Unitarian Universalist FaithAction NJ
A UU voice for justice, equity and compassion in NJ
WHEN: May 11, 2024
WHERE: Beacon: Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Summit
Our UU FaithAction NJ Annual Meeting will be on May 11th, 2024. The meeting will be hosted at Beacon UU, in Summit, and online. All New Jersey UUs are encouraged to attend!
We celebrate with our coalition partners the passage of Demographic Data Disaggregation, the New Jersey Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights, and Language Access into law by signature of the Governor on January 12th.
“The mood in the room was celebratory,” reflects Rev. Charles Loflin, who attended the Governor’s signing on January 12th on behalf of UU FaithAction NJ. “That room was packed, with coalition partners and some heavy-hitting legislators, and it was special to have a seat for UU FaithAction.”
The youth alcohol bill (A5610/S3954) was signed into law with amendments following Governor Murphy’s conditional veto on January 8th.
UU FaithAction NJ joined ACLU-NJ and coalition partners in opposing this legislation, which sought to reinstate fines and criminal consequences for youth alcohol possession. The bill also sought to make it more difficult to charge a police officer with deprivation of civil rights when police detain or search a young person suspected of cannabis or alcohol possession. UUs across the state responded to our Action Alert to contact to their senators on December 20th and flooded the Governor’s Office with phone calls during our January Action Hour.
The brief window between November elections and the convening of the new legislature in January—known as the “lame duck”—is a critical time in New Jersey politics. Heading into this lame duck season, we entered arm-in-arm with a broad coalition of our partners, calling with one voice for The People’s Lame Duck Agenda.
The current legislature adjourns on January 8th, 2024. Here’s a look at how we did.
From the Gala Committee
We appreciate your patience while we were working out the details for rescheduling our Justice for All Gala.
The Gala will be held on Saturday, February 10th from noon to 3 pm, at the UU Congregation of Princeton.
We are in a climate emergency, and right now two bills are under consideration in the New Jersey legislature that could make or break our state’s transition to clean energy.
Join us on Monday, December 18th, at 9 AM in the Statehouse Annex Courtyard in Trenton to rally for a clean energy future for New Jersey!
On Thursday, December 7th, over two dozen New Jersey community advocacy organizations came together for the People United for Justice Rally in Trenton. We were present on the steps of the State House to rally and lobby for the People’s Lame Duck Agenda for New Jersey.
From our Reproductive Justice Task Force: Menstrual Equity Subcommittee
The next time you visit your congregation, make sure to check out the restroom. Chances are you will see a supply of period products on hand, just like hand soap and toilet paper. Believe it or not, this is a big deal for everyone who menstruates.
This month, our Environmental Justice Task Force submitted comments to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities on the permanent Community Solar Program.
“New Jersey’s Community Solar Energy Program allows those who rent, lack control of their roof, live in a multi-family building, do not have property suitable for solar, or cannot afford the cost of a solar installation to benefit from the cost savings and access to clean energy through solar power,” according to the NJ Board of Public Utilities. The permanent Community Solar Program was established this August, following a successful two-year pilot program. We vocally support this program first and foremost for its ability to create access to solar energy for renters and low-income households.
Today, UU FaithAction NJ joined with a powerful coalition of justice-seeking community organizations to hand-deliver The People’s Lame Duck Agenda to legislators across the state! We are urging our legislators to pass critical racial and social justice legislation to move our democracy forward.
Rev. Charles Loflin visited the office of Senator Nia H. Gill, along with Micauri Vargas of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice and Eric Benson of New Jersey Policy Perspective. Nancy Griffeth, Board Trustee, also visited the offices of Senator Jon Bramnick, Assemblywoman Nancy Muñoz, and Assemblywoman Michelle Matsokoudis, along with Bill Griffeth and Rosella Clyde of the League of Women Voters of New Jersey.
All together, our coalition visited every state senator and assemblyperson’s office in New Jersey.