Fall Issues Conference 2019 – Agenda

Agenda

8:30 – 9:45 Cong. Liaisons Breakfast     Breakfast and conversation with Board members

9:30 – 10:00   Registration

10:00 – 10:10   Welcome & Worship     Rev. Andrée Mol, Central Unitarian Church

10:10 – 10:15   Remembering Luis Merlo     CUC members

10:15 – 10:30   Welcome & Update     Tim Catts, Board President & Rev. Rob Gregson, Exec. Director

10:30 – 10:35   Another Way to Serve     Carolyn Baldacchini, Chair, Nominating Committee

10:35 – 10:45   Helping Justice Thrive     Marty Rothfelder, Chair, and Rev. Jennifer Kelleher, Eco Gala 2020 Committee

10:45 – 12:15   Keynote Panel w/Q & A.    Prof. Sara Wakefield, Tia Ryans, Andrea McChristian

12:15 – 1:30   Lunch   Lunch with A Leader” in the Sanctuary

1:30 – 1:40   Task Force Introductions    Tom Moran, Chair, Task Force Committee

1:40 – 3:15   Task Force Break-out Groups & Voting on Issues

Gun Violence Prevention –  Kathy Allen

Criminal Justice Reform –  Susan MacDonnell and Anne Houle

Environmental Justice –  Nancy Griffeth and Ray Nichols

Immigration Justice  – Clara Haignere and Peggy Hayden

Reproductive Justice  – Carol Loscalzo

3:15 Break

3:30 Closing

New Jersey Energy Master Plan: New Jersey’s Green Deal…or Not?

 

The state just released its “visionary” Energy Master Plan, a proposed roadmap for reaching 100% clean energy by 2050.  Why does this matter to Unitarian Universalists?  Our shared 7th Principle, “Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part,” reminds us that humans are not the center of the universe, and that we have both an ethical and practical obligation to care for the natural world and to do our best to reverse the effects of climate change.
A state Energy Master Plan helps us get there, right? Well, not exactly: the plan defines clean energy to include nuclear energy and fossil fuels balanced by an equal amount of carbon removal.  Carbon removal refers to removing CO2 from the atmosphere, as opposed to reducing CO2 emissions, and sequestering it someplace deep underground. This is not a well-established technology, and research is needed.
There will be three public meetings for citizens to comment on the plan: one in July, one in August, and one in September.  Plan to go if you can; if you can’t go, you can also email the BPU at emp.comments@bpu.nj.gov.
The Environmental Justice Task Force (EJTF) of UU FaithAction will be providing information about the Energy Master Plan over the summer.  For more info. and to get on the EJTF monthly call to learn more about our UU response to environmental issues, please contact Task Force chair, Nancy Griffeth at ndgriffeth@mac.com
The stakeholder meetings are scheduled as follows.  Please make an effort to attend one and do your part to halt climate change!
Trenton 7/17: Stakeholder Meetings 1 & 2: Wednesday, July 17, 10a.m.-1p.m. and 1:30p.m.-4:30p.m., State House Annex,  Committee Room 4, 131-137 West State Street, Trenton, NJ 08625
Newark 8/8: Stakeholder Meetings 3 & 4: Thursday, August 8, 1p.m.-4p.m. and 4:30p.m.-7:30p.m., Larson Auditorium, Seton Hall Law School, One Newark Center (GPS- 1109 Raymond Boulevard), Newark, NJ 07102
Camden 9/12: Stakeholder Meetings 5 & 6: Thursday, September 12, 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.  and  4:30 p.m.- 7:30 p.m. Black Box Theater, The Kroc Center, 1865 Harrison Ave, Camden, NJ 08105

Maria and her two children are safe (for now)

ICE wants to deport our friend, Maria Gomez Ramos, caring mother of two US citizen children. Her 4 year old son suffers from a rare form of hemophilia. If Maria is deported, her son Josue would either be separated from his mother or sent to a country where he would not receive the treatment that keeps him alive.

It is no secret that many are mocking and maligning those who have come to the United States with the simple desire to work honestly and contribute.

Plenary 2019 – Congregational Giving

 

 

UUFaithAction NJ Member Congregation Level of Giving (FY 2018-19)

Champion – $25 per member or more 

Princeton ($25)

Beacon:Summit ($25)

Superior – $15 – $24.99 per member

Morristown ($17)

Orange ($16)

Sustaining – $12 – $14.99 per member 

Somerville ($13)

Baptistown ($12.67)

Ridgewood ($12)

Newton ($12)

Supporting – $7 – $11.99 per member 

Cherry Hill ($11) 

Montclair ($10)

Lincroft ($10)

Washington Crossing ($10)

Wayne ($9.20) 

Paramus ($7) 

Bordentown ($7) 

Plainfield ($7)

pastedGraphic.pngContributing  –  $5 – $6.99 per member 

East Brunswick ($6) 

Ocean County ($6) 

Other Contributing – $2.50 – $4.99 per member 

Englewood 

Pomona 

Plenary 2019 – Economic Justice Task Force Report

 

 

 

 

Economic Justice Task Force (EJTF) Plenary Report – April 13, 2019

EJTF has reached a point of stability after a couple of years of floundering. Our monthly videoconference meetings have a consistent group of attendees and we started the year with a workshop/educational event at which about 20 UUs explored income inequality under the guidance of an experienced facilitator. Those of us who participated feel like we gained valuable context for virtually all of social justice aspirations, grounding them in a multi-generational struggle to secure liberties which have been strategically undermined by wealthy and powerful interests which joined to reverse the people-powered wave built in the aftermath of World War II.

Legal Advocacy Signature Legislation

EJTF’s “signature legislation” to minimize or eliminate the stigma of those receiving free and reduced price lunches stalled because of broader legislation making its way through the NJ legislature. After meeting with Assemblywoman Sumter about her own school-lunch bill and speaking with Assemblyman Caputo’s office about his own more-comprehensive education bill which includes anti-stigma protections, we advocated for stronger language to assign responsibility firmly on individual schools to make sure free and reduced lunches got to those entitled fairly and effectively. The process was a bit of advocacy mixed with general coalition-building to expand UUFA’s influence in the legislature and position as faith advocates.

Changes to the Legal Advocacy Project itself call for a new examination of our efforts and better strategic thinking about how to identify potential advocates among our representatives, supporting their efforts while pushing them towards an even more-expansive view of government stewardship of individual opportunity and liberty. 

Initiatives and Issues

  1. 2018 Poor People’s Campaign (through its NJ branch – the NJ Prophetic Agenda) and the Time To Care Coalition – EJTF follows the movement of these groups and UUFA is still on the organizing team. In general, we feel that the overall PPC effort is inconsistently organized nationally, with NJ’s chapter an example of a lightly-staffed effort with a few victories but needing far more engagement by congregations and religious leaders. The two main organizers are Rev. Robin Tanner (Beacon UU) and Rev. Charles Boyer (Bethel AME Woodbury). The primary focus of these groups has been on the “Fight for $15” wage campaign, which was passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Murphy. Focus has shifted to IMPROVING this legislation by expanding its reach to tipped and younger workers excluded from the original bill.
  1. NJ Marijuana Legalization ONLY IF “Restoration” and “Reparations” are included. The Murphy administration had a very public failure to pass their legalization, cementing the public perception that the legislature’s key leaders (particularly Senate President Steve Sweeney) are not on the same page as the Governor, particularly as regards the social justice concerns which were a key element in his campaign for office. The legislation WAS indeed crafted in accordance with “the California model”, which we consider a good sign and confirmation of our advocacy efforts, but failure to corral the votes represents a tension likely to continue. Clearly UUFA can play an important role since the primary clergy group associated with legalization is a group of African American ministers in North Jersey who have joined with Assemblyman Ron Rice to oppose legalization because of the disproportionate burden from substance abuse falling historically in their own communities. Effective advocacy may take the form of joining other faith leaders like Rev. Boyer as they advocate for similar justice-seeking solutions.
  1. NJ State Bank – (Our January event covered this issue as well as income inequality in general) – The national UUs For a Just Economic Future (UUJEC) and our NJ member Sally Gellert continue to work on this issue, complex as it is. Our statewide partner, Banking On New Jersey, has been “laying low” over the past year and the Murphy administration has clearly put the issue on the back burner while it focuses on more popular or publicized political issues. My understanding is that an extensive report conducted by outside experts will be an important element in moving towards actual legislation. Creating such a bank will be very complex and with only the 100+ year-old Bank of North Dakota as a model, it will be important to get legislators the type of comprehensive analysis that such a report can provide. We should find ways to advocate for funding so that a report can lay the foundation for future efforts (not an overly-exciting or inspiring mission but one that can truly help)!

Jerry Fried, Economic Justice Task Force Chair, UU Faith Action NJ 

jerryfriedhome@gmail.com

 

Plenary 2019 – Executive Director’s Report

 

 

UU FaithAction NJ Executive Director Annual Report, 2018-2019

UU FaithAction, alongside our progressive coalition partners, have seen successful action on several of our most important issues—notably an increase in the minimum wage and passage of the independent prosecutor legislation.  We have also, in the latter half of 2018 and early part of 2019, experienced a marked slow-down on—and in the case of district gerrymandering, outright opposition to—a whole range of advocacy issues that our collective conscience calls us to consider.

We have also taken several extraordinary steps in our ongoing evolution as an organization, in particular a hard look at the internal working of our Board and staff vis-à-vis gender power dynamics.  The release of the UU FaithAction NJ Statement of Recommitment that went out 2 weeks ago as an Education Alert reflects our concerns about these imbalances and other issues of power and oppression.  I would direct you to the home page of our website to read this important one-page document if you haven’t already.

We have made other changes this year as well, equally significant.  One is the changeover from our first and founding Legal Advocacy Project/LAP chair, Gary Nissenbaum, to our newest supervising attorney, Lina Genovesi.  We will be thanking Gary at the end of this business meeting session for his and his staff’s game-changing contribution to UU FaithAction and I have the great pleasure of introducing Lina at the end of my remarks.  

In my printed report, and during this summation, I will be weaving the remarkable progress our Task Force chairs, their respective vice chairs and teams as well as FaithAction staff have made on the Signature Legislation/Regulation Initiative.  Signature Legislation, as it is known, has been the prime focus of the LAP and a major new piece of work for all of us in leadership.  Signature Legislation means UUs in NJ are now not only following others’ lead on major social change in NJ, but have stepped up to the plate to offer that leadership by proposing our own legislative and regulatory changes where there is an observable need.

We began last spring with good news on the state front, though UUs were largely dismayed by ethical and political issues on the national level.  6 Gun Violence Prevention bills were passed and signed into law by Gov. Murphy mid-June 2018, and we were invited to be at the signing.  Our hard-working TF chair, Jeannine Clayton-Cole, who will be passing the baton to Kathy Allen Roth next month, also received an award on behalf of FaithAction for our GVP work from the Coalition for Peace Action/Ceasefire NJ that same month.  

Many UUs, including our supporters and myself, demonstrated over 5 weeks in Trenton alongside others taking part in the reinvigorated Poor People’s Campaign, and word on the street is that we’ll see more coming from that direction soon.  I went to our national General Assembly in part for the annual Council of UU Social Action Networks, or CUUSAN, yearly meeting and participated in joint work among our partner networks alongside the UUA/UU Service Committee’s Love Resists campaign.  Nick Lewis and I return to this work at GA in June and I have been asked again to represent FaithAction NJ at another national organizing meeting in July up in Boston.

Other highlights include hard lobbying and demonstrating on behalf of driver’s licenses for immigrants and the undocumented, sponsoring a 2 part lay preaching workshop to inspire social justice preaching led by Board member Rev. Karen Johnston, and renewing efforts to ensure a social justice focus in any future marijuana legalization bill which of course continues to bounce back and forth in the legislature.

We have been central to renewing the push to end solitary confinement as we know it in NJ, have moved towards the final hurdle in the NJ Assembly to pass our very first piece of signature legislation, Address Confidentiality for Reproductive Health Care Workers and Clients, and called for, along with our environmental partners, a complete moratorium on any planning permission for Fossil Fuel infrastructure construction with various oil and gas pipelines and a large natural gas compressor station in the Meadowlands being pushed by industry.  I would also lift up our very successful–and highly personal for many of us–rally and campaign in November/December to allow Dreamer and longtime NJ resident, Jorge Chajon, to remain with his family in the US.  Rev. Anya Sammler-Michael from Montclair, Rev. Alison Miller from Morristown, Rev. Karen Johnston from E. Brunswick, Rev. Mary Tiebout from Newton and I spent long hours at the Federal Courthouse in Newark supporting the truly amazing work done by new UU and local immigrant advocate, Dr. Kristen Peck, in connecting us with the Chajons and championing their cause for many long and worrisome months.

Other issues UU FaithAction has focused on over the past year includes the following:

  • Universal Legal Representation funding to ensure detainees have the means to have a full hearing before immigration judges
  • Supported Voting Rights for the Incarcerated, Parolees and Probationers as a matter of racial and civic justice
  • Sponsoring regulation to ensure prisoners and families have the right to face to face, and not just video screen, contact with one another through our Criminal Justice signature regulatory change
  • Worked to ensure the Environmental Justice communities, which is to say poorer communities and communities of color, are offered access to any new jobs and other positive benefits when the Community Solar legislation goes into effect; 
  • Testified and helped to pass the $15 Minimum Wage Act
  • Lobbied key legislators on the Safe Storage of Firearms and Ammunition legislation, getting initial agreement by the prime sponsors to change the penalities for unsafe storage of weapons/ammo from a simple misdemeanor to a felony charge
  • Moved from a “state sanctuary or supporting sanctuary” initiative to sponsoring and, with a new $10k grant from the UUSC, helping to form a new “Underground Railroad” partnership to help migrants and asylum seekers being sent from border states across the US 
  • Protested an attempt to “legitimize” party-based gerrymandering at a private meeting of Democratic state leaders leading to our mention in a Huffington Post article
  • Education around income inequality working alongside the Work Environment Council
  • Exploring issues around increased funding for reproductive health care in NJ
  • Arguing before the Essex Co. and Bergen Co. Freeholders to end their blood money contracts for detainee jail beds with ICE and the Federal Gov’t
  • Completed the first draft of the All Faiths Justice Alliance Local Policing and Antiracism 60 page curriculum and toolkit, which at long last is ready to be piloted, perhaps even here in Montclair
  • Co-led a bistate UU Social Justice Toolkit workshop with UUPLAN (Pennsylvania’s social action network)
  • Promoted the use of virtual reality “solitary cells” headsets within and outside UU congregations (with thanks to Joe and Ann Houle, Lincroft, for making this possible)
  • Helped to staff the leadership teams of the NJ Coalition of Religious Leaders and the NJ Prophetic Agenda, as well as within various other coalition groups
  • Earned Paid Sick Days

Organizationally, UU FaithAction has grown in complexity as well:  This past year, we:

  • Hired a new part-time Assistant to the Director/Outreach Coordinator, Clara Jenkins
  • Held two back-to-back Development and Advocacy regional meetings, featuring Prof. Meghan Sacks at the Morristown congregation on criminal justice reform and WNYC journalist, Matt Katz, on immigration in NJ and nationally
  • Held two Task Force chairs/vice chairs half day retreats, one in the fall and one as a midyear review in January and regularized the process by which issues are chosen at the Fall Issues Conference
  • Held a midyear all day Board review facilitated meeting in January and an annual summer weekend leadership retreat for planning and reflection
  • Held the 5th Annual MUUsicFest at UU Princeton with over 100 performers from 8 congregations singing and playing to help support this ministry

Volunteer efforts on the part of the UU FaithAction NJ board, task forces, liaisons, volunteers and congregations compounds our efforts and makes us what we are and are becoming—a real force for moral suasion on statewide issues of mercy and justice .   As executive director, I would like to thank the staff, board and all of our volunteers for everything they do.  The strength of UU FaithAction rests on its congregational support and the enthusiasm and help of so many of you here today and back in your home communities.

When we act together, we strengthen our power and influence to create a more just and compassionate world.  

In faith, with love, for justice,

Rev. Rob Gregson, Executive Director

April 13, 2019

Plenary 2019 – Board President’s Report

 

 

President’s Report, 2018/2019

The past year has been extremely eventful for UU FaithAction on a number of fronts. I will let our Executive Director, Rev. Rob Gregson, detail our many successes over the past year and won’t repeat his recitation here. 

However, on a personal level, I do have to say that the demonstration concerning the detention of Jorge Chacon, in the company of his wife and children and friends in Newark was incredibly heart-warming and the fact that our actions helped lead to his release was something that delighted me for the next several weeks. I know it was only one detainee and that the horrible ICE/Trump inhuman machine continues to roll on, but it was nice to win one and to change someone’s life. We bent the bar a little bit towards justice there.

And I also have to note that it was exciting to be in Trenton for the hearings that led to the passage of a significant increase in the minimum wage in New Jersey. The agreement of Governor Murphy, Senate Leader Sweeny and Assembly Leader Coughlin may have made it a fait accompli, but the excitement and pride of all of our coalition partners who had been working on this for years was palpable and made my opportunity to testify especially meaningful. It is these kinds of celebrations of progress that makes all of the frustrations of the past worthwhile.

Our Task Forces have been energized by the opportunities to make a difference and have been doing incredible work. I am sure that many of you know that we have been pushing our own Signature Legislation, which you will hear more about. Our proposed regulation regarding the administration of video visitation in the jails was accepted by the Department of Corrections and has changed the lives of prisoners and their families. And our first piece of legislation, concerning confidentiality for workers and clients at clinics will hopefully be signed into law this year. Those Task Forces will continue to bend the bar towards justice, with the help of our new Legal Advocacy Program Director, Lina Genovesi.

On the Board level, we have been doing the sometimes boring, but vital work that keeps our organization functioning. We have adopted a detailed financial policy, created an Endowment Fund, revitalized our Nominating Committee and, after ten years of operation, created a new Affiliation Agreement, which reflects our expanded focus and our role as the only state-wide UU organization. At the same time, we have been doing the important work of looking inward at our own operations to address any white supremacy and paternalism that might prevent us form being the organization that we should be.

We have also been busy on the education front, holding a number of events, in addition to the information that you can get form going onto our website or getting involved with one of our Task Forces. Our Economics Justice Task Force sponsored an eye-opening seminar on economic inequality at East Brunswick in January. In February, the Princeton Congregation hosted a fascinating conference on immigration, featuring Matt Katz, a reporter from WNYC who has done important work in this area. And on Super Bowl Sunday, Morristown hosted an informative talk by Professor Meghan Sacks, Assoc. Professor of Criminology and Criminology Program Director, Fairleigh Dickinson University, on the problems associated with mass incarceration. The Board and I are convinced that this is a crucial part of our role in leading UU Social Action in the state. We know that well informed UUs are even more committed to doing justice work.

Our Board has been somewhat under-populated for the past year, which makes our administrative achievements all the more noteworthy. I am excited by the nomination of impressive new Board members, which you will vote on at this Plenary Meeting. Our expanded Board will be able to do even more in the coming year to make sure that FaithAction continues to be a leader in social action and liberal religious advocacy in the State of New Jersey. 

Finally, it is important to note that all of this takes money. Our budget it small, but we accomplish a lot with the money that we are able to raise. But think how much more we could do, how much more we could bend the bar towards justice, how many lives we might be able change for the better if we had a little more money. We are incredibly grateful for all of our supporters and hope that you will consider an extremely generous contribution, either by making a donation at the Plenary meeting or going on line to give.

Report Concerning the UULMNJ Public Policy Network

The Public Policy Network is a sister organization to FaithAction (and to the UU Legislative Ministry of New Jersey before it). Established under 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code, its function is to pay excess lobbying expenses that would otherwise have been incurred by FaithAction and which, if paid by FaithAction, would exceed the statutory limit, thereby imperiling FaithAction’s tax-exempt status. Because no such payments have been required to be made by the Public Policy Network to date and it is not anticipated that such payments will be needed in the immediate future, that organization was placed in dormancy two years ago in order to save needless operating costs and it has remained in that state during this past year. However, it should be noted that our tradition is that the Board of the Public Policy Network participates fully in all Board functions and that it would be nearly impossible for us to function well without this support.