Events – Page 2 – Unitarian Universalist FaithAction NJ

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 5^th 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.

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

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.

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.

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

Chuck Collins 2019 Plenary Keynote Speaker

by UU FA OfficeApril 3, 2019April 3, 2019 Leave a comment

Chuck Collins is an author and senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, DC, where he directs the Program on Inequality and the Common Good. He is also co-founder of Wealth for Common Good. He is an expert on economic inequality in the US, and has pioneered efforts to bring together investors and business leaders to speak out publicly against corporate practices and economic policies that increase economic inequality.

Collins has written a number of books about inequality, tax policy and social change philanthropy. In 2000, he co-authored the book, Robin Hood Was Right: A Guide to Giving Your Money for Social Change. In 2000 (revised in 2005), he co-authored with Felice Yeskel Economic Apartheid in America: A Primer on Economic Inequality and Insecurity. Collins is coauthor, with William H. Gates Sr, of the 2003 book, Wealth and Our Commonwealth: Why America Should Tax Accumulated Fortunes, which argues that the estate tax is both fair and necessary. In 2013, he authored 99 to 1: How Wealth Inequality is Wrecking the World and What We Can Do About It. His most recent book is Born on Third Base: A One Percenter Makes the Case for Tackling Inequality, Bringing Wealth Home, and Committing to the Common Good.

Between 1983 and 1991, Collins worked at the Institute for Community Economics, based in Greenfield, Massachusetts, providing technical advice to community land trusts and mobile home resident cooperatives. Between 1991 and 1995, he was director of the HOME Coalition in Massachusetts and a field organizer for the Tax Equity Alliance of Massachusetts (now the Mass Budget and Policy Center). In 1995, he co-founded, with Felice Yeskel and S.M. Miller, United for a Fair Economy in Boston, Massachusetts, a left-leaning national organization devoted to education about growing income and wealth inequality.

Collins has worked with a number of prominent wealthy individuals, including William H. Gates, Sr. and George Soros, in an effort to promote tax equity.

In 2005, he became a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies, where he co-edits the web site, Inequality.org and directs the Program on Inequality and the Common Good. In 2008, he cofounded Wealth for the Common Good, which subsequently merged in 2015 with the Patriotic Millionaires.

At the Institute for Policy Studies, Collins’ research has looked at income and wealth inequality and the racial wealth divide. He has co-authored a number of studies including “Billionaire Bonanza” exploring the share of wealth flowing to the top 1 percent and Forbes 400, and the “Ever Growing Gap”, which examines the future of the racial wealth divide.

Virtual Reality Solitary Confinement Headsets

Key materials have been boxed up and ready to tour NJ to the next UU congregation. They include:

Seven VR headset goggles – Donated by AT&T management

Three over-the-ear headphones – Donated by Anne and Joe Houle

A couple dozen DVDs of Breaking down the Box – Donated by NJCAIC

A handful of publications by American Friends Service Committee – Donated by NJCAIC

A stack of End Isolated Confinement in NJ by NJCAIC flyers

Critical ingredients to be added locally for an effective 6 or 7 station event:

four headphones (over-the-ears are better than earbuds)

seven smart phones… preferably coming with:

three or four teenage assistance; they tend to be really good at: loading the app ahead of time, and assisting the clientele day of event.

Regarding the solitary confinement Virtual Reality experience, this 6X9 website has more information.

Amazon Smile and UU FaithAction NJ

by UU FA OfficeFebruary 21, 2019February 27, 2019 Leave a comment

Did you know Amazon will give UU FaithAction NJ .05% of every dollar you spend on Amazon…. and who doesn’t spend on Amazon? It’s easy to set up: Log onto to smile.amazon.com and under Charitable Organizations search for Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry. Then, whenever you need to purchase something from Amazon, use the amazon smile site and shop as normal! Amazon will then send us a check every month for 5% of all sales linked to UULMNJ (our former name). Or you can simply click here.

Two Sundays, Two Awesome Conferences

by UU FA OfficeFebruary 14, 2019February 14, 2019 Leave a comment

On Sunday, February 3rd, UU FaithAction held the first Justice Policy Update Conference, which featured Professor Meghan Sacks, Criminal Justice Program Chair at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Professor Sacks talked very knowledgeably and passionately about the legislation that created mass incarceration, the current efforts to amend some of these policies, and the injustice these policies perpetuate. As one seasoned conference attendee stated, “It was the BEST speaker she had ever heard on this topic.” Professor Sacks recommends that anyone interested in mass incarceration watch the films 13th and Riker’s Island: An American Jail.

On Sunday, February 10, UU FaithAction held the second Policy Update Conference at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton. Our guest speaker was journalist and WNYC on-air correspondent Matt Katz. Matt Katz has become, over the past three yeas, a leading investigative reporter on immigration, detainees, protective status and refugees in America. His talk was informative and riveting. Prior to his deep dive into Immigration, Matt reported on former Gov. Chris Christie and was part of a team of journalists who earned a Peabody award for their reporting.