UU FA Office

2014 Ballot Question #1: Important Information for Liaisons

by UU FA Office

Attached are important Bail Reform materials for your use in educating everyone about the constitutional amendment, Question 1 that will be on the ballot Nov. 4 :

Ballot Question #1 Letter to Editor

UULMNJ Ballot Question #1 Fact Sheet

UULMNJ Ballot Question #1 Get Out the Vote Flyer

Please organize a major letter campaign to your local newspapers. Time is of the essence, and the way the question is worded, it would be easily misconstrued.

The UULMNJ board maintains its position as an education vehicle in election matters. However, even though we do not tell people how to vote, the educational materials do reflect our UU values.  Individuals may phrase their letters however they may choose as long as they don’t use the UULMNJ letterhead in letters advocating a particular vote.

Thank you all for your help and continued support.

Constitutional Amendment: Vote November 4th!

by UU FA Office
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Question #1 is Critical to Enact Real Bail Reform in NJ!

At any given time up to 15,000 individuals in New Jersey jails are awaiting hearings on their cases.  More than half of these individuals are being held on charges for nonviolent offenses.  Many of them could be released on bail pending trial but lack the financial resources to pay the arbitrary bail amounts set by the current NJ bail schedule.  Over 40% of those held in county jails are there solely because of their inability to pay bail; and the average length of time that these men and women spend in jail is almost a year.  Suspects who pose no danger to the community are warehoused in jails for months, and even years, if they can’t afford often small amounts of money bail.  At the same time, the most dangerous suspects can be quickly released because they have access to financial resources.
This is a shocking failure of the justice system and creates problems far beyond confinement of people who have only been charged and not yet convicted of any crime.  Their confinement results in their being stigmatized for something they may be innocent of, it can lead to loss of their job when employers cannot hold their position open for months at a time, and it causes hardship for their family due to lengthy separation and loss of income.  Taxpayers are footing the bill– over $30,000 per year per individual– for incarcerating people who have been charged but not convicted of any crime.
However, change is on the horizon.  This past June, the state of New Jersey took a huge step forward when the Legislature passed, and the Governor signed, the Bail Reform Act.  This new law will encourage non-monetary release options, require arrestees to undergo a risk assessment before their initial bail hearing, and establish pretrial service agencies within each county to monitor and counsel those awaiting trial.
One crucial step remains — and that is to amend the New Jersey constitution to make this possible. The state Constitution currently requires that judges set bail for all crimes, including murder.  Ballot Question #1 will change the language in the State Constitution to allow judges discretion in whether or not to assign bail.  Without passage of the amendment, the newly enacted Bail Reform law will not be implemented.  Currently, individuals charged with violent crimes are assured pre-trial freedom so long as they have the money or connections to meet bail.  And poor individuals, often unable to raise even 10% of the bail amount, sit in jail for an average period of ten months pending trial on non-violent charges.
A Yes vote, allowing discretionary use of bail, will –

  • Protect our communities by allowing judges to deny bail to suspects believed to be dangerous who pose a threat to public safety;
  • Ensure a fairer & more effective criminal justice process for everyone regardless of wealth;
  • Save millions of taxpayer dollars by reducing the overcrowded jail population;
  • Implement critically needed comprehensive bail reform that will prioritize public safety, encourage fiscal responsibility & protect the rights of suspects, including guaranteed  timelines for a speedy trial.

A No vote, maintaining the current bail system, will –

  • Prevent the extensive bail reform legislation that was passed by NJ legislators and signed by the governor this summer from going into effect;
  • Continue the devastating effects of mass incarceration on individuals and their families in New Jersey;
  • Allow the release of those deemed to be dangerous but able to post bail back into our communities.

Your vote will determine the fate of real bail reform in New Jersey.  Get out and vote on Nov. 4.

Criminal Justice Reform October Action Agenda

by UU FA Office

The month of October is a focus for activity to protest, educate and advocate for an end to this critical racial and social justice issue of our era.  There is still time to participate and join in.  Here are some of the activities planned by UUs and others.

  • October 12 – Silent March for Lives Lost, 11AM;  Unitarian Society of Ridgewood, 113 Cottage Place, Ridgewood.
  • October 13 – “Moral Monday Civil Disobedience Action” in solidarity with people of Ferguson; North Carolina NAACP; www.naacpnc.org.
  • October 16 – Canvassing training for Bail Reform vote on Question #1 on election day, 6:30-8:30, Camden Bible Tabernacle, 823 Elm St., Camden.
  • October 16 – Film “The House I Live In”, 7PM, the war on drugs and massincarceration; Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Palisades, 228 Grand Ave., Englewood.
  • October 19 – Ed Barocas, legal Director of ACLU-NJ will speak at Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Montclair, 9 and 11AM, 67 Church St., Montclair.
  • October 19 – Film “The House I Live In”, 12-2PM, UU Congregation of Princeton, 50 Cherry Hill Rd, Princeton.
  • October 19 – Book discussion and sale, “The Divide, American Injustice in the Age of Wealth Gap” by Matt Taibbi; 12:15-2:15PM, UU Congregation of Princeton, 50 Cherry Hill,  Robinson Lounge.
  • October 22 – Moral Monday National Day of Protest, New York City, 1:00PM,  march from Union Square to Times Square;
  • October 22 – March & Rally, Montclair, 4-8PM, march from Church St. Plaza to UUCMontclair at 67 Church St.
  • October 26 – Sunday Service in recognition of October Month of Resistance, 10:30-11:30AM, UUC of the Palisades, 228 Grand Avenue, Englewood.
  • October 27 – Moral Monday in Trenton, Rally at the New Jersey State House, 12-2PM,  125 W. State Street; join UU Congregations of NJ – Say No More! Stop the Mass Incarceration of Our People!

Visit www.stopmassincarceration.org to learn more about this national movement.

Last Chance to Register for the 2014 Fall Issues Conference!

by UU FA Office

The following speakers have been announced for Task Force session at this Saturday’s (Sept. 27) Fall Issues Conference which will be held at the Central Unitarian Church in Paramus from 9 am to 2:30 pm :

Criminal Justice Reform: Ending the New Jim Crow:

Meagan Glaser, Deputy Director of the Drug Policy Alliance/New Solutions Campaign. The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) is the nation’s leading organization promoting drug policies that are grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights. DPA is actively involved in the legislative process and seeks to roll back the excesses of the drug war, block new, harmful initiatives, and promote sensible drug policy reforms. As a result of their work, hundreds of thousands of people have been diverted from incarceration to drug treatment programs.

Immigration:

Sally Pillay, Program Director for First Friends, an immigrant advocacy group working in areas related to detention and deportation.  She will be talking about how UUs can support unaccompanied children crossing the border into the US for the past few months.  As of July, there were 1877 migrant children, unaccompanied by their parents or guardians, in New Jersey needing sponsors and support.

Economic Justice:

Arnold Cohen, Senior Policy Coordinator, Housing Community Development Network of New Jersey (the Network) The Network is a statewide association of over 150 community-based development organizations, created in 1989 to enhance the efforts of these groups to create affordable housing and revitalize their communities, and to improve the climate for community development in New Jersey.  With over 35 years’ experience, Arnold leads the Network’s public policy advocacy and outreach activities. Through Arnold’s efforts, the Network has been a leader in advocacy for creating homes lower income people can afford, revitalizing the communities where they live and strengthening the work of nonprofits in these areas.

Register NOW through September 22 to:

  • Discuss and prioritize task force issues;
  • Meet and collaborate with other New Jersey UUs
  • Be inspired by keynote speaker Udi Ofer, executive director of the ACLU of NJ

Share the info with friends and family on Facebook!

Why not make a day of it?  See what Paramus has to offer for the whole family!

Paramas Park Mall NJ

Van Saun County Park / Bergen County Zoological Park

Within its 146 acres, Van Saun County Park offers a wide-range of activities that is sure to please the entire family. Some of its popular attractions include the nationally accredited Bergen County Zoological Park, the historic Washington Spring Garden, train, carousel, pony rides, and picnic and fishing areas.

The Outlets at Bergen Town Center

The Outlets at Bergen Town Center is a dominant super regional shopping center  in Paramus, New Jersey, featuring specialty shops and eateries, including Century 21 Department Store, Bloomingdale’s The Outlet Store, Marshall’s, Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH, Whole Foods Market, Target, Nordstrom Rack, Last Call Studio by Neiman Marcus, Nike Factory Store and much more.

Or make the 40 minute drive to New York City after the workshop!

Find more fun things to do in Paramus!

YUUR Voice in Trenton: Sept. 2014

by UU FA Office

Welcome back to the congregational year!  The year is kicking off with a bang!  We hope you can join us at these important upcoming events.

The People’s Climate March, “the largest climate march in history”, will take place in New York City on Sunday, September 21.  UUs will be gathering at 10:30 at 58th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues wearing Standing on the Side of Love gear.  Does your congregation have plans to attend the march?  Let us know on our Facebook page where you can find more event info!

Our Annual Fall Issues Workshop will be held on Saturday, September 27.  Registration is open through the 22nd.  This year’s keynote speaker is ACLU New Jersey executive director, Udi Ofer.  You will also have an opportunity to discuss and set task force focus issues and meet other social action UUs from around the state.  Plus, get a sneak peek at the new UULMNJ cable access series!

October is Month of Resistance to Mass Incarceration, Police Terror, and the Criminalization of Youth.  Many congregations have scheduled events or partnered with local organizations.  If this is a cause you are passionate about, consider joining our Criminal Justice Reform – Ending the New Jim Crow Task Force.  What is your congregation doing? We want to hear from you!

Are you signed up?  Do you want more information about upcoming events, local legislation, and action alerts? Join our mailing list TODAY and follow us on Facebook and Twitter @UULMNJ.

People’s Climate March THIS SUNDAY: Important Information

by UU FA Office
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We are so excited to make history with you on Sunday! Unitarian Universalists will join together and march as one community, part of a 10,000-member faith contingent. We are coming from all over the continent and beyond to witness for climate justice. Here are the things to know to prepare for this epic event:

Day of Text Alert
To stay up to date about happenings the day of the march, please text the word “march” to 97779.  After doing this, you will receive updates about the march.

Meet up on 58th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues at 10:30am

…or whenever you can get there. Our UU contingent is gathering starting at 10:30am within the Faith Contingent Staging Area. Enter 58th Street from 9th Ave. only! the 8th Ave. entrance will be blocked off. An interfaith prayer service, featuring UUA President Rev. Peter Morales, will start at 11am. After that, UUs will gather together in community, make connections with one another, and prepare ourselves to march. The faith contingent has an intentional location in the march (for the whole lineup check out http://peoplesclimate.org/lineup). For up to the minute details, go to http://peoplesclimate.org/faith.

The NE corner of 44th and 6th is the “official” midway entry/exit point and “waiting area” for folks with mobility difficulties. It will probably be possible to leave the March just about anywhere along the route. It may also be possible to enter at various other points as well – especially if you’re a small group, or just an individual. But we know it will be possible to enter and exit at 44th and 6th.

If you need public transportation to NYC from New Jersey, the following transporation link will help.

There will be a block party at the end of the march with street food and fun!  Take the opportunity to talk to and get to know people who traveled from afar!

Moment of Silence to Moment of Alarm @12:58pm
The march is being led by frontline communities and indigenous groups from around the continent and the world, who are many of the first victims of climate change, and at 12:58, we’re having a moment of silence to honor those on the front lines. When you see people start linking hands above their heads, that’s the sign the moment of silence is beginning.

Also, please text ALARM to the number 97779.  By doing this, you will receive a reminder about the moment of silence.

At 1:00pm we are going to end that moment of silence with a great, big noise—sounding the climate alarm that has gone ignored for too long. You’ll know it’s time to ring that alarm and make as much noise as you can when you hear 32 marching bands blowing their horns and church bells ring from around the city (so bring your own noisemakers).

Wear your Standing on the Side of Love yellow if you have it.

If you don’t, no worries. We do not have the ability to sell T-shirts onsite. Other things to bring: granola bars or other snacks, clothes suitable for the weather, and water bottles. There will be water filling stations along the march route. Avoid large bags and backpacks if you can, and please note that the New York Police Department has prohibited wooden sticks and steel poles. UULMNJ will have about 40 11×17 signs that can be hand held or affixed to a paper tube.  Please bring your own tube and we can attach the sign at the staging area.

You are part of the launch of something huge and new: Commit2Respond!

Our participation in the People’s Climate March will kick-start a brand new UU initiative for climate justice. Commit2Respond is our religious response to the climate crisis, and by showing up to the March, you are a part of its beginning! Find out more at www.commit2respond.org. Share your commitment by using the hashtag #Commit2Respond on any signs or banners you bring.

Tell the world!

Being at the march will be huge, and we can expand our impact that much more by broadcasting our presence. You can start now: take to social media and tell the world why you are marching this weekend. Take selfies while you’re traveling to New York (if you don’t live there) and take pictures at the march as well! Share your photos on social media with the hashtags #Commit2Respond and #PeoplesClimate, or join the UULMNJ Facebook event and tag them as you upload them!

September 2014

by UU FA Office

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Monthly Liaison Conference Call Minutes
September 3, 2014, 8 PM

In Attendance:
Cecilia Cosca (Montclair)
Frances Prestianni (Princeton)
Sally Gellert (Paramus)
Peggy Clark, Racial and Justice Consultant for Metro District
Elaine Nigam (Princeton)
Rev. Craig Hirshberg, Exec. Dir.
Laurice Grae-Hauck, Administrator
AGENDA:
Benediction
Congregations Check-in: 8:05
  • Cecilia (Montclair) Sunday high coffee after service with committees tabling and providing info.  UULMNJ representing.  Talking about climate day on September 21 and the plan for October’s mass incarceration protest.
  • Frances (Princeton) Program tabling next week.  Office sent a notice to all members on the Issues Workshop.  Showing “Broken on Both Sides” at a local synagogue.
  • Sally (Paramus) Plans for an organic vegetable garden for donations to Food Action.
 Issues Workshop:
  • Please distribute the flyer to your congregations. (Download flyer here)
  •  Udi Ofer will be our keynote speakers.
  • Three task forces have speakers in breakout sessions right now; immigration, mass incarceration, environment.

Reminder in the coming weeks.  Urge people to register

Video Project:
  • Leaders in the fields came in to record an educational/training program for each task force to be shown on Princeton TV and to be used in congregations.  The videos are 30 minutes in length and include immigration detention, climate change, affordable housing, and mass incarceration.
  • Hope to be finished editing by the end of September, October at the latest.
  • Will be available on YouTube and study guides will also be available.
Interns:
  • We had two summer interns through the UUA College of Social Justice from Washington State and Missouri
  • One worked closely on the video project
  • One intern helped to prepare for the GA session on State Advocacy Networks and also preparation for rapid response teams, which did not progress as well as hoped
Zoom Conferencing:
  • Very easy cloud meet up for visual conference calling
  • Free program
  • Inviting all liaisons to a Zoom conference trial to see how it works.
  • Can be used for task force meetings, liaison calls, and congregational meeting
  • Up to 50 people, depending on level of membership
  • Bandwidth needs is not known right now.  Craig will ask when she speaks to a representative.
New Business
  • October 27 in Trenton.  Protest for the Month of Resistance.  More information will be coming.
  • Cecilia would like to invite everyone to a Citizens United presentation at UU Montclair on September 11 at 7:30.  Please see information Craig sent to all liaisons.  Contact Cecilia for more information.
People’s Climate March, Peggy Clark
  • Every UU needs to sign up through the meet up for the Climate March
  • Expecting hundreds of thousands of people.  Thousands of UUs
  • Interfaith service prior to march
  • Collective action after the march
  • Housing is currently being covered.  There is expected to be a last minute need.
  • There is a congregational and individual system for housing.
  • Timeslots for buses to drive in, then they will have to leave and come back.
  • Sally will get lists of local phone banks to Craig to alert people to the climate march.
  • Craig offered to put out a call for day of volunteers and Peggy will put the volunteers where needed
  • Morristown, Summit and Paramus are planning buses
  • Check www.peoplesclimate.org for information on transportation
  • UULMNJ can be an information resource
  • If you sign up on www.PeoplesClimate.org be sure to also sign up through the UU meet up

Next call on October 1 at 8:00pm.  MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW

Adjourned at 8:48
Minutes submitted by Laurice Grae-Hauck, UULMNJ Administrator

People’s Climate March Update

by UU FA Office
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Below is important updated information about the People’s Climate March.  Please be sure to note the new meeting place on 58th street between 8th and 9th  Ave.  Also, if you have a contingent from your congregation going together, please let us know at director@UULMNJ.org.

The following is from Peggy Clark, our Racial and Social Justice Consultant:

Unitarian Universalists are part of the Faith Contingent which is made up of every religious group you could name. (Really, it’s wildly impressive.) We are gathering on 58th between 8th and 9th. There will be a sign on that block so we can find each other easily. We should all be wearing our Standing on the Side of Love t-shirts if we have them. (Or pick up a goldenrod colored shirt at a local craft store if you don’t have one)

  • 8:00: the streets will be blocked and ready for us to begin to convene.
  • 10:30: the internationally acclaimed cellist Michael Fitzpatrick will play for us.
  • 11:00: there will be a multi-faith prayer service in which Rev. Peter Morales is likely to have a role.     (That’s right- 10,000 people representing dozens of faith traditions praying together.)

After the service is over, each group will engage their own practice. For instance, the Quakers and Buddhists have requested to be near each other to support their desire for a time for silence. The Muslims will have midday prayer and the Jewish contingent will blow their shofars before we step out and into the March.

  • 1:00: we will begin to march. The route ends on 11th and 42nd. For those for whom this is too far to walk we have set up a mid-point to join up.

150_JamesJean

Don’t forget to register at the UU Meetup to help UUA track the number of people representing.

Let your Facebook friends know where you’ll be!  Join and share our event!

 There is a CODE OF CONDUCT for the March.

View in detail at the above link.  But keep these things in mind:

  • Do not bring any amplified sound systems.
  • Do not bring signs, banners or flags that are carried on wooden sticks or metal rods, only cardboard tubing or string is allowed.
  • Do not weigh yourself down with unnecessary clothing or other items that you will have to carry all day long…travel lightly.

UULMNJ has had signs printed for this and other Environmental Task Force events. If you’d like to carry one, find us!  We will send one more update/reminder next week.  In the mean time, have fun planning!