JUUstice Washington

A Unitarian Universalist State Action Network

Harvest the Power 2020-Commit to a Season of Collective Action and Faith Formation

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On October 1st, the Harvest Moon will rise shortly after sunset in the Northern Hemisphere. This burst of evening light provides an extended time for farmers to harvest summer crops and plant new seeds for the Fall Season.

What and how have you grown this summer — personally, in connection to your community, and in connection to movement uprisings for justice?

Unitarian Universalists are invited to mark this seasonal transition by reflecting on this question in the Harvest moonlight, and setting intentions to Harvest the Power of community this Fall through a sprint of collective action and faith formation weaving together all Unitarian Universalist justice ministries. This is a shared endeavor between UUA, Side with Love, UU the Vote, and UUMFE.

  • October 21-27 Week of Action with UU the Vote
  • November 4-18 Post-election Virtual Spaces for Community Care & Formation
  • November 19-22 Virtual Justice Convergence & Decolonization Teach-In
  • November 26 Plymouth Day of Mourning 50th Anniversary Virtual Observance (hosted on Side with Love and UUA FB page)

Ahead of these events, ground yourself in our theological grounding around decarceration, decriminalization, and democracy. Learn More.

In faith and solidarity,

Aly Tharp
Program Director, UU Ministry for Earth
Create Climate Justice Manager, UUA Organizing Strategy Team

The Forgotten Boy at Carlsbad Caverns

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When my colleague Jerry first learned about Carlsbad Caverns National Park, he came across a tale about the caverns’ discovery. A 16-year-old named James White and a “Mexican friend” climbed down a hole in the ground in 1898, he learned, and the two began mapping one of the largest cave systems in the world. It’s an amazing story. But when Jerry first heard it, he questioned why someone who contributed so much to the modern understanding of this amazing place remains an unnamed “Mexican friend.”

Why didn’t historians record and preserve the friend’s identity? Why didn’t someone deem that information important? Who gets to tell the story of Latinos in the U.S.? What other stories are we missing?

Read more here.

Demand Health and Safety Protections for Farmworkers

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From Community to Community (C2C-partner of the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship):

 

Update! On Monday we asked our supporters to call the Department of Health and L&I to demand health and safety protections for farmworkers. We now have the direct phone number for Joel Sacks, Director of L&I. Please call him directly at (360) 902-4293. Demand that proper ventilation is required in Farmworker housing. Demand that workplaces are shut down in response to covid outbreaks. We will not tolerate the ongoing exploitation of Farmworker lives!

Weekly Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN) COVID-19 Response Call

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We invite you to join us to for bi-weekly Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN) General Meeting Picture of the COVID-19 cellCovid19 HUB #ImmigrantHealthResponse calls for exciting news and updates!

This is reminder that WAISN will be hosting its weekly COVID-19 Response HUB call September 24th and every Thursday from 3-5 PM over Zoom. Call information below:

#ImmigrantHealthResponse

https://zoom.us/j/775545035?pwd=dlFOWUJMazVwT2tMT29zb2lIOVh1Zz09

Conference Call: +1 669 900 6833

Meeting ID: 775 545 035

Password: 066699

🚨 EXCITING UPDATES 🚨

WHY COME TO A MEETING:

1) WA IMMIGRANT RELIEF FUND: The Washington Immigrant Relief Fund is a result of WAISN statewide organizing vision to build community power. Identifying the need as early as March through our WAISN Hotline, we rapidly began to convene policy conversations on April to address the crises with short and long term solutions. We led this effort while simultaneously supporting grassroots efforts to provide economic relief and assistance to food security working with our partners and members.  We have been centering those directly impacted to demand and win $40M from Governor Inslee to provide further economic relief for this fall.

Eligibility Criteria to Be Consider for the Fund:

  • Are a Washington resident;
  • Are at least 18 years of age;
  • Have experienced hardship due to the pandemic; and
  • Are ineligible to receive unemployment insurance compensation or federal stimulus dollars due to immigration status.

Form of Aid: One-time cash grants in the form of checks, pre-paid cards & electronic checks

Amount of Aid: $1,000 per qualifying adult – $3,000 limit/household

Application Will Open on October 16th – Sign Up Here to Stay Informed: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-up-for-wa-worker-relief-fund-updates

2) IMMIGRANT HEALTH RESPONSE: In partnership with the UW Latino Center for Health, ACLU of Washington, Northwest Health Law Advocates, El Centro De La Raza, & Latinos Promoting Good Health we have launch a statewide survey that will identify further how COVID is impacting and spreading in our communities which will help us identify the blue blueprints of a Healthcare Access Campaign for the 2021 Legislative Session and more.

Would your organization assist us in distributing information about this survey, to ensure that a wide range of immigrant communities in WA can participate?

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE WAISN IMMIGRANT HEALTHCARE SURVEY

Migrant workers leave WA farms, risking poverty instead of coronavirus

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The death of two fellow farmers from complications of the virus — Earl Edwards of Jamaica and Juan Carlos Santiago Rincon of Mexico — and what he believed was the overall lack of safety precautions at Gebbers Farm persuaded William to leave the United States in August after only a couple of months. Normally, he would have stayed through to November. Instead, he asked his sister, Shellie-Ann Kerns, who lives five hours away on the small Bunkhouse Acres farm in the Middle Satsop Valley for help in purchasing an airplane ticket back home.

Launched in 1952 under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the H-2A program was meant to help solve what industry leaders described as a domestic labor shortage in agriculture. In Washington state, one of the nation’s top destinations for H-2A workers, growers requested more than 26,000 foreign workers last year. There were a number of growers, however, who canceled their contracts this year, in part due to concerns over the coronavirus and an inability to practice social distancing, resulting in almost 3,000 fewer worker applications, said Norma Chavez of the state Employment Security Department.

Read more here.