| | Start With Build Back Better, End In Justice As Unitarian Universalists, we hold sacred the inherent worth and dignity of every person. In the practice of our values, this means we care for those suffering from society's indifference and marginalization, with an eye and ear for those facing the most egregious harms. The Build Back Better legislation does take bold action as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It is a meaningful recalibration to a more just ‘new normal,’ a more just ‘new equilibrium’ between people and the economy. But it represents the minimum needed for sowing seeds of a compassionate and faithful recovery. It is not a glidepath toward a people-centered economy nor the paradigm shift of action needed for the environment and crisis response to climate change. And it is an insufficient substitute for the long-promised, and discussed, comprehensive immigration reform. Yet the expected positive results for children, working families, and immigrants are significant. The steps for the environment are urgent first steps toward our national resilience, human species continuation, and protecting planetary biodiversity. America needs this package -- from universal pre-K to expanded Child Tax Credits and EITC (Earned Income Tax Credits), from Medicaid expansions to housing funding for affordable homes, from reductions in greenhouse gases to necessary reform of our broken and hostile immigration system. And America wants it now. While this is a good bill, many UUSJ allies observe that much more could be done, should be done for our families -- and we agree. See full commentary... | | | | | | | | | October Mobilization Fest For October, UUSJ allies in each of our policy areas requested solidarity mobilizations for Washington, D.C. actions. It was a track-and-field style relay of witness events. UUSJ had more requests than it could possibly meet. We need volunteers who like to witness and spread the word via social media and other communications.  See more pictures on our Facebook page With demand for solidarity support outstripping supply, UUSJ focused on four noteworthy efforts: - The Immigrant Showdown
- The full week for People vs. Fossil Fuels
- The multimodal Freedom to Vote Relay & Rally, and
- Witness Wednesday by the Poor People’s Campaign
Despite the pandemic, organizer reports and informal debriefs indicate: - The week of witness for the environment and in solidarity with indegeous leaders gained UUA endorsement and drew about 40 UUs. Many from well beyond DC. UUSJ’s own board member Rev. Peggy Clarke was arrested, as were Susan Leslie, UUA, and Aly Tharp, UU Ministry for the Earth (UUMFE) -- among many others.
- The democracy effort drew about 10 UUs, several from New York City and Massachusetts, with Rev. Rob Keithan of All Souls Unitarian (DC) and the Reeb Voting Right Project playing a key role. Special appreciation for Aquene Freechild, Campaign Co-Director, Democracy Is For People Campaign, Public Citizen, and a UU.
- UUs were well represented at the economic justice event by Rev. Abhi Janamanci and Rev. Katie Romano Griffin of Cedar Lane UU Church (Bethesda, MD) with Pablo DeJesus, Executive Director of UUSJ. Video via Twitter.
- Immigrant allies appreciated Pablo (and his son Javier) attending the Showdown.
 Present For Voting Rights
During October, the Democracy Action Team (DAT) made an appearance at the Commission on Social Witness Forum on the topic of its Action of Immediate Witness (AIW) that members of the team authored in June to Stop Voter Suppression and Partner for Voting Rights and a Multiracial Democracy. You can view video and other materials. Later in the month, UUSJ’s Executive Director appeared for UUA’s Side With Love (SWL) Pop-Up for Democracy after the Freedom to Vote Act was filibustered (10/19). Video and PDF presentation. UUSJ participation at these events built off a Write Here! Write Now! campaign in support of both bills conducted by the DAT. This WHWN action was a logical follow-up to the approved AIW. As of October 31, 426 messages have been sent. Voice your support now: you can send a message with UUSJ or call with SWL. As part of the WHWN effort in late September the DAT arranged meetings with 2 House and 11 Senate offices to advocate for the two bills and learn more about their expected paths through the Senate. Nine of these meetings included constituents from the senators’ states. It remains clear that filibuster reforms will very likely be necessary in order to pass the two bills. During the meetings, team members heard how difficult it has been to get these very popular bills to pass, even in the House. They require a lot of discussion and negotiation, even within members of the same political party, particularly with a small majority. Our collective advocacy for these bills is urgently needed. | | | | | | | | | | | Social Justice Awards Ceremony Sunday, November 7th, 2021
4pm ET | 3pm CT | 2pm MT | 1pm PT Tickets $60: RSVP Direct | | | | | | This virtual awards ceremony, the popular UUSJ “Gala,” promotes and advances UU values in these challenging times by highlighting service and advocacy for social justice. - Help celebrate the nominees
- Share some joy with the winners
- Hear Rev. Katherine Morn's thoughts on UU service and advocacy
- Meet the new UUSJ Board
Join us - we want an abundant audience equal to the excitement of our nominees from around the U.S. and our wonderful keynote. All proceeds support UUSJ's mission and work to build a UU movement for federal engagement. | | | | | | | | 2021 Social Justice
Activist Roundtable
Saturday, November 20, 2021
1pm ET | 12 noon CT | 11am MT | 10am PT | | | | Today we fac e mountains of trouble in the world, from voter suppression, to a global pandemic, to humanitarian crises, to environmental devastation, and more.
Join us for a chance to network with other social justice activists, share successful programs, discuss challenges, and feel energized to continue doing justice work. Hear from Rev. Dr. Pippin Whitaker, Co-chair, UUA Commission on Social Witness. After our virtual roundtable discussion, activists will walk away inspired and with actionable strategies. Review more details. | | | | | Unitarian Universalist News | | | | | | | | |  “Some say the BBB plan has too much in it and is hard to explain. I beg to differ. Poor & low wealth people can understand everything in the bill that impacts their lives. We don’t need a bumper sticker explanation; we need a bill passed and the substance will speak for itself.” Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II (Source: Tweet 10/29)
Build Back Better - Basics
A core Principle of Unitarian Universalists is humanity’s interdependence. What affects one of us affects us all. This is true when it comes to raising children, building infrastructure, remaining healthy, caring for the planet, and our immigration systems. Passage of the Build Back Better Act (BBB) (as of 10/28/2021) offers collective solutions to collective needs and helps strengthen our country.  See President Biden’s announcement on the framework. House negotiators continue their work, with possible delivery to the Rules Committee the first week of November followed by a speedy floor vote. Advocates expect further changes.
Meanwhile, the Senate is moving towards delivery of a “Plan C” to the Senate Parliamentarian. This next alternative is focused on including immigrant protections. Additional Byrd Baths (review under the Byrd rule) are expected after House passage; efforts at full and final passage would follow in mid-November. The Byrd Rule applies to what is considered extraneous matter barred from adding to Budget Reconciliation bills. The pandemic has revealed many things: disproportionate impacts are real, the importance of access to health care for all, the need for child care, the role of immigrant labor in the supply chain, the tenuous state affordable housing. Many social program advocates conclude the cost in human lives has been greatest for those who can afford it least and children. The BBB would do many admirable things, expand the Child Tax Credit and cut child poverty in half to ensure that the next generations get off to a good start. Reform our tax code to ensure corporations pay their fair share. Fund major infrastructure investments to repair roads, bridges, and water lines that have been neglected for 50 years. Build toward resilience, helping Americans to prepare homes, businesses, and communities for the flooding, hurricanes, tropical storms, wildfires and other extreme weather brought on by climate change. But it is less than what social program advocates think we need. It omits paid medical and family leave, and pathways to citizenship for our immigrant neighbors. Yet we need the Build Back Better plan NOW.
Stiketober is Real But Relative “From January 2021 to today, there have been 258 strikes—39 of those strikes, involving approximately 24,000 workers, have occurred in October alone, according to the Labor Action Tracker. By contrast, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which only tracks work stoppages involving at least 1,000 workers, puts the figure of strikes at 12 since January 2021, based on data up to September 2021.” Source: Labor Notes 10/29. Action Alert: Pass the Pro Act  In June 2021, UUs Passed "The COVID-19 Pandemic: Justice. Healing. Courage" Action of Immediate Witness. In alignment with and in support of efforts by the UUs for a Just Economic Community (UUJEC), UUs are urged to support the ProAct (S.420/HR.842). The measure nudges our economy toward centering people (pro-labor) rather than corporate needs.
Americans have always joined together — whether in parent-teacher associations or local community organizations — to solve problems and make changes that improve their lives and their communities. Through unions, people join together to improve the places where they spend a large portion of their waking hours: work.
Write Your Representatives | | | | | | | Steve Eckstrand & Terry Grogan, Immigration Action Team Conveners (seckstrand@verizon.net) Build Back Better on Citizenship and Permanent Residency During October, the Immigration Action Team (IAT) continued pushing for real pathways to citizenship as well as viable routes to permanent residency in ongoing negotiations on Capitol Hill around immigration justice.  The IAT believes that the budget reconciliation bill (Build Back Better) is the way to bring eight million undocumented essential workers, farmworkers, and recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) or Temporary Protected Status (TPS) out of the shadows and onto a path to citizenship or route to residency. Accordingly, team members have been meeting with key congressional members and urging them to support pathways to citizenship in the budget reconciliation bill. Last month, the IAT met with staff members from the offices of Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar (TX) and Democratic Senators Tom Carper (DE), Maggie Hassan (NH), Tim Kaine (VA), and Catherine Cortez Masto (NV). UUs from these states joined the team in these meetings, bringing a local perspective and providing the IAT with new information. The staff members encouraged UUSJ to talk with additional senators and emphasize the economic importance of immigration in addition to the moral foundation for pathways to citizenship. During one of the meetings, a Delaware participant, who is a social worker, described the mental health effects on children living with the constant fear that their undocumented immigrant parents could be deported. The IAT has drafted a letter on this topic to send to other staffers with whom they have met and the 10 moderate Democratic Representatives whose votes may be critical in the House. Searching for Yes On Pathways The IAT continues working to organize meetings with staff members from the offices of Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ). The team is also reaching out to UU congregations in these senators’ home states to increase its effectiveness in promoting UU values. If you are a constituent of these states and interested, please email anna@uusj.org and fill out this Google Form. A member of the IAT will be in contact. Concern For Immigration in Build Back Better  The National TPS Alliance has come out with a strong statement of concern and disappointment regarding the path forward for the inclusion of immigrant legalization in the upcoming infrastructure and budget reconciliation legislative packages. It cites deep concern at the ways different immigrant groups are set in tension and opposition, the use of comprehensive reform to block targeted proposals, and a failure to deliver at the conclusion of leadership-level negotiations. The Alliance is now circulating a petition calling for more action from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Review the statement and the petition. Note: UUSJ regularly amplifies and supports NTPSA efforts. Praise For Immigration in Build Back Better Prominent members of Congress Rep. Dr. Raul Ruiz, Chair, Congressional Hispanic Caucus (statement); Rep. Judy Chu, Chair, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (statement); and Senator Alex Padilla (tweet), all came out with statements of support for BBB. Prominent civil society campaigns and organizations also gave endorsements for BBB: Bridgette Gomez, We Are Home Campaign (release); Sergio Gonzales, Executive Director of the Immigration Hub (statement); Todd Schulte, FWD.us (statement); Frank Sharry, Executive Director America's Voice (release); the American Business Immigration Coalition (statement); Bruna Sollod, Communications Director of United We Dream Action (statement); Danielle Melfi, Executive Director, Build Back Better Together (statement). Note: UUSJ regularly amplifies and supports We Are Home and United We Dream campaigns and positions. | | | | | | | Fred Van Deusen, Democracy Action Team Convener (fredvandeu@gmail.com)  Rep. Jamie Raskin: Ethics, our Constitution, and our Democracy
Kiplinger Lecture of Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church
Save the Date & Link
Congressman Jamie Raskin will deliver via livestream from the Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church pulpit the 2021 Kiplinger Lecture: An Ethical Reading of the Declaration, the Constitution, and the Future of American Democracy.
A Constitutional scholar and deeply committed public servant, Rep. Raskin, D-MD, promises to deliver challenging and thoughtful reflections. He is a member of the Select Committee investigating the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol and a leader of the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump. Rep. Raskin will ground his reflections in the crisis facing our democracy today.
Searching For Yes On Voting Rights  The Democracy Action Team (DAT) continues to advocate for both the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. The Freedom to Vote Act will make it easier for all citizens to vote; end gerrymandering so that electoral districts are fairly drawn; and reduce the impact of big money in politics. The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act will restore the full protections of the 1965 Voting Rights Act against discriminatory voting laws. In November, the DAT will be seeking meetings with Senate office staff of moderate Republicans in Alabama, Alaska, Maine, Louisiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. If you are a resident of any of these states, the team invites your participation. Constituents who have done so, say it’s easy to do and very informative. Constituent participation makes these meetings more powerful and effective both for the DAT and the staffers. If you are interested please email Anna@uusj.org and fill out this google form. A member of the DAT will be in contact. Regardless of whether you participate in one of our Senate meetings, please use this online letter-writing platform to edit and send letters to your senators or call with SWL. (Even if you have done so previously, it is acceptable to do so again.) They need to hear from as many of us as possible to re-enforce the importance of this legislation and not allow the filibuster to prevent its passing; and thank them for their efforts. Note: Timing is an issue, and regardless of the outcome with the Freedom to Vote Act, UUSJ will continue advocacy on Voting Rights as it pertains to the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. | | | | | Environmental and Climate Justice | | Manifesting Solidarity For First Nations  UUs mobilized in noteworthy numbers -- given the pandemic -- for the People vs. Fossil Fuels, which the UUA endorsed. Some 40 UUs attended throughout the week of October 11-15, showing solidarity each day. Many attended from well beyond Washington, DC. They responded to a call made by frontline, Indigenous and environmental justice leaders at the forefront of the resistance to fossil fuel extraction, and especially Line 3 in Wisconsin. See the invitation.
Rev. Peggy Clarke, UUSJ board member who was arrested during the week, said earlier: "While President Biden has said he hopes to make a difference, his goals aren’t ambitious enough to save us. He needs to know that time is up, we are in crisis and we don’t have the luxury of politically safe rhetoric. We need bold, meaningful action and we need it immediately.  As the week unfolded, tensions rose between indigenous activists and law enforcement. Attendees and organizers reported that off-duty law enforcement began targeting and harassing indigenous activists. In response, demonstration activists, many with bitter experience and sour memories of police treatment around Line 3, increased verbal pressure on law-enforcement staffing the non-violent direct-actions.
Some UUs and other non-indigenous attendees said they felt at odds with the changed tenor and tone. As part of the event debriefing among UUs, some participants called for movement chaplains at future events to help prepare UUs for their solidarity role and the realities of non-violent direct action engagements. Engaging State In Advance of COP26  As part of the GreenFaith days of action October 17-18, UUSJ Environmental Action Team member Lavona Grow, joined the Washington Interfaith Staff Community (WISC) Energy and Environment team to read an interfaith statement on the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26). Two dozen faith leaders from diverse faith traditions gathered outside the U.S. State Department to read and deliver an Appeal led by Pope Francis and signed by representatives from the world’s major religions in the lead up to COP26. Their message was clear and united: We need urgent, ambitious action on the climate crisis! Media Advisory (10/14). Jessie Young of the US State Department accepted the statement on behalf of John Kerry, President Biden’s special envoy for climate. Note: UUSJ members met with Young during the Obama administration, and welcomed the return of direct engagement with the State Department. | | | |  7750 16th Street NW
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