Tell your governor: It's fair to repair

Your cell phone won’t charge, or turn on. You take it to a repair shop only to be told that they can’t get what they need to fix it. You can’t fix your phone, you’ll have to buy a new one. 

You can replace “cell phone” with other things, from smart refrigerators to tractors. This story is becoming more common every day. 

If we own these items, we should be able to fix them. We shouldn’t be forced into throwing away devices that could be fixed, refurbished or salvaged. And we should be able to take our stuff to any repair shop we want, including small, local businesses. 

That’s why we’re working to pass Right to Repair laws in states across the country. Tell your governor: We should be able to repair the stuff we buy. It’s that simple. 

Until 2013, car manufacturers generally kept a close hold on the repair manuals and tools required to fix their cars from neighborhood mechanics. But Massachusetts passed a law in 2013, requiring all car manufacturers to release the parts, tools, diagnostics and repair manuals required to fix their vehicles. After that law was passed, companies adopted that practice as the national standard.

We should be able to do the same for our electronics. Act now >> 

Too many big companies like keeping the secrets to fix your electronics to themselves -- but small stores in the business of repairing our stuff should be able to do so. 

This issue is starting to get some attention: Illinois and Massachusetts are moving closer to passing Right to Repair legislation right now. Let’s keep the momentum building. 

Now is the time to tell our governors: the right to repair is fair.