Candidate, union protest pricing legislation
zwire.com
CHRISTY STRAWSER October 17, 2002
Daily Tribune staff photo by Dick Hunt
Attorney General candidate Gary Peters (left) and state Rep. Dave Woodward addressed pricing practices at Home Depot in Madison Heights Wednesday.
Anyone prone to shopping cart rage might want to avoid stores altogether if new pricing legislation is approved, according to people opposed to Items Pricing Act changes.
The Michigan Attorney General and several local legislators say checkout delays, bait and switch and wildly fluctuating prices could result if the Legislature changes the 1976 state statute to allow electronic shelf prices.
State Rep. Dave Woodward, D-Royal Oak, addressed the issue outside Home Depot in Madison Heights Wednesday with Attorney General candidate Gary Peters and about 50 pickets from Local 876, United Food and Commercial Workers.
They said amending the law that requires retailers to "clearly and conspicuously" put a price on every item would be a mistake.
"This law is absolutely critical," Woodward said. "Consumers have to know exactly what they're paying before they're at the register. This is one of Frank Kelley's legacies. It's about full disclosure."
The act is under fire by Senate Bill 1211 and House Bill 5544, which would eliminate per-item prices in stores with electronic shelf labels.
State Rep. Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, sponsored the House bill and said he doesn't understand all the brouhaha.
"I would say that I think everyone should know what the price is, but my point is we have gotten to the point where our technology is so advanced we can do it without compromising the rights of consumers," Bishop said. "It's such a straightforward thing and people are blowing it way out of proportion."
The labels are credit-card sized devices with electronic screens controlled by a central computer. The screens mount on product shelves and list one price for a group of items.
They're convenient for retailers because the display can instantly switch prices - which Attorney General Jennifer Granholm says is the problem.
Granholm said she fears retailers would use the technology to up the ante during a store's busy times, or gauge how much people will pay for an item by constantly changing the numbers until they settle on the highest price the market will bear.
"Allowing retailers to use ESLs in stores can lead to higher prices, consumer confusion, loss of jobs and discrimination," Granholm said Monday. "With ESL technology, retailers could, through the use of instantaneous price changes, quickly find the maximum price consumers are willing to pay for a product - and then increase the price to that maximum.
"This is a classic example of a bait-and-switch tactic which could be used to exploit Michigan consumers and make a quick buck."
Others add that price scanners are notoriously inaccurate and if stores rely only on electronics, checkout delays and confusion could skyrocket.
"It's so important to have a price tag," said Cherylynn Bennett of Howell, who works at a Farmer Jack in Brighton. "So many times, you get to the register and they try to charge you a higher price. I'm a single mother, so every penny I spend is accounted for."
Bennett attended the protest outside Home Depot, a store chosen for its electronic pricing support and history of run-ins with the attorney general.
The store paid $500,000 this summer - the largest sum in Michigan consumer fine history - for violating the pricing law, after Granholm claimed 55 percent of shelf stock across the state failed to have individual price tags.
In 1998, the company paid $250,000 to settle a suit brought by then-Attorney General Frank J. Kelley for violating item pricing laws. Home Depot was cited for similar violations in 1995 and 1996.
"People have to know what they're paying for," said Lisa Hill, of Redford.
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