Guest guest Posted December 2, 2006 Report Share Posted December 2, 2006 I didn't know that Cingular Supports Rodeos, so I contacted them per the information IDA provided below. They responded by saying that the rodeos have regulations which treat the animals well. The answer wasn't satisfactory as you may imagine. As a result, I cancelled my cell phone service with Cingular and moved back to Working Assets Wireless which was my cell provider several years ago. [Note, I do not work for Working Assets Wireless] If you are also interested in contacting Cingular, the contact information is in the url below. http://www.idausa.org/campaigns/sport/rodeo/alert.html Thanks, Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 I am a Cingular customer. I called in and the operator - well, she really didn’t know how to respond to me. I told her if Cingular did not stop the support to the rodeos, I would cancel my plan January 1, 2007. She informed me my contract did not expire until 9/2007 and if I cancelled early, I would have to pay $150 cancellation of contract fee. I told her I would have to take that issue up with a manager when I call back to cancel my account and even if I was forced to pay that fee, I would rather pay $150 than to monthly pay money to Cingular, who supports rodeos, thus I would be supporting rodeos. If anyone can recommend an “ethical” cell phone carrier, please let me know. One that does not support animal exploitation in any way. I would hate to switch to say VERIZON if Cingular does not stop the rodeo support, only to find out they are just as evil. One Love Meghann ` On Behalf Of maryvinmaryvin Saturday, December 02, 2006 8:31 AM Cingular Supports Rodeos I didn't know that Cingular Supports Rodeos, so I contacted them per the information IDA provided below. They responded by saying that the rodeos have regulations which treat the animals well. The answer wasn't satisfactory as you may imagine. As a result, I cancelled my cell phone service with Cingular and moved back to Working Assets Wireless which was my cell provider several years ago. [Note, I do not work for Working Assets Wireless] If you are also interested in contacting Cingular, the contact information is in the url below. http://www.idausa.org/campaigns/sport/rodeo/alert.html Thanks, Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 Meghann mentioned she would hate to switch from her cell phone provider, Cingular, which supports rodeos, to Verizon, only to find out they are an unethical company. Unfortunately, companies aren't necessarily consistent in the positions they take. Here's a description of those two companies from Jobs with Justice, http://www.jwj.org/about/unityprinciples.html (note: the description is about a year old, but I have not heard of any change at Verizon since then): "For more than a decade, Verizon Wireless has shown total disregard for labor law and the rights of workers to a voice in the workplace and to a fair contract. Workers at Verizon Wireless who want a union voice have been fired and laid off, harassed and intimidated by supervisors, required to attend “captive audience” meetings and mandatory anti-union training. Call centers that had a growing number of union supporters were shut down between 2000 and 2004, putting 2,000 people out of work in MA, NY, and NJ. Verizon Wireless has refused to abide by the agreement it made with CWA [Communication Workers of America] to remain neutral in union organizing efforts in the Northeast and is instead using endless litigation to prevent employees from making use of the agreement. There are numerous complaints of labor law violations pending against Verizon Wireless. The contrast between Verizon Wireless and Cingular Wireless, which supports full employer neutrality and card check, couldn’t be clearer. At Cingular, where there is true neutrality, more than 13,000 workers have joined CWA just since July 2005, when those agreements went into effect at what was AT & T Wireless. It’s clear that when fear and intimidation are removed from the workplace, workers choose a union voice. That’s what is happening at Cingular and that’s exactly what would happen at Verizon Wireless." I wish I had time to research it further, but if anyone can recommend a cell phone company that treats its workers well, does not support animal cruelty, and gets decent reception, please pass that info on. Thea Everyone is raving about the all-new Mail beta. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 When it comes to cell phone providers, finding an ethical one is slightly less difficult than finding an ethical oil company. It's definitely a " lesser evil " situation. Unless you're willing to forgo cell phones completely, you'll probably wind up paying a company that supports something you find objectionable. Even Working Assets uses Sprint as it's carrier, so by choosing WA, you're indirectly paying Sprint (who generally gets low marks in the cell phone department). So if you can't live without the cell phone, it's a choice of which company is the " least unethical " based on your values. All of the companies lobby in Washington for laws that favor the industry and screw consumers. Verizon generally gets the highest satisfaction ratings from customers, but as Thea pointed out, exercising your rights ends when you become one of their employees. Others object to Verizon's large donations to the Republican party, but then again, Nextel (now merged with Sprint) was one of the suppliers to the 2004 Republican convention. We know about Cingular... If you drive, you cast a similar vote every time you fill up your gas tank. -Rob --- Thea Langsam <thea_langsam wrote: > Meghann mentioned she would hate to switch from her > cell phone provider, Cingular, which supports > rodeos, to Verizon, only to find out they are an > unethical company. Unfortunately, companies aren't > necessarily consistent in the positions they take. > Here's a description of those two companies from > Jobs with Justice, > http://www.jwj.org/about/unityprinciples.html (note: > the description is about a year old, but I have not > heard of any change at Verizon since then): > > " For more than a decade, Verizon Wireless has shown > total disregard for labor law and the rights of > workers to a voice in the workplace and to a fair > contract. Workers at Verizon Wireless who want a > union voice have been fired and laid off, harassed > and intimidated by supervisors, required to attend > “captive audience” meetings and mandatory anti-union > training. Call centers that had a growing number of > union supporters were shut down between 2000 and > 2004, putting 2,000 people out of work in MA, NY, > and NJ. Verizon Wireless has refused to abide by > the agreement it made with CWA [Communication > Workers of America] to remain neutral in union > organizing efforts in the Northeast and is instead > using endless litigation to prevent employees from > making use of the agreement. There are numerous > complaints of labor law violations pending against > Verizon Wireless. > The contrast between Verizon Wireless and Cingular > Wireless, which supports full employer neutrality > and card check, couldn’t be clearer. At Cingular, > where there is true neutrality, more than 13,000 > workers have joined CWA just since July 2005, when > those agreements went into effect at what was AT & T > Wireless. It’s clear that when fear and intimidation > are removed from the workplace, workers choose a > union voice. That’s what is happening at Cingular > and that’s exactly what would happen at Verizon > Wireless. " > > I wish I had time to research it further, but if > anyone can recommend a cell phone company that > treats its workers well, does not support animal > cruelty, and gets decent reception, please pass that > info on. > > Thea > > > > ______________________________\ ____ > > Everyone is raving about the all-new Mail > beta. > http://new.mail. ______________________________\ ____ Music Unlimited Access over 1 million songs. http://music./unlimited Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 The best of the bunch, ethically speaking: http://www.workingassetswireless.com/?campid=64460566 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 Excellent point. Like all large corporations, most of them are evil / annoying in one way or the other, and boycotting one will just shift your dollars to something else you wouldn't otherwise support. While there are some industries left with an abundance of choice and competition, other industries have no choices at all beyond whichever two or three corporations have dominated the market.Which gives you two courses of action as an ethical consumer:(1) Choose the lowest price and best service you can find, then donate to the appropriate cause to offset the harm created by that corporation. Make sure to donate the money in the corporation's name (with the CEO and corporate headquarters as the address) so they receive plenty of information in the mail.(2) Or, DIY! This might require making sacrifices or inconveniencing yourself, but it's possible. For example, with Skype and a Netgear Skype phone, you can create your own mobile phone network that uses wifi, or hop on to a public network to make and receive phone calls. It's not as easy, but it does work, and it's mobile.http://us.accessories.skype.com/direct/skypeusa/itemdetl.jsp?prod=3059(And if Skype doesn't match your ethics for whatever reason, there are other ways to make calls over the internet, including setting up your own private service. Skype is by far the most convenient. The point here is that you're not tied to using the major carriers if you're willing to be creative. Likewise, the same goes for any other service where the only choices are to go with corporations that you don't approve of.)[Note: I have no affiliation with Skype or Netgear]On Dec 5, 2006, at 8:33 AM, soy boy wrote:Even Working Assetsuses Sprint as it's carrier, so by choosing WA, you'reindirectly paying Sprint (who generally gets low marksin the cell phone department). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 7, 2006 Report Share Posted December 7, 2006 Hi Meghann, Good for you on contacting cingular. Working Assets Wireless donates a percentage of it's profits every year to various groups, and you choose which groups from their various causes (including environment and animal protection groups) get the money! When I rejoined Working Assets, I signed up for this plan that gives a % of money to HSUS. http://www.hsus.org/shop/humane_wireless.html Mary > " Stephen Wells " <swells > " 'Thea Langsam' " <thea_langsam, " 'Meghann Lough' " ><mlough, " 'maryvinmaryvin' " ><marybernadette, >RE: Cingular Supports Rodeos >Tue, 5 Dec 2006 11:33:26 -0800 > >The best of the bunch, ethically speaking: > >http://www.workingassetswireless.com/?campid=64460566 > > > _______________ All-in-one security and maintenance for your PC. Get a free 90-day trial! http://clk.atdmt.com/MSN/go/msnnkwlo0050000002msn/direct/01/?href=http://clk.atd\ mt.com/MSN/go/msnnkwlo0050000001msn/direct/01/?href=http://www.windowsonecare.co\ m/?sc_cid=msn_hotmail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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