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Our team of researchers uncover the facts; our staff bring our findings to the public, through the media as well as one-on-one interactions; and our advocates are bringing the voice of the public to the halls of power on behalf of consumers.

An Independent Voice For Consumers

Arizona PIRG is a consumer group that stands up to powerful interests whenever they threaten our health and safety, our financial security or our right to fully participate in our democratic society.

We’ve stood up for consumers, countering the influence of big banks, insurers, the oil industry, and other powerful special interests.

Our Top Priorities

Using the time-tested tools of investigative research, media exposés, grassroots organizing, advocacy and litigation, the Arizona PIRG stands up to powerful interests and delivers concrete results. 


 

RECLAIMING OUR DEMOCRACY FROM BIG MONEY

The Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision unleashed unprecedented spending by a handful of millionaires and corporations on our elections. While we still don’t know of all the moneyed special interests behind this growing trend, Arizona PIRG knows how to fight back. >LEARN MORE


 

CONNECTING ARIZONA WITH RAIL

Arizonans drive more experience more congestion and produce more pollution than they did two decades ago. It’s clear that we need to update and expand our transit system to meet our needs in the 21st century. >LEARN MORE
 

PUTTING PUBLIC HEALTH AHEAD OF BIG AG

One in three school-age kids is overweight, yet our government is wasting more than $1 billion each year on subsidies for sugar-laden, high-fat foods. Arizona PIRG is calling for an end to subsidies for junk food. >LEARN MORE
 

ENSURING SPENDING TRANSPARENCY IN ARIZONA

Seeing how government uses the public purse is fundamental to democracy. Spending transparency checks corruption, bolsters public confidence, and promotes fiscal responsibility. >LEARN MORE
 


 

When consumers are cheated or the voices of ordinary citizens are drowned out by special interest lobbyists, Arizona PIRG speaks up and takes action. We uncover threats to public health and well-being and fight to end them, using the time-tested tools of investigative research, media exposés, grassroots organizing, advocacy and litigation. Arizona PIRG’s mission is to deliver persistent, result-oriented public interest policy that protects consumers, encourages a fair, sustainable economy, and fosters responsive, democratic government.

Arizona PIRG and the Federation of State Public Interest Research Groups

Arizona PIRG is an independent, state-based, citizen-funded organization that advocates for the public interest and is a member of U.S. PIRG, the federation of state Public Interest Research Groups.

 

Since 1970, state PIRGs have delivered results-oriented citizen activism, stood up to powerful special interests, and used the time-tested tools of investigative research, media exposés, grassroots organizing, advocacy and litigation to win real results on issues that matter.

 

Across the country, state PIRGs employ close to 400 organizers, policy analysts, scientists and attorneys, and are active in 47 states, with a federal lobby office in Washington, D.C. On national issues that impact consumers, we also coordinate our efforts, pool resources, and share expertise so that we can have the biggest impact — in our state and for the country at large.

Arizona PIRG STAFF - A PARTIAL LIST

Arizona PIRG is an advocate for the public interest. When consumers are cheated, or the voices of ordinary citizens are drowned out by special interest lobbyists, Arizona PIRG speaks up and takes action. We uncover threats to public health and well-being and fight for the public interest.


 

DIANE E. BROWN

Executive Director

(602) 252-9227

>CONTACT
>BIO
 

 

SERENA UNREIN

Public Interest Advocate

(602) 252-1184

>CONTACT
>BIO
 

 

ED MIERZWINSKI

Federal Consumer Program Director

(202) 546-9707 x314

>CONTACT
>BIO
 

 

 

What's New

Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Tucson Unanimously Adopts the 2018 International Energy Conservation Code | Aaron Kane

Last night, Mayor Rothschild and the Tucson City Council unanimously adopted the 2018 International Energy Conservation Code as recommended by the Tucson-Pima County Joint Consolidated Code Committee. The Committee’s recommendation was developed as a result of a rigorous, ten-month-long stakeholder process open to all interested participants. We are quite pleased with this vote.

> Keep Reading
Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Safe Energy

A Citizen's Guide to Reducing Energy Waste

The future is here—but we’re living in the past.

Clean energy from the sun and wind can provide for our energy needs without the global consequences of pollution, yet we’re still producing and consuming virtually all of our energy in ways that do lasting damage to our environment, our health and our climate. To make matters worse, much of the dirty energy we produce goes to waste.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Let's Celebrate Energy Efficiency | Aaron Kane

Energy Efficiency Day celebrates and recognizes energy efficiency as the quickest, cheapest, and cleanest way to address our growing energy needs. With technological advances and increased energy consciousness, consumers now have more ways than ever to make our homes and businesses more efficient, reduce our energy usage, and save money on our electric bills.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post

Walmart To Phase Out Paint Strippers Linked To Dozens Of Deaths

In the absence of government action on deadly paint strippers, retailers are stepping up to protect consumers.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post

Drinking Water Shut Off In All Detroit Schools Due To Lead

As school started for the year, many students in Detroit returned to schools with drinking water containing lead—a toxin that can impact how they think, learn and behave.

> Keep Reading

Pages

News Release | U.S. PIRG | Consumer Protection

U.S. PIRG response to reports of Facebook security breach

Facebook announced today that earlier this week, "attackers exploited a vulnerability in Facebook’s code that impacted “View As”, a feature that lets people see what their own profile looks like to someone else. This allowed them to steal Facebook access tokens which they could then use to take over people’s accounts."

> Keep Reading
News Release | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

New Report: Protecting Consumers One Year After Equifax Breach

Just over a year ago, Equifax announced that hackers had breached its system and accessed the data of nearly 150 million U.S. consumers. To mark the anniversary of that notorious announcement, the Arizona PIRG Education Fund released a report containing suggestions on how elected officials and consumers can safeguard personal informatio

> Keep Reading
News Release | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

AT-RISK MPG STANDARDS COULD COST ARIZONANS WHO TRAVEL FOR LABOR DAY IN THE FUTURE

Today’s fuel efficiency standards are saving more than half a million [1] Arizonans money at the pump this Labor Day according to the Consumer Federation of America. The group’s latest research shows that – using today’s gas prices, which are up 13 percent this year – consumers are already saving an average of over $200 a year compared to 2011, the year before the current fuel efficiency standards were put in place.[2]

> Keep Reading
News Release | U.S. PIRG | Public Health, Consumer Protection, Health Care

Second recall of King Bio’s homeopathic drugs in the past month

King Bio Inc. issued the second significant voluntary recall since late July of their homeopathic drugs on Wednesday. Safety concerns over homeopathic drugs extend beyond King Bio as over the past several years, the FDA has issued recalls to several companies for a variety of health products from zinc-containing intranasal medicine to asthma drugs with toxic ingredients. 

> Keep Reading

Pages

Result | Democracy

Delivering one million petitions to President Obama on dark money

U.S. PIRG joined a broad coalition to deliver one million petitions from Americans, including U.S. PIRG members and supporters, calling on President Obama to shine a light on dark money, or secret political spending.

> Keep Reading
Result | Consumer Protection

30 years of toy safety

For the past thirty years, our sister organization U.S. PIRG Education Fund has taken a close look at the safety of toys sold in stores. Their reports have led to more than 150 regulatory actions. In November 2015, they released our 30th annual Trouble in Toyland report.

> Keep Reading
Result | Democracy

Giving more Americans a greater voice in our elections

In our democracy, the size of your wallet shouldn’t determine the volume of your voice. In 2015, we helped win reforms in Maine and Seattle to ensure that more Americans have a greater say in our elections. Seattle’s Initiative-122 empowers small donors with “democracy vouchers” that can be donated to local candidates and lowers the cap on contributions. In Maine, the state’s Clean Elections Act was improved by strengthening campaign finance disclosure laws and offering qualifying candidates increased public funding.

> Keep Reading
Result | Public Health

Convincing McDonald’s and Subway to protect public health

In 2015, bolstered by the support of more than 100,000 members and supporters, we convinced both McDonald’s and Subway to take action to protect public health. In March, just two days after we delivered more than 30,000 petitions to McDonald’s headquarters, the company announced that they would stop serving chicken raised on medically-important antibiotics. And in October, after more than 100,000 called on the chain to take action, Subway announced a similar policy for all the meat they serve.

> Keep Reading
Result | Higher Ed

Protecting students from unfair bank fees

We helped win protections for students from unfair fees associated with campus bank accounts. The new rules, released by the U.S. Department of Education, ban some of the worst and most predatory fees that students encounter from banks.

> Keep Reading

Pages

Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Safe Energy

A Citizen's Guide to Reducing Energy Waste

The future is here—but we’re living in the past.

Clean energy from the sun and wind can provide for our energy needs without the global consequences of pollution, yet we’re still producing and consuming virtually all of our energy in ways that do lasting damage to our environment, our health and our climate. To make matters worse, much of the dirty energy we produce goes to waste.

> Keep Reading
Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Equifax Breach: 1 Year Later – How to Protect Yourself Against ID Theft & Hold Equifax Accountable

The purpose of this report is to make sure consumers have the information they need to protect themselves as much as possible, review what has happened in the last year, and point out the need for Congressional action to prevent breaches as bad as this one from ever happening again. 

> Keep Reading
Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Public Health

Safer School Supplies: Shopping Guide

With this Safer School Supplies: Shopping Guide, parents, teachers, and students can make more informed decisions while shopping for school supplies this Back to School season. We want to give parents and teachers the option to choose school supplies that do not contain toxic chemicals. This Shopping Guide should serve as a handy tool for finding products free of several types of toxic chemicals.

> Keep Reading
Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

Highway Boondoggles 4

America’s infrastructure is in rough shape. Many of our roads, bridges and transit systems are aging and in need of repair.

Yet, year after year, state and local governments propose billions of dollars’ worth of new and expanded highways that often do little to reduce congestion or address real transportation challenges, while diverting scarce funding from infrastructure repairs and 21st century transportation priorities. 

> Keep Reading
Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Financial Reform

Debt Collectors

Report: Our latest report based on the CFPB's public Consumer Complaint database reviews the most-complained about debt collectors. Funny, a new CFPB complaint "snapshot" does not. The report comes as the CFPB's acting director threatens to make the database non-public. If the CFPB both shuts down the public database and continues to issue industry-friendly reports that don’t give out any real information, the public and marketplace harm is even greater.

> Keep Reading

Pages

Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Tucson Unanimously Adopts the 2018 International Energy Conservation Code | Aaron Kane

Last night, Mayor Rothschild and the Tucson City Council unanimously adopted the 2018 International Energy Conservation Code as recommended by the Tucson-Pima County Joint Consolidated Code Committee. The Committee’s recommendation was developed as a result of a rigorous, ten-month-long stakeholder process open to all interested participants. We are quite pleased with this vote.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Let's Celebrate Energy Efficiency | Aaron Kane

Energy Efficiency Day celebrates and recognizes energy efficiency as the quickest, cheapest, and cleanest way to address our growing energy needs. With technological advances and increased energy consciousness, consumers now have more ways than ever to make our homes and businesses more efficient, reduce our energy usage, and save money on our electric bills.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post

Walmart To Phase Out Paint Strippers Linked To Dozens Of Deaths

In the absence of government action on deadly paint strippers, retailers are stepping up to protect consumers.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post

Drinking Water Shut Off In All Detroit Schools Due To Lead

As school started for the year, many students in Detroit returned to schools with drinking water containing lead—a toxin that can impact how they think, learn and behave.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post

'This Infection is Resistant to Everything We Have'

Those are not words any patient wants to hear.

But a surgeon at The Johns Hopkins Hospital tells U.S. PIRG Education Fund that he and other doctors are being forced to deliver that message. He points to the overuse of antibiotics in agriculture as a major culprit.

> Keep Reading

Pages

Blog Post

Walmart To Phase Out Paint Strippers Linked To Dozens Of Deaths

In the absence of government action on deadly paint strippers, retailers are stepping up to protect consumers.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post

Drinking Water Shut Off In All Detroit Schools Due To Lead

As school started for the year, many students in Detroit returned to schools with drinking water containing lead—a toxin that can impact how they think, learn and behave.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post

'This Infection is Resistant to Everything We Have'

Those are not words any patient wants to hear.

But a surgeon at The Johns Hopkins Hospital tells U.S. PIRG Education Fund that he and other doctors are being forced to deliver that message. He points to the overuse of antibiotics in agriculture as a major culprit.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post

Monsanto Asks Court To Throw Out $289 Million Verdict In Roundup Case; Faces 8,000 Similar Lawsuits

Monsanto is back in court and probably will be for awhile.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post | Consumer Protection

1 Year After Equifax Data Breach, Here's Everything You Need To Know

One year after announcing the biggest data breach in history, Equifax still hasn’t been held accountable or provided the information and tools consumers need to protect themselves. Since Equifax won’t help protect consumers, Arizona PIRG is stepping in.

> Keep Reading

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Your donation supports Arizona PIRG's work to stand up for consumers on the issues that matter, especially when powerful interests are blocking progress.

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