JULY 2025

• July 1 — Organizing Under Advancing Autocracy
• July 8 — Firewalls for Freedom & Intro to Campus Democracy Organizing
• July 15  — Campus Campaign Planning I (Goal Setting)
• July 22 — Campus Campaign Planning II (Strategy & Structure)
• July 29 — Campus Campaign Planning III (Outreach Planning)
• August 5 — Strategic Escalation
• August TBD (Virtual) — Community-Building, Mutual Support, and Action Teams

Emerging or Young Adults are invited to join a Weekly Student Summer Training Series and learn the skills they need to be effective mobilizers, organizers, and advocates to champion the best version of our American democracy.

As part of this program, we are trying to connect with Unitarian Universalist University Students who may be interested in getting a youth-focused version of the Rise for Freedom National Training Series, which we partnered on this past spring. See our recent email for more context.

John Lewis Day of Action
Events nationwide by multiple organizations

On Wednesday, July 17, the anniversary of Congressman John Lewis’ passing, Americans are taking action across the country to defend our democracy and carry forward the legacy of Good Trouble, honoring John Lewis, who said, "Your vote is precious. Almost sacred. It's the most nonviolent tool we have to create a more perfect union." 

• July 3 — Coalition Building + Event Checklist
• July 10 — Safety and Security
• July 15  — Media & Final Event Checklist!
• July 17 — Host or join an event

In the Spirit of John Lewis

Join UUSJ on Wednesday, July 17, when we and our allies in Faithful Democracy will organize a special gathering and moment to advocate together -- as part of the John Lewis Day of Action, honoring his powerful legacy and lifelong work for justice and equity.

Full details are still being finalized, but we wanted to ensure you have the date on your radar. We hope you’ll be able to join us on July 17 to gather and advocate as we carry forward the vision of Congressman Lewis for a just and inclusive democracy.

More information to come soon! RSVP for updates.

Agreement to defy Authoritarianism

We are very pleased to announce that our denomination, the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), passed two declarations at this year's UU General Assembly on Saturday, June 22, 2025, in Baltimore, Maryland, written by UUSJ's action teams:

• Our Democracy Action Team authored the AIW entitled "Faithful Defiance of Authoritarianism: A Call to Action - Reaffirming Our Covenants for Democracy and Freedom," and it passed with over 98% of the vote.

Check it out when you have a moment. Stay tuned for follow-up work related to this matter.

Supreme Court pounds the gavel for Executive Power

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its final spring term decisions, favoring billionaires, corporations, and MAGA activists over the American public. The Trump administration continues to inundate the Court with emergency requests, relying on conservative, seemingly MAGA-aligned, justices to support its agenda.

In Trump v. Casa Inc., the Court ruled that federal judges cannot block Trump's unconstitutional executive order on birthright citizenship, despite all other federal judges deeming it unconstitutional. The conservative justices are granting Trump excessive powers for unconstitutional policies.

In Kennedy v. Braidwood, the Court allowed the Secretary of Health and Human Services to dismiss task force members, jeopardizing critical preventive care under the Affordable Care Act due to MAGA influences.

In FCC v. Consumers Research, the need for an ethics code for the Court was highlighted, as Justices Roberts, Alito, and Thomas faced ethical scrutiny related to a case involving billionaire Leonard Leo.

In U.S. v. Skrmetti, the conservative justices upheld Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors, negatively impacting transgender youth across multiple states.

The Roberts Court has consistently favored special interests over the rights of the people, marked by the recent anniversary of the Dobbs decision, which eroded abortion rights and has prompted Congress to attempt to defund Planned Parenthood this session, as the premier reproductive service provider

The Courts Will Not Save Us

“We must resist the learned helplessness of judicial supremacy,” argues Michael Podhorzer, long-time pollester, poltics watcher and analayst.

The political threat to our democracy is real, immediate, and undeniable.

• Our President, certain GOP leaders, and their MAGA followers are on board with the assault and openly desire to install an autocratic regime.
• The forces of autocracy are well-organized, well-funded, and backed by powerful propaganda networks and certain foreign adversaries.
• Defenders of our democracy have been generally silent, out-organized, and underfunded in the face of the challenges we face.
• A pro-democracy political party alone cannot protect our democracy. We need a broad, inclusive grass-roots movement to counter this autocracy.
• Every American who cares about our nation and its future must be ready to make sacrifices and find ways to contribute to the protection of our democracy.

Building a UU Democracy Leaders Community Youtube Recording

Building a Democracy Leaders Community Presentation

Immigrants have inherent worth and inalienable rights

We are very pleased to announce that our denomination, the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), passed two declarations at this year's UU General Assembly on Saturday, June 22, 2025, in Baltimore, Maryland, written by UUSJ's action teams:

• Our Immigration Action Team, authored an AIW entitled 'We Declare and Affirm: Immigrants Are People Who Have Inherent Worth and Inalienable Rights,' It passed with more than 99% of the vote.

Check it out when you have a moment, and stay tuned for follow-up work related to this matter

Deporting unauthorized immigrants raises deficits by $133 billion

At the beginning of 2022, there were an estimated 11 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S., a value that has likely increased more recently. Most unauthorized immigrants entered the U.S. without inspection or overstayed temporary visas. PennWharton’s The Impact of President Trump’s Deportation Policies: The Social Security Program

estimates that unauthorized workers paid $24 billion in Social Security taxes in 2024, even though they were not eligible to receive benefits unless they eventually obtain legal resident status at the time of entitlement

The Care Economy and the Undocumented

The Excessive Wealth Disorder Institute (EWDI) calls attention to the fact that Immigrants—especially undocumented immigrants—are the backbone of the care economy, providing essential labor in home health, child care, and domestic work. Yet, corporate-backed immigration policies ensure they remain underpaid, overworked, and vulnerable.

• 1.5 million undocumented home care workers provide critical support for the elderly and disabled while earning poverty wages (National Employment Law Project, 2023).
• Undocumented immigrants contribute $23.6 billion to Social Security annually but are denied benefits (Social Security Administration, 2020).
• Undocumented workers pay $11.84 billion in state and local taxes but cannot access programs like the Earned Income Tax Credit (ITEP).
• Many workers lack labor protections, healthcare, and collective bargaining rights, leaving them vulnerable to wage theft and unsafe working conditions.

EWDI argues, “This systemic neglect doesn’t just hurt workers—it impacts entire communities. When immigrant workers are underpaid, local economies suffer. Families have less money to spend on food, housing, and education, further deepening poverty. A lack of affordable child care forces many working parents—especially women—out of the workforce, reducing economic productivity and widening gender and racial wealth gaps.”

At the same time, these workers are criminalized, funneled into detention centers, and exploited for prison labor, and simultaneously, the care economy remains underfunded and broken, with families struggling to afford child care while workers, many of them immigrants, remain underpaid (NPR, 2024). “This paradox fuels cycles of inequality, ensuring that immigrant communities remain economically drained while corporations profit from both their labor and imprisonment,” says EWDI.

A Crisis for American Solar and Wind?

Heatmap reports, “as of the wee hours of Saturday morning, June 28, Republican Leadership, led by the Senate, are planning to tax renewable energy projects, transforming their de facto repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) from what could only be described as a challenging moment into a full-blown crisis for American solar and wind.”

How the Senate GOP’s New Tax on Renewables Could ‘Kill’ the Industry, as bad as previous drafts of the reconciliation bill have been, this one is worse, Jael Holzman.

Ally Action: Stop the ‘Big Ugly Bill’ with Sun Day.

Ally Action: Tell Your Senator: No Cuts For Big Oil Handouts with Sunrise.

$2.6 trillion in tax revenue is available for climate finance 

A new report by the Tax Justice Network, Reassert tax sovereignty to unlock trillions for climate finance, published as the Bonn Climate Conference kicked off and publicly endorsed by renowned climate experts – finds that a major root of inadequate climate finance is not a lack of affordability but countries’ weakened tax sovereignty. “Applying a minimal wealth tax on the superrich and making multinational corporations pay the dodged taxes they owe can cover the majority of countries’ climate finance costs, and leave most with billions in tax revenue to spare towards public services.”

Environment and Climate Coverage

• Senate Parliamentarian Advises Several Provisions in Republicans’ “One Big, Beautiful Bill” Are Not Permissible, Subject to Byrd Rule, US Senate Budget Committee 
• Major US climate website likely to be shut down after almost all staff fired, Guardian
• Extreme heat is poised to blanket much of the U.S. this week, NBC
• Climate disasters can alter kids’ brains — before they’re even born, Grist
• Juneteenth and Its Role in Environmental Justice—for All, ICN
• How a Group of Portland Kayakers Fights for Climate Justice, Portland Monthly
• It's the humidity that gets you. Here's why — and tips for dealing with muggy days, NPR
• This Oakland Block Tried to Quit Fossil Fuels. Here’s What They Learned, KQED
• I Want My Taxes to Fund Climate Solutions, Not the Detention of My Neighbors, Common Dreams
• Do you live in a ‘lonelygenic environment’? Being in nature may help, WaPo
• Why knowing your neighbors can be an important climate solution, NPR
• Could this city be the model for how to tackle the housing crisis and climate change?, NPR 

Only the tip of the Iceberg

“Immigrant labor, detention centers, and child and elder care are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the exploitation economy,” argues The Excessive Wealth Disorder Institute (EWDI).

"The excessive wealth cycle – wealth extraction, wealth hoarding, and political power bought with excessive wealth – has insinuated itself into every aspect of American life. Wealth excess is influencing elections and government operations, advancing climate catastrophe, and increasing the cost of everything from groceries to veterinary care."

You can learn more in Chuck Collins's forthcoming book, Burned By Billionaires: How Concentrated Wealth and Power Are Ruining Our Lives and Planet. Mr. Collins is a Unitarian Universalist and often appears before UU communities.

Budget Content and Tax Clippings

• Senate GOP Adds $1 Billion Tax 'Giveaway' for Big Oil to Budget Bill, Common Dreams
• The U.S. is giving up on taxing inheritances, WaPo
• By the Numbers: Senate Republican Leadership’s Tax Agenda Favors the Wealthy and Leaves Millions of Working Families Behind, CBPP
• Testimony by Michael Linden on “The Big Beautiful Betrayal—Working Folks Pay While The Mega Rich Profit”, WCEG
• The Byrd Rule Snags Tax Bill Offsets, TPC
• Senate GOP slashes megabill's tax costs with new accounting method, Politico
• Standalone Distributional Effects of Major Tax Provisions in the Reconciliation Bill: Comparing House and Senate Versions, Budget Lab
• OBBBA’s 30-Year Price Tag, CRFB
• The One Big Beautiful Bill Act Would Ravage Regions Won by Donald Trump While Giving Tax Breaks to the Rich, CAP
• $75 billion firm wins carve-out in tax bill after lobbying push, NYT