By Kevin O’Reilly
Right to Repair, as you might know, got its start in the auto industry. Back in 2012, Massachusetts passed a ballot initiative that required car makers to provide repair materials to consumers and independent mechanics. This law got the movement started, and served as the initial legislative template for devices ranging from dialysis machines to smartphones.
After that bill passed, manufacturers came to the bargaining table and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that made the Massachusetts law the law of the land. Instead of dealing with different regulations popping up in different states, they decided to just abide the law that already existed.
This, too, has served as somewhat of a template for our strategy. We think that if we can pass one – or two, or five – state bills, we can force medical device manufacturers to come to the table. (We’re also pursuing federal legislation, but getting anything through Congress is tough these days.)
It’s important to n ote, though, that the only way that our strategy can be successful is if members of the HTM community and the repair movement are included in any MOU negotiations. The auto repair campaign ensured themselves a seat at the table by first passing a law that served as the baseline – they not get anything less than the parts, tools and information required to fix cars.
I think we’ll need to do the same to make sure that any corporate promises on medical Right to Repair restore full parity to the medical device repair market. Our experience with farm equipment explains why.
Without legislation, ag equipment MOUs come up short and lack enforcement
With a key legislative vote looming in Colorado in early March, the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) announced another tractor repair MOU on Right to Repair, this time with CNH Industrial.
This “pinky swear” agreement, which is virtually the same as the tractor repair MOU that AFBF signed with John Deere in January, probably won’t change anything for the farmers dealing with repair restrictions that put their crop and livelihood at risk. Binding legislation is necessary to guarantee that every farmer in every state with every brand of equipment can fix every problem with their tractors.
We were skeptical for three reasons:
- Manufacturer repair promises haven’t been effective in the past: When it comes to their Right to Repair track record, tractor manufacturers have some explaining to do. Our 2021 investigation with VICE demonstrated how manufacturers and their dealers failed to meet the deadline they set for themselves to provide farmers with access to limited diagnostic tools. John Deere’s recent MOU, which went into effect when it was signed on January 8 of this year, has failed to change farmers’ repair plight. Repair.org Board Member Willie Cade and I discovered that the repair software promised to the general public, known as Customer Service ADVISOR, lacked key diagnostic, troubleshooting and repair-authorized capabilities. Deere owners still lack fixing freedom.
- Right to Repair leaders have been excluded from tractor repair MOU negotiations: These MOUs are unilateral agreements between AFBF and various tractor manufacturers. But the groups leading the push for farm equipment Right to Repair at the state and federal level – such as PIRG, National Farmers Union and its state organizations, Repair.org, iFixit, select state Farm Bureaus, Farm Action and state commodity groups ranging from the Corn and Wheat Growers Associations to the Cattlemen’s Association – have not had a seat at the bargaining table. Despite our vocal skepticism and criticism of the Deere MOU, our groups were excluded from the negotiations of the new CNH Industrial agreement. That should be a red flag.
- Tractor repair MOUs lack enforcement mechanisms: Our key criticism of the Deere MOU was that it did not provide farmers with reasonable paths to recourse should the manufacturer deny them repair materials. And the manufacturer could walk away from the agreement with a mere 30 days’ notice. Both of these are true for the CNH Industrial MOU as well. As a result, farmers are at real risk of being left out in the cold without what they need to fix equipment they spend up to $800,000 for. That’s not an acceptable outcome.
Farmers – and hospitals, and biomeds – need legislation to set the standard
To truly support U.S. farmers and health care workers by giving them the repair relief they deserve, legislators must pass Right to Repair laws.
As Walter Schweitzer, a third-generation farmer and president of the Montana Farmers Union, told me, “We could have a dozen pinky swears from a dozen tractor manufacturers, but we still wouldn’t have comprehensive repair materials. I’m running out of pinkies and I still can’t fix my damn tractor.”
Walter’s sentiment applies to medical equipment as well. By backing legislation such as the medical Right to Repair bills in Delaware and North Carolina, we can make sure that we run out the clock on repair restrictions before we run out of pinkies.
Kevin O’Reilly is PIRG’s Right to Repair campaign director.
