Legislative Advocacy Events

This Tuesday, August 10, thousands of people across the country will attend a Democracy Can’t Wait rally in their community to demand Senate action on the For the People Act, a once in a lifetime bill that will ensure fair districting, make voting easier and more accessible, and take on dark money in politics. Now is the time to show up, loudly and relentlessly, to fight for our democracy. Will you? Despite some positive signs (as reported by The Washington Post), we’re at a make it or break it moment in the fight to defend our democracy, and we cannot afford to wait any longer for Senate action: → Next Thursday, August 12, the census data will be released, allowing states to begin drawing new maps for state and federal districts. If passed before the deadline, the For the People Act will ensure fair districting and ensure our communities can thrive for the next 10 years and beyond. When it comes to our districts, we draw the line. And the stakes have never been higher. → The freedom to vote is under attack by extremist state lawmakers across the country who want to put up deliberate barriers to make it harder to vote -- especially for people of color. In response to this urgent threat to our democracy, people all across the country have been raising their voices and showing up every day to fight for the passage of this bill, on the streets and through phone banking, writing letters to the editor, and organizing actions. Now the Senate needs to step up, do their job, and pass the For the People Act to protect our votes and our democracy before the August 12 deadline. That’s why on August 10, local rallies across the country will take place, joining in power for one massive national day of action to send a strong and clear message: democracy CAN’T wait. We need the Senate to stop stalling and take decisive action now. Check out the map of dozens of rallies across the country and sign up to attend a Democracy Can’t Wait rally in your community! Every single fight for the advancement of civil rights in our nation’s history has been met with resistance and required Americans to rise up to demand change. We must do our part to make our message impossible to ignore. Sign up now to attend a Democracy Can’t Wait rally near you. And, if for some reason you can’t attend a rally, we still have other ways for you to take action:

1. Call your senators and keep calling every single day demanding that they get this done.
2. Check to see if your state legislators are signed onto this letter. If they are, thank them. And if they’re not, ask them why the hell they’re on the sidelines.
3. Record a video asking your senators to eliminate the filibuster and stop voter suppression. And urge your friends, family, and colleagues to get involved in this fight.

Thursday, Feb. 18th 1pm Pacific / 4pm Eastern RSVP TODAY

On Thursday, January 28th, at 8am the WA State Senate’s Labor, Commerce and Tribal Affairs Committee will hold a first hearing for SB 5172. If passed the bill could prevent dairy workers, and possibly thousands of agricultural workers in Washington State from receiving retroactive (back) overtime pay. TAKE ACTION NOW The bill is due for its first hearing in the Senate Committee on Labor, Commerce and Tribal Affairs this Thursday morning at 8am. It’s important that farmworkers and their advocates and supporters show our opposition to the bill. HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN DO: Please share this message widely with people in Washington state who care about fair wages for farmworkers. Let the committee know that you are opposed to this bill by going to the link below and selecting “Con” (against). The latest you can sign in is 6:59am Thursday morning. https://app.leg.wa.gov/CSIRemote/Testimony/Form?chamber=Senate&meetingFamilyId=28358&agendaItemFamilyId=138984&remoteLocationId=50&testify=False&fbclid=IwAR3qxGOQwEqnBF1ErLfHGfcCHlf1qJprYHp-DFzU1oJpuc9hpd98_5bl2h4

Please find our 2021 Legislative Agenda (fanwa.org) where you can also download and share a copy. Each year the FAN Governing Board and staff, in collaboration with our coalition partners and input from our Spring Summit attendees and the FAN Program Committee, approves FAN’s Legislative Agenda that guides our work during the state legislative session. We will be adding and adjusting priorities even as the 2021 session gets underway, so please check back here for updates. Be sure you’re receiving our weekly E-News for legislative alerts starting in January. You can learn more about the bills on our Issue Fact Sheets page, which we continue to update as we receive bill information. And each week we will update the progress of the bills through our Bill Tracker. Plan to join us for an Advocacy Day near you, held virtually this year for Spokane/Eastern WA 1/30, Olympia-focused 2/11, and Central WA 2/20. More information and registration links will be posted soon! This year we are offering two pre-session trainings, on Wednesday, January 6, 6:00-8:00pm, and Sunday January 10, 2:00-4:00pm. Both will have the same content: An introduction to what to expect of the 2021 virtual legislative session and our legislative agenda by Paul Benz, with breakout rooms/workshops on specific content areas and some Advocacy 101 training. Registrations and more information to come on those, please hold the date!

The Washington State Senate will be meeting virtually this year and next. In preparation for the session that begins in January, the Senate Environment Committee met virtually on December 1, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. The following topics were be discussed:

PeaceKeeper Training: Sun, Nov 1, 2-4pm Join CARW and others for a peacekeeper training ahead of the election. If you would like to be trained, or freshen up your skills, please join us! We’ll meet at Pratt Park basketball court (201 20th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98144). This training is hosted by CARW,  Washington Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, Valley and Mountain and 350 Seattle. The training will be facilitated by Rev Sekou of Valley and Mountain (militant non-violent civil disobedience) and Coalition of Anti-Racist Whites (de-escalation). Sponsored by WA PPC, this will be similar to previous trainings with new information regarding de-escalation. Topics covered will include: know your rights, safety tactics at a protest, and a mix of strategic and tactical info. Mask up! Bring water, a snack, and anything else you may need. Wear comfortable clothes (lots of movement). Prepare for rain!

We are proud of the ways our Faith continues to #SideWithLove and be present to the World. We are in the final days before a historic election and we want to offer you an opportunity to provide Faithful Witness at The Polls. Whether your congregation is a polling site or is interested in offering some warmth and kindness at undoubtedly tense polling stations, we have ideas for how we can offer faithful responses that are at the heart of Side With Love. You can view the 30 minute webinar here. What does it mean to continue to “harvest our power” when we are tired or overwhelmed? There's no magical fix, but knowing you are NOT alone and that others can help find the answers helps. Join Side With Love on Monday Movement Moments for a 30-minute check-in and highlights of what’s happening across the country and ways you can get involved. Monday Movement Moment Nov. 2,9 at 9:30am PT. You can watch past episodes here.

How can organizers of nonviolent mass protest actions help ensure those actions won't be "hijacked", and thus made less effective, by violent flanks, outside groups, and covert provocateurs?  How can we help ensure that health guidelines are followed during protests, to minimize the risk of harm from a deadly virus? Basic Training for Peace Teams: Keeping Non-Violent Discipline October 25, 6:30 to 8:30 pm     Dr. Tom Hastings, of Portland State University Conflict Studies Program and Adam Vogal of Portland Peace Team will provide a Zoom training on basic peacekeeping and de-escalation theory and skills to keep mass protests nonviolent. This training is designed for those who want to be trained to serve in a "peace team."

UU the Vote invites everyone to join us for a week of action to harvest the power! Running Wednesday, October 21st through Tuesday, October 27th, this is one of our final pushes to ensure we reach 2,000,000 voters before Election Day. Join us! Congregational Call-in Days: October 21 – October 27 Organize your congregation to host a phonebank! Join us is activating congregations across the country to organize their members to take contact voters. You assemble your team, and national and state organizers will help you with the rest. To reach 1 million voters and defeat hate in 2020, we need you and your congregation to go all in. Take the pledge to host a congregational phone bank and then download the toolkit with all the steps! Thursday, October 22nd: National UU the Vote Prop 208 Phone Bank with UU Justice Arizona Network (UUJAZ) & Arizona Education Association National UU the Vote Prop 208 Phone Bank with UU Justice Arizona Network (UUJAZ) & Arizona Education Association. As Unitarian Universalists we are called to work for justice. Join UUs across the country as we put our values into action by calling Arizona voters to support Prop 208, investing in our children and educators! Register Saturday, October 24: Let Our People Vote with POWER (Philadelphia) Pennsylvania is a politically, economically, and racially diverse state, with the majority of its poorest citizens and citizens of color living in Philadelphia. 2016 brought low turnout numbers in Philadelphia, with ramifications across the Commonwealth and country. Join Philadelphia UUs for a phone bank with our local Interfaith Justice Coalition, POWER, as we call low-propensity voters in this pivotal city to Get Out the Vote! Training will be available for newcomers. Join us to make sure all our people are able to have their voices heard in November. Using Thrutalk (you’ll need a computer plus phone) POWER is an interfaith organization committed to building communities of opportunity that work for all. POWER represents over 50 congregations throughout Southeastern and Central Pennsylvania. POWER is a proud member of the Faith in Action (Formerly PICO) and Partnership for Working Families Networks. Sunday, October 25: Karen’s “All I Want for My Birthday is Good Government” Phonebank You’re invited, Sunday 10/25, to Karen’s Birthday Phonebank with MUUSJA, the Minnesota UU Social Justice Alliance. Karen says, “All I want for my birthday is social justice and good government!” These aren’t the pushy or robotic calls you hate, just give friendliness a try. We’ll be calling lower-turnout, mainly BIPOC precincts in Greater Minnesota towns, where there’s a chance we can help send a more progressive Congressional delegation to Washington this year. We won’t tell people who to vote for, just how to vote if they need and want to know. Reaching people whom the Parties often ignore is social justice work. Asking everyone to be an #OctoberVoter might even save lives, by inviting folks to vote from home, or vote early at their elections office. So even if you think you’ll hate it, try making two or three calls to help celebrate Karen’s birthday? Thank you! Sunday, October 25: UU the Vote Worship  Host a UU the Vote worship service! Our UU the Vote service is a full1 hour service with the typical elements of a UU liturgy, as well as some unique components. The entire service, including all worship elements, will be available online for congregations to stream via the platform of their choice. Join UUA President Susan Frederick-Gray, the UU the Vote team, and a lineup of powerful, prophetic UU voices as we explore the intersections of faith, justice, and democracy in this collective virtual service. Sign up! Already have something planned October 25th? We’ll stream an evening service to the UUA Facebook and Youtube page at 6:00 pm ET/3:00 pm PT. We are asking congregations to support UU the Vote’s organizing work and to help us cover the costs of production (including remunerating worship leaders), much as you would pay a guest worship leader and/or musician. We recommend using the UU Ministers Association’s Scale of Professional Fees as a guide: $315 for small congregations, $350 for mid-sized congregations, $385 for large congregations. In addition, we ask that your congregation dedicate the Sunday offering to UU the Vote on the day you use the worship materials. To mark this threshold year of 2020 and all the possibility and peril that it represents, we are inviting the congregation to consider gifts that honor the number 2020 ($2,020, $202, $20.20, and so forth). Please know that every single gift makes a difference in the organizing work we are doing at UU the Vote. There are a variety of ways you can make your financial contributions.

1. Send a check payable to the UUA with “UU the Vote worship” on the memo line. You may combine a donation for use of the worship materials and any share-the-plate proceeds into a single check.

1. Contributing by credit card or PayPal at: https://uuthe.vote/give
2. Texting VOTELOVE to 91999.

On September 30th, Demos and Boston University Center for Antiracist Research will host The Other Swing Voter: Visioning Forward virtual convening from 8 am to noon PT. THE OTHER SWING VOTER is defined as voters who oscillate between voting and not voting (or voting third party). These voters are predominantly young, Black and Latinx, and they must be at the center of antiracist electoral organizing strategies, power-building, and policy analyses. During this afternoon of political education, Black and Latinx grassroots political organizers, as well as researchers and policymakers, will detail how to build cross-sectoral relationships that allow knowledge sharing, analysis, and the development of freedom-forward strategies for organizing and sustaining this voting bloc. More information and program.

REGISTER TO JOIN

Contact Faith Action Network Co-Director Paul at benz@fanwa.org if you want to try to meet with your member of Congress during August recess or your state legislators. Since these are all by phone or Zoom, see our Advocacy Toolkit for tips for online meetings.

  The Coalition of Anti-Racist Whites is MOBILIZING to DEFUND the SPD by 50% and REINVEST IN BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES. We have until July 17th to influence the city budget. As a people who have historically benefited from the institution of police, we have a responsibility to advocate for its abolition. We are MOBILIZING TOGETHER to DEFUND the SPD by 50%  and REINVEST IN BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES This work is not done!  If you have been following the news lately, you likely know that Mayor Durkan is on the offensive.  She has proposed a 20% budget cut, even though if we can maintain a veto-proof majority in city council, she has very little power to implement that proposal. SO, it is imperative that we keep pressure on our Council Members to hold to their commitment.  The pro-police folks are organizing as well. They're planning on using our tactics to try to flip Council Members votes.   Our action is to keep up the calls and emails! They matter- don't let up and give the pro-police folks the phone lines!  Only a quarter of our Phone Zap spots are filled for today - so sign up. And make the calls even if you don't sign up!  Below you will find all of the city council members contact information!  

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From Northwest Immigrant Rights Project

We are only 40 days out from the launch of Census 2020 on March 12, as postcards will begin to arrive inviting households to participate. Official Census Day is April 1. In the State of Washington, $16.7B in tax dollars for our communities are at stake, along with our democratic representation in Congress. We cannot afford to miss counting anyone in this census, especially traditionally undercounted communities of color, immigrants, tribes, rural areas, and young children. You can help in three ways right now: Save the date for a Faith-based Census training on February 19 in Tukwila. Let us know if you'd like to attend by responding to the survey below. Respond to our survey indicating ways you would like to help with the Census in your faith community and beyond. There ARE people in your faith community who may not be counted without our extra efforts. Share our part-time Census Coordinator job description - we are accepting applications through February 9. Please download the job description and share with your communities. We see this as a statewide effort and are excited to join a powerful coalition for the Census.

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