News and Alerts

ACTION ALERT: Support A547 Limiting Solitary Confinement

by UU FA Office

In January, President Obama put major limits on solitary confinement in federal prisons. But New Jersey is still lagging far behind.

The NJ Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee will hold a hearing on a bill to restrict solitary confinement this Thursday, September 22. The Senate bill, S51, passed by a vote of 23-16 on June 23, 2016.

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This bill, S51/A547, would dramatically limit when New Jersey subjects people to extreme isolation for long periods of time and create a total ban on the practice for vulnerable populations who suffer most from it.

This bill would:

  • Require facilities to use isolated confinement only as a last resort, when less restrictive treatment would pose too much of a risk;
  • Prohibit isolation for more than 15 consecutive days or 20 days in a 60-day period;
  • Ban isolation for members of vulnerable populations, such as people who have mental illnesses, pregnant women, and people with various disabilities;
  • Require medical clearance and daily evaluations when a prisoner is held in isolation.

Solitary infographic(1)Long-term isolated confinement poses extremely harmful effects on any prisoner, but especially members of vulnerable populations, such as people with mental illnesses, pregnant women, people under 21, and people over 55. It can worsen existing mental illnesses and inflict psychological trauma where it didn’t exist before. Alternatives to isolated confinement have proven to be successful, because they don’t come with the socially destructive side effects that result from psychological torture.

Most prisoners will re-enter society once they’ve served their time. Once they emerge, who do we want those people to be? Most likely your answer does not include someone whose time in isolated confinement has left them more psychologically wounded and socially ill-equipped than before they entered prison or jail.

This bill won’t eliminate isolated confinement if it’s deemed necessary. But it will put much-needed protections in place to make sure that its use is humane and rare.

Learn more about solitary confinement in New Jersey

Learn more about our Criminal Justice Reform Task Force

You can step in “the box” and get a glimpse of the solitary experience at the Unitarian Society of Ridgewood on Sunday, September 25 from 9-10aand 11 -1pm. Event details

 

 

 

 

 

 

Laurice Grae-Hauck is the Outreach Coordinator of the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of NJ.

Members of the Boards of UULMNJ and UULMNJ-PPN support Alison Miller for UUA President

by UU FA Office

Members of the Boards of the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of NJ (UULMNJ) and the Unitarian Universalist Ministry of NJ Public Policy Network (UULMNJ-PPN) support Alison Miller for UUA President. Alison’s unique experiences and skills will add much to the governance of the UUA. Alison’s experience as the minister of the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship provides her with an understanding of the day to day issues of UUA ministers, parishioners, and governance of a congregation. Serving as a Board member of the UULMNJ and as the president of the UULMNJ-PPN, Alison has experience in both activism and governance of a social justice organization.

Alison has also shown a clear vision for social justice during her service on the UULMNJ and UULMNJ-PPN Boards. She has been a dynamic spokesperson for the organization and our work and has demonstrated strong team building skills, energy and multifaceted skills at organizational development.

The UULMNJ and UULMNJ-PPN Boards will be sorry to lose Alison’s contributions to our work but look forward to benefiting from her contributions as UUA President.

You can follow Alison’s campaign on Facebook and Twitter. You can also learn more about Rev. Miller in a recent article in UU World.

You can also meet Alison at the UULMNJ 2016 Issues Conference at her home congregation, Morristown Unitarian Fellowship. Learn more or register today!

*Board member Andrea Lerner has abstained from the vote to support Rev. Miller. As UUA staff, Ms. Lerner is not permitted to publicly endorse any cadidate.

 

ACTION ALERT: Tell Gov. Christie to Support Prison Phone Justice

by UU FA Office

average cost of a 15 minute phone call

S1880/A1419 passed both houses of the NJ legislature on June 27. The vote was 57-21 in the Assembly and 35-2 in the Senate. This bill passed both houses in January of this year (S1771/A4576) with votes of 47-22 with 1 abstention in the Assembly and 36-0 in the Senate but was pocket vetoed by the Governor.  The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee reported favorably with amendments on June 6, 2016. The legislation caps interstate and intrastate rates at 11 cents per minute and international calls at 25 cents, and bans commissions, or kickbacks, on calls currently at 50% to 70% in some New Jersey jails. Commissions drive up costs for families with loved ones in jail or prison.
In October, 2015 the FCC voted to drastically lower prison phone rates. Under these rules, a 15-minute prison phone call that used to cost up to $17 will be just $1.65. (View the fact sheet) Some families with loved ones incarcerated at a distance spend $20,000 on phone bills during a prison sentence. A recent study found that more than one in three families with a member in prison go into debt due to the cost of phone calls and visits. For children who know their incarcerated parents only through phone calls the new rates will be life-altering. Studies have shown that regular phone communication drastically reduces a prisoner’s risk of recidivism.
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The substitute prohibits a State department, county, or private correctional facility from accepting or receiving a commission or any other payment from the telephone service provider based upon an amount the provider billed for telephone calls made by inmates in the correctional facility. The substitute also requires the Department of Corrections (DOC), the counties, and private correctional facilities to make available a prepaid or collect call system, or a combination of the two, for telephone services.  Under a prepaid or “debit” system, funds may be deposited into an inmate account in order to pay for telephone calls, as long as the department, county, or private correctional facility is not required to provide for or administer that prepaid system.  The provider of the inmate telephone service, as an additional means of payment, is to permit the recipient of inmate collect calls to establish an account with that provider in order to deposit funds for advance payment of those collect calls.

Now we need Governor Christie to sign the bill. Please write or call the governor’s office, (609)292 6000, today and urge him to sign S1880/A1419.

 

Laurice Grae-Hauck is the Outreach Coordinator of the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of NJ.

National Moral Day of Action

by UU FA Office

On Monday, September 12, 2016 (as a part of The Revival: Time for a Moral Revolution of Values) at State Capitols around the nation, at 11 AM in every time zone, justice will roll across the country as faith leaders from diverse traditions, people impacted by poverty, racism, and injustice, advocates, and activists come together rally and to deliver to our elected leaders and candidates the Higher Ground Moral Declaration, which calls on governors, senators, state legislators and candidates for office to move away from extremist politics and policies that benefit the few and move toward policies and laws that are just and fair and guarantee a better life for the majority of the people.

The Moral Declaration that has already been delivered to the RNC as well as the DNC will be read, proclaimed, and delivered to our Governors, US Senate candidates and state party officials. You can show your support in advance by signing the declaration.

At this time, we will not engage in civil disobedience because the first step must be petition.  We will be acting as one to send the same message to our state leaders and through the media to our communities and nation that it is time for a moral revolution of values that challenges the narrow construct of those who purport to represent the, so-called, “religious right.”

We will sing the same opening and closing songs, recite the same litany, and the same chants on the walk around the all US State Houses.

MORE DETAILS COMING SOON!

ACTION ALERT: March for Immigrant Rights

by UU FA Office

On Thursday, September 8, starting at 3:30 pm, there will be a march from the Hudson County Jail to the County Freeholders’ meeting to call for humane treatment of migrants who are being detained there for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Hudson County is paid a fee for each detainee held by the county, and the more they hold the more money ICE pays. There are reports that the conditions in the jail are terrible, including rat infested food. The County has a 287(g) agreement with ICE, which gives county law enforcement – sheriff’s officers and police – the ability to make arrests for immigration offenses. This agreement prevents immigrants in Hudson county from contacting law enforcement for problems like domestic violence.

Join UULMNJ and other members of the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice (NJAIJ) as we urge elected officials to stop making money from the incarceration of immigrants.

I will be joined by other UU clergy to march from Hudson Co. Jail at 30-35 Hackensack Avenue in Kearney to 567 Pavonia Avenue, Jersey City.  A rally will be held at the start and ending points. If you are not able to walk the approximately 3.5 miles but wish to show support, please join us outside the Jersey City ralyying point around 5 pm.  This is a great opportunity to show your support for vulnerable people confronting a conflicted law enforcement system and especially inhumane prison in our home state.

For news and updates join the conversation on Facebook.

In Faith and Abiding Hope,

Rev. Rob Gregson, Executive Director

UU Voter Registration Workshop on September 8

by UU FA Office

every v te counts!(1)

The presidential election season is in full swing, and we at the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of NJ want to give congregations the tools they need to ensure that our 5th UU principle, “the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large” is ready come November!

Planned Parenthood Action Fund of NJ and the League of Women Voters are teaming up to bring UU leaders an opportunity to learn how to run voter registration drives at their congregations this Fall. This training will discuss NJ voter laws, materials, and how to conduct voter registration drives that fall within 501c3 guidelines and are non-partisan. Voting is one of the most important ways to access the political process and our elected officials make important decisions that can impact our future. Ensure your congregation’s members’ voices are heard and they are represented this election by learning how to organize a voter registration drive at your congregation.

Why learn to organize a voter registration drive at your congregation?

  • 60% of people living at or below the Federal Poverty Level are not registered to vote.
  • Low-income residents, minorities, and women are disenfranchised and underrepresented in elections.
  • There is a growing gap between those who do and don’t vote, which threatens the democratic process.

    Join us at the Unitarian Society in East Brunswick on Thursday, September 8 at 7:00 p.m. for this free workshop and put our faith into action!

     

Issues Conference with Chris Crass

by UU FA Office

IssuesCon2016 Facebook timelineDownload the registration packet

REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS MONDAY, OCTOBER 10!

Turn your FAITH into ACTION!

Saturday, October 15, 2016  3:00 p.m.

Morristown Unitarian Fellowship, 21 Normandy Heights Rd, Morristown, NJ

Anyone interested in the work of Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of NJ is encouraged to attend. We will identify UULMNJ focus issues for the coming year for each of our task forces: economic justice, reproductive justice, criminal justice reform, immigration reform, environmental justice, and gun violence prevention. You will have an opportunity to meet with justice leaders from other New Jersey Congregations while learning how to mobilize UULMNJ in your home congregation!

This year we welcome a very special guest, Chris Crass, as our keynote speaker. Chris is a longtime organizer, educator, and writer working to build powerful working class-based, feminist, multiracial movements for collective liberation.  He gives talks and leads workshops on campuses and with communities and congregations around the U.S. and Canada, to help support grassroots activists efforts. He balances family with his public political work and believes they are deeply interconnected, as both are about working to bring our vision and values into the world. Chris is a Unitarian Universalist and works with faith-based communities to help build up the spiritual Left.

2016 issuescon buttonIn 2000 he was a co-founder of the Colours of Resistance network, which served as a think tank and clearinghouse of anti-racist feminist analysis and tools for activists in the U.S. and Canada.  After Sept. 11th, 2001, he helped to found the Heads Up Collective which brought together a cadre of white anti-racist organizers to build up the multiracial Left in the San Francisco, Bay Area through alliances between the majority white anti-war movement and locally-based economic and racial justice struggles in communities of color.  He was also a member of the Against Patriarchy Men’s Group that supported men in developing their feminist analysis and their feminist leadership.

He has written widely about anti-racist and social justice organizing, lessons from women of color feminism, and strategies to build visionary movements.  His essays have been translated into half a dozen languages, taught in hundreds of classrooms, and included in over a dozen anthologies including Globalize Liberation: How to Uproot the System and Build a Better World, On the Road to Healing: An Anthology for Men Ending Sexism, and We Have Not Been Moved: Resisting Racism and Militarism in 21st Century America. Towards Collective Liberation: Anti-Racist Organizing, Feminist Praxis, and Movement Building Strategy and his latest book, Towards the “Other America”: Anti-Racist Resources for White People Taking Action for Black Lives Matter, are available on Amazon.

 

 

Join Our Exploratory Racial Justice and Local Policing Group

by UU FA Office

More than thirty UUs from multiple congregations across New Jersey joined our “crisis call” Tuesday, July 26.  Following the ongoing police violence against people of color, and the beginning of a violent backlash against police officers, the UU Legislative Ministry called for a faith-rooted policing initiative deeply rooted in our UU commitment to justice, equity and a desire to end the structural effects of 250 years of racism. Participants included mothers of police officers, Legislative Ministry task forces chairs, ministers and congregants from Summit, Montclair, Monmouth County, Palisades, Princeton, Washington Crossing, Morristown, Ridgewood, Paramus, Somerset Hills, Hunterdon County, and Plainfield.

Callers shared ideas that ranged from minority law enforcement hires in municipalities and more cultural training opportunities for police, to showing up when events and rallies are planned and moving forward with legislation with a racial justice impact. Many want to reach out to Black Lives Matter organizers and other racial justice groups to see how we can best support the work they are already doing. Others site the need to don our traditional yellow shirts and show up with love. The sentiment that every caller shared is that something has to change.

We are heartened by this response.  We are forming an exploratory Racial Justice and Local Policing group to think about how to move from outrage to local, congregation-based and legislation-supported action.

If you are interested in joining this effort, please be in touch with our Executive Director, Rev. Rob Gregson at ExecDir@UULMNJ.org.

You may also wish to explore some of the following links that were shared on the 26th as additional resources:
www.newarkpolicereform.org/
www.freedomnow.movementforblacklives.org/
www.standingonthesideoflove.org/racial-justice/

Many New Jersey towns will be a part of the National Night Out Against Crime on Tuesday, August 2. To find an event near you, visit www.visitnj.org/nj-events/national-night-out-against-crime.

To find out what other congregations are doing to support racial justice, visithttp://uulmnj.org/racial-justice-congregations/
We hope you will join us to help save lives here in New Jersey, and to spread what we learn about local policing and racial justice to other UUs across the country.

Join Our First Visioning Discussion for a UU Police Initiative

by UU FA Office

Dear Friends,

As the new Executive Director of the UU Legislative Ministry of NJ, my responses to the latest round of violence and outrage grow shorter and shorter. Quite honestly, I find myself running out of words.

What I hold onto at times like this is that we have not run out of creative or faithful responses to violence and fear.

Following up on last week’s letters concerning the Baton Rouge, Minnesota and Dallas shootings, and in the wake of Sunday’s ambush of police in Baton Rouge, UULMNJ would like to coordinate a statewide UU response to the escalation of violence towards both people of color and police. While we do not see these acts as exactly the same thing, we believe strongly that addressing one without addressing the other is both ineffective and not reflective of our shared UU values concerning the inherent worth and dignity of all people. Violence begets violence. It has to stop.

In an effort both to push forward with our own deep commitment to Black Lives Matter, and to grow and deepen our relationships with local and county-level police, we will be hosting a statewide video conference to discuss several ways we can effect change vis-a-vis our own police forces and within the larger context of historic, embedded racial injustice across the board.

Please join us on Zoom a week from today, Tuesday, July, 26 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. to learn from Rohn Hein (Cherry Hill), Co-Chair, UULMNJ Dismantling Racism Group, Cherry Hill Congregation, Susan MacDonnell (Princeton), Chair, UULMNJ Criminal Justice Task Force, and other New Jersey UU leaders how we can be part of the solution.

To join the video call from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android visit

https://zoom.us/j/938562767

Or call in to (646) 558-8656 and enter meeting ID: 938 562 767

If you have never used Zoom video conferencing before, learn how to sign up here and how to join a meeting here.

We very much hope to see you on the call. This is a unique time in our national life. We have the chance to be leaders both here in New Jersey and as an example to congregations across the country.  I hope you will make an effort to join us next Tuesday, July 26 at 7 p.m.
In Faith and Abiding Hope,
Rev. Rob Gregson
Executive Director, UULMNJ