support. Write your Congressperson and urge him or her to co-sponsor the bill. It’s as easy as 1-2-3.

1. Go to the United States Postal Service website , type in your home address, and hit “submit” to get your zip+4 code.
2. Go to the U.S. House of Representatives website , input your state and ZIP+4 code, then hit “Contact My Representative”.
3. Click on the link to send a message to your representative and paste the below into the comment box: “I am writing to urge you to support and co-sponsor the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009. Mandatory arbitration agreements are unfair to consumers and employees by denying them choice. Congress must act to put an end to them.”

Do it now and you’ll have done your part to make our great country that much greater.