The First UU Fellowship of Hunterdon County has kicked off a year of “Creating Social Justice with the Arts.” Both adults and children will utilize the various disciplines within the arts for social justice to create and implement different projects throughout the year.
News and Alerts
Environmental Justice Council Starting in Metro NY District
From the NY Metro District:
The Metro NY District is starting our our Environmental Justice Council. The primary purpose of this Council is to educate UU leaders in global, regional, and local environmental justice issues. By gathering and training members of each congregation, we hope to concentrate our efforts at community organizing and begin to impact the critical issues of our day.
Environmental Justice identifies ecological issues as they relate to questions of race and class. To address these issues adequately, our District’s Racial and Social Justice Consultant, the Rev. Peggy Clarke, and Right Relations Consultant, Dr. Frances Sink, have partnered to educate, organize, and empower our congregations to address these complex and critical issues.
The Environmental Justice Council will have its first meeting on Saturday, January 21, 2012, at the First Unitarian Society of Westchester in Hastings on Hudson NY at 10:30 am. We are asking every congregation to send at least one representative to this meeting.
The Council will meet three times in 2012; one of those sessions will center on the nationally acclaimed GreenFaith Environmental Justice Tour in the Ironbound section of Newark NJ.
If you have questions, please contact either Dr. Frances Sink at frances.sink@gmail.com or the Rev. Peggy Clarke at pclarke@uuma.org. RSVP before January 10.
Cherry Hill Kiva Lending Team
As of November 19, the UU Church in Cherry Hill Kiva Lending Team has loaned over $31,000 and made more than 840 loans to individuals worldwide. UUCCH has made more microloans through Kiva than any other Unitarian Church. (www.kiva.org)
No Fracking Rally – Nov. 21
Late breaking news: The Delaware River Basin Commission’s November 21, 2011 vote has been cancelled. The vote was to seek approval of regulations that would have allowed shale gas drilling (fracking) in the Delaware River Basin. The cancellation is the second time the vote has been put off. This time it is believed to be in response to an announcement by the Governor of Delaware that he would vote against the regulatory/drilling proposal. There will still be a rally in Trenton on November 21. http://www.delawareriverkeeper.org or www.fwwatch.org for more information on the day’s events.
Rohn Hein is serving as the point person for UULMNJers attending the rally.
UUSC: Put a Ribbon on Your Values
If each person who has expressed support for UUSC’s economic justice initiatives were to spend 10% of their holiday budget on ethically produced gifts, together, we could direct hundreds of thousands of dollars in holiday shopping towards values-driven organizations and companies.
Pledge to spend 10% or more of your holiday shopping budget on products that reflect your commitment to social responsibility. If we commit to choosing gifts with our values in mind, together we can make an impact!
Imagine how wonderful it will be for you to watch your family and friends open their gifts, knowing that these gifts are not only perfect for them, but also further justice and compassion in the world.
Go to http://actnow.uusc.org/site/PageServer?pagename=HolidayShoppingPledge2011 to join UUSC supporters in this pledge. You’ll also find a link to UUSC’s Choose Compassionate Consumption initiative.
Health Care: Letter Concerning Medicaid Waiver Application
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On October 11, Health Care Task Force Chair Carolyn Baldacchini attended a Medical Advisory Council meeting at the NJ State offices of the Dept. of Health and Human Services. Commissioner Jennifer Valez and members of her staff were at the meeting to discuss the Section 1115 Comprehensive Waiver that the State of New Jersey had applied for.
Members of the Medical Advisory Council and the audience expressed many concerns with the waiver. We were the only religious organization at the meeting, and many appreciated our presence. Many said that individual letters, as well as one from Rev. Craig Hirshberg, would be meaningful.
The task force also sent letters to the State of NJ and the Center for Medicaid and Medicare, explaining our concerns with the Section 1115 Comprehensive Waiver application. The letters reflected our beliefs and how we wished to see a waiver be used. You can read the letter here.
UULMNJ Task Forces Select Priority Issues
UULMNJ is inundated with requests to respond to many issues. They may come from our UULMNJ Task Forces, Congregational Social Action groups, coalitions with whom we affiliate, the UUA, or general public concern. Due to limited resources and time, UULMNJ is unable to respond to each issue equally, as addressing too many issues at once will only dilute the effectiveness of UULMNJ education and advocacy.
Therefore at the Fall Issues Workshop on October 29, each task force was asked to recommend one “front burner” issue to which UULMNJ will allocate its State level resources. The issues are defined by our task forces and approved by the board, and will become the object of public and congregational education, advocacy and campaigns. These issues will be reviewed yearly, as the issue is resolved or when other needs arise.
There are other important issues that UULMNJ can support by lending its name to and supporting actions of other organizations. These issues will be recommended to/from the Executive Director or Task Force Chair. Endorsement will be decided in consultation with the Public Policy Committee of the UULMNJ Board as needed.
Each task force will continue to consider several issues at a time, through research and study within the UULMNJ organization and New Jersey UU congregations. And, of course, this in no way limits individuals and local congregations from participating in all issues however they see fit.
At ULMNJ’s Issues Workshop on October 29, the task forces recommended their primary issues, which were subsequently approved by the board:
Economic Justice
Jobs Creation – Advocating for legislation that requires the creation of real jobs, not just tax incentives.
Environmental Justice
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) – New Jersey should remain part of this ten-state initiative.
Health Care
Health Care Exchanges – Advocating for an affordable and consumer-oriented health exchanges, a state determined portion of The Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act.
Immigration Reform
Wage Theft – insuring that employers pay the wages they promise, receive stiffer penalties if they don’t, and recourse for those with lost wages.
UULMNJ President Honored by NJRC as “2011 Leader of the Year”
Congratulations to UULMNJ Board of Trustees President Rohn Hein, on his selection by the New Jersey Regional Coalition as their 2011 Leader of the Year. This award honors NJRC leaders who exemplify key principles and demonstrate outstanding leadership abilities and performance in the public arena.
Rohn’s award letter states, in part, “As a longtime NJRC Board Member and leader of the Lower Delaware Local District Council, as the President of the UU Church in Cherry Hill, and the President of the Board of Trustees of the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of New Jersey, you are an insightful leader who is not afraid to shoulder responsibility and who makes things happen.”
And we are grateful to Rohn for continuing go make things happen in UULMNJ, from his early involvement as Co-chair of the Steering Committee, to now and beyond.
Immigration Reform: Priority Issues – Fall 2011
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At the Fall 2011 Issues Workshop, the Immigration Task Force agreed to take on the issue of Wage Theft this year, and to support A-3948 and S-3068.
Many workers in New Jersey, including undocumented workers, are being exploited by unscrupulous employers who fail to follow Wage and Hour Laws. The Wage Protection Act, which is being introduced in the NJ Assembly (A 3948) by Annette Quijano, (D-20) and in the NJ Senate (S-3068) by Senator Loretta Weinberg (D-37), would strengthen the penalties for violating wage and hour laws and thereby discourage wage theft. About 85-90% of immigrant workers report having not been paid what they were promised. This directly impacts all workers by bringing down wage levels. Recommended resources were They Take Our Jobs, a Beacon Press book, which tells the history of “wage theft,” starting with slaves and showing how each generation has a pool of such workers (http://www.beacon.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=1855). Another text, Illegal People: How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants, by David Bacon, shows that the issue is one of global migration of labor, related to trade policies (http://dbacon.igc.org/IndexPS/news.htm).
The task force also focused on the issue of Detention at the Issues Workshop. ChiaChia Wang, from the American Friends Service Committee, gave a detailed presentation on detention. Detention has been a major “solution” since 1950 and has recently expanded. In 2001, the U.S. detained approximately 95,000 individuals, and by 2009 the number had grown to approximately 380,000. The stated goal of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (I.C.E.) is to deport 400,000 non-citizens this year. Items related to detention include whether the system encourages racial profiling, the immorality of the policy in general, and employers’ policies and practices.
In New Jersey there are five detention centers, four of them county jails, and one federal prison, in Elizabeth. County jails receive approximately $100/day/detainee from the federal government, often more than double the cost of holding ordinary criminals. The Essex County Detention Center in Newark is proposing a major expansion, which is being opposed by immigration reform activists. A portion of the proposed expansion would be privately operated; privatization of the prison/jail industry is growing, costing taxpayers billions of dollars and enriching individual owners at our expense.
An important resource for understanding the detention system is the Detention Watch Network (www.detentionwatchnetwork.org). The UUA has a six-week curriculum, “Immigration as a Moral Issue,” available online. The Ridgewood congregation used an earlier UUA publication, “Welcoming the Stranger,” which is also useful.
Health Care: Priority Issues – Fall 2011
At the Fall 2011 Issues Workshop, the Health Care Task Force agreed that the Health Insurance Exchanges would be their first priority, and discussed ways in which UU congregations can host forums, led by the NJ for Health Care Coalition, in order to educate the public on the future of Health Insurance Exchanges.
The Medicaid Waiver letter writing would be the task force’s second priority.
Women’s Health funding is a very important goal for the task force. However, there is nothing happening right now in Trenton.