Rights Now: Winter/Spring 2012

8/3/2019 Rights Now: Winter/Spring 2012

1/24

he press release declared, Clean

drinking water is a basic humanright. You might think it was issued byUUSC or its Sae Water Alliance partners

but not in this case. On October

7, 2011, Caliornia Governor Jerry

Brown made this bold statement as he

signed into law a package o drinking-water bills that will help ensure that

every Caliornian has access to clean

and sae sources o water. He urtherasserted, Protecting the water we drinkis an absolutely crucial duty o state

government. UUSC could not have said

it any better.

Te bills signed into law will allow

marginalized communities to accessstate unds to clean up drinking

Water Justice Makes a Splash in CaliforniaLegislative victory for the human right to waterBy Shelley Moskowitz

Rights NowThe newsletter of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee

Winter/Spring 2012

uusc.org

Continued on page 3


2/24

Winter/Spring 2012

Editor

Jessica L. Atcheson

Design and Production

Reid Haithcock

UUSC employees are represented

by Human Rights Workers Local

2661, UNITE HERE!

We Welcome Letters

Rights Nowis grateful to readers

for their interest and support.

We invite you to share your

questions and comments by

submitting a letter to the editor:

[email protected]

Rights NowEditor, UUSC

689 Massachusetts Avenue

Cambridge, MA 02139

UUSC is supported by individual

members, Unitarian Universalist

congregations, and foundations

that share our commitment to

building a more just world.

2012 All Rights Reserved

Get Rights NowonlineWould you prefer to receive

Rights Nowby e-mail instead of

in your mailbox? Sign up today

by sending an e-mail to uusc@

uusc.org and begin receiving

Rights Nowby e-mail.

[email protected]/fax

The Unitarian Universalist

Service Committee advances

human rights and social justice

around the world, partneringwith those who confront unjust

power structures and mobilizing

to challenge oppressive policies.

Rights NowCoverWater Justice Makesa Splash in CaliorniaLegislative victory or the

human right to water

Page 6Building Sustainability,Rebuilding LivesNew oundations in Haitis countryside

Page 9UUSC on the Ground inJapan and East Arica

Page 10The College o Social JusticeBeginning the world anew

Page 12A Legacy o LearningThe Alba and Doyle Bortner Library

Page 14In Their Own Words: I Know My RightsInterview with partner in Egypt

Page 18They Are Right, They Are StrongThe Restaurant Opportunities Center United

Page 21Keepers o the Flame

Rights Now

In this edition of


3/24

Here are two characteristics I associate withUUSC: prescience and persistence.Prescience is oresight, the ability to

anticipate developments beore they occur.

As I have ollowed the Arab Spring and the

Occupy Wall Street movement, I have beenreminded o how requently UUSC is ahead o

the curve when it comes to social change.

Long beore the revolutions in the Middle

East, UUSC was working with its partners inunisia, Egypt, and elsewhere to encourage

support or democracy and participation in

the political process, especially by women and young people. We would not

accept the notion propagated by some American experts that democracy was

incompatible with Islam.Similarly, long beore the Occupy Wall Street phenomenon spilled into

the streets, UUSC knew that economic justice was a cause that could ignite

passion among the 99 percent. We have been working or years with poultry

and restaurant workers to secure the most basic economic rights, and now

thousands more have joined the struggle.

Tats prescience.And we all know what persistence is. Received opinion is that nobody can do

anything to help Haiti or Somalia. UUSC doesnt believe it. Were still in Haiti,

and were committed to East Arica. Just as we didnt give up when GovernorSchwarzenegger vetoed bills to establish the human right to water in Caliornia,

despite all our work with our partners there. Now Governor Brown has signed

many o those bills.

Prescience, persistence they make me proud. Tanks or all you do to

make it possible.

Bill Schulz

1

A message from UUSCs president


4/24

Progress on the human right to water in Caliornia isnt happening in isolation.

Ater an ofcial 2011 mission to the United States, Catarina de Albuquerque, the

U.N. special rapporteur on the human right to sae drinking water and sanitation,

reported great progress but raised serious concerns about discrimination andaccess to sae drinking water. With UUSC assistance, de Albuquerque held

hearings in Caliornia, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C.; spoke

with local communities and government ofcials; and testifed beore the

congressional Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. The U.S. administration

responded to her report: We look orward to continuing to work with the

special rapporteur to take concrete action to reduce the number o people

without sustainable access to sae drinking water and basic sanitation. Read the

ull report and response at uusc.org/water_report.

U.S. Administration Commits to Action on theHuman Right to Water

2


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water and put in place drinking-

water and sewerage systems. Localauthorities will now be required to

serve communities that have been

discriminated against and neglected.

Water agencies will now give notice owater-quality violations in languagesthat are appropriate to consumers.

Each bill chips away at unmet needs

in the state and brings 11.5 million

Caliornians closer to having sae water

rom the tap.Governor Browns signature on

these bills, which marked the endo a dramatic legislative session,

was made possible by an energetic

coalition advocating or the humanright to water. UUSC cosponsored

the bill package with the Sae Water

Alliance, which includes the Caliornia

Rural Legal Assistance Foundation,

the Community Water Center, theEnvironmental Justice Coalition or

Water, the Unitarian Universalist

Legislative Ministry (UULMCA),

the Southern Caliornia Watershed

Alliance, the Winnemem Wintu tribe,Food and Water Watch, the Urban

Semillas, the Catholic Charities

Diocese o Stockton, Clean WaterAction, and the Center or Public

Health Advocacy.UUSC worked directly with policy

makers, helped energize grassroots

support, and provided nancial

assistance to aected communities to

share their powerul stories in person

with policy makers. Tese combinedeorts led to bipartisan support or

each o the bills enacted into law. Rev.

Lindi Ramsden, UULMCAs executive

director, reported, UUSC has beenan important partner in this work,

and we are very grateul or their help.

With national expertise and local

CaliforniaHuman-Right-to-Water

Bills Signed into Law

S.B. 244: Requires localmunicipalities to plan or

providing services to islandor ringe communities.

A.B. 983: Promotes

consolidation o smallcommunity water systemsto provide sustainable,

aordable solutions.

A.B. 938: Requires thatpublic health notifcations

about water be madeavailable in the languagesthe community speaks.

A.B. 1221: Ensures access tounding or disadvantaged

communities to clean upcontamination.

3


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knowledge, UUSC and UULMCA are a

team that is moving justice orward.Tere is still more work to be done.

Te agship human-right-to-water

bill in the package, A.B. 685, is still

pending in the state senate. I passedin the next legislation session, thebill would set a historic precedent by

establishing in law the right o every

person in Caliornia to have access

to clean, aordable water or daily

human needs. We are heartened bythe governors strongly worded signing

statement. Working together, we hopeto bring A.B. 685 to his desk in 2012,

said Ramsden.

Hundreds o UUSC members andsupporters have championed UUSCs

partners and Unitarian Universalists

working or the human right to water

in Caliornia. In September, more

than 70 congregations across the

United States recognized the humanright to water in Water Communion

or water ceremonies, and over 550

UUSC members and supporters rom

37 states sent letters to UULMCAthanking them or their strong witnessor the human right to water. ogether

with you and other activists, UUSC will

continue the work to ensure that all

people have access to sae, sufcient,

aordable water or daily humanneeds.

Learn more about UUSCs work on thehuman right to water and get involved atuusc.org/righttowater.

Shelley Moskowitz is UUSCs manager o

public policy and mobilization.

4


7/24

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Choose compassionate consumption atsecure.uusc.org/store today!5


8/24

his is the eco-village, said

Michelle-Ange Augustin ona hot day in May last year, just eet

away rom the growing oundationso two houses. Earlier that day,

she demonstrated how rocks and

cement must be properly placed in

the network o trenches to ensure

durability and stability. Known

as Mimine, she is a construction

engineer or the Papaye Peasant

Movement (MPP), and shes anintegral part o an innovative eco-

village project to assist Haitianamilies displaced rom Port-au-Prince

ater the 2010 earthquake. With the

goal o settling 10 amilies by the end

o 2011 successully completed, those

initial hand-dug trenches have become

10 new homes.

Building Sustainability, Rebuilding LivesNew foundations in Haitis countrysideBy Jessica L. Atcheson

Join a Service-Learning Trip to Haiti withthe College of Social Justice

Experience the eco-village frsthand! This is your chance to join members othe Papaye Peasant Movement in building new homes, constructing oodgardens rom old tires, and contributing to other sustainability projects.

Upcoming 2012 tripsMarch 1017

April 28May 5

I want to deeply thank you, Chavannes [MPP ounder] and MPP, orteaching us about solidarity. This is really what solidarity looks like.

Dennis Reynolds, May 2010 JustWorks trip participant6


9/24

Ater teaming up with MPP in the

wake o the earthquake to provideemergency relie to people who edPort-au-Prince or the Central Plateau,

UUSC continued the partnership

throughout 2011 and into this year

to support MPPs construction o

a sustainable eco-village to provideamilies with homes, ood, and

livelihoods. Ater breaking ground inspring 2011, the project met its initial

objectives and is continuing to grow.

Displaced amilies are getting aresh start on ertile land lush with

mango, cashew, and banana trees

donated by the Colidaire cooperative,

one o the 4,500 collective groups

throughout Haiti that make up MPP.Raised in Papaye as part o MPP,

Augustin used skills she learned in ve

months o training in Port-au-Prince

to organize construction o the new

village. Starting in May 2010, UUSCbegan leading a series o service-

learning trips to the eco-village or

participants to learn about MPP and

lend their hands to the building process

digging trenches, hauling rocks,pouring cement, and more.

Te eco-village is part o work to

sustainably decentralize Haiti, says

Chavannes Jean-Baptiste, MPPs

ounder. We would like to use this as

a model to create other communities.Tis goal is already advancing as

other groups step up to und ourmore eco-villages. Jean-Baptiste tells

visitors about the villages eco-riendly

eatures: All houses are built by handusing earth bricks made on site rom

local materials. In addition to personal

vegetable gardens that use recycled tire

planters, each amily will have a plot o

land or organic arming so they caneed themselves and sell their harvests

or income at the market. In the village

community room, MPP members will

oer training in sustainable arming

techniques. A special area or creatingbiomass charcoal rom agricultural

waste is also in the plans, along with a

solar-powered well. 7

Michelle-Ange (Mimine) Augustin working on a home site.


10/24

Beyond the MountainNew curriculum on Haiti and human rights

Cant make it to Haiti yoursel? In partnership with the UUA and the UUCongregation at Shelter Rock, UUSC brings you Beyond the Mountain,a fve-workshop curriculum that introduces congregants to the history,culture, and people o Haiti as well UUSCs ongoing response to thedevastating January 2010 earthquake. Explore the workshops today atuusc.org/beyondthemountain. And dont miss the video about MPPat uusc.org/mppvideo.

One o the rst amilies to settle

in the eco-village was Dunel Guerrier,his wie, and his our children. Ater

their house in the capital city collapsed

during the earthquake severely

injuring Guerrier they ed toHinche, a town about 70 miles awaythat borders Papaye. Tere, they

connected with MPP and met Jean-

Baptiste. Tousands o people that

ed Port-au-Prince ell o the radar

o mainstream aid organizations, butUUSC worked with MPP to ensure that

critical aid reached amilies likethe Guerriers.

With the initial creation o the eco-

village complete, the Guerriers are nowrebuilding their lives and building a

healthier Haiti at the same time. MPP

is empowering them, and many others

like them, to regain ood security,advocate or womens rights, promotealternative energies, and build people-

centered rural communities. And or

her part, Augustin is ensuring that they

literally have the strong oundations to

do that.

Jessica L. Atcheson is UUSCswriter and editor.

8

The Guerriers: Dunel in tan shirt on the right, his wie and our children on the let.


11/24

Rise ogether, a UUSC partner inJapan, is an exciting new womensmovement working to improve howthe Japanese government treatswomen in disaster response. Tanksto unds donated to the UUA-UUSCJapan Relie Fund, UUSC is able tosupport this coalition in documentingwomens relie experiences ater theMarch 11 earthquake and asking ortheir suggestions on how to improvegovernment disaster policy andpractice. Rise ogether brings womensvoices and policy recommendationsto government ofcials in eorts toadequately represent women in Japansdisaster policy.

Young Filipina women are at theoreront o another UUSC-supportedproject in Japan. Many non-Japanese-speaking immigrants in earthquakeareas lack access to vital inormationand services. Te FACIL Multi-Language Center, a UUSC partner, hasorganized eight teams o immigrantsand Japanese speakers to design and

produce multilingual community radioprograms that reach out to immigrantsisolated by language and connect themto networks o support.

Hal a world away, UUSC isresponding to the catastrophicdrought and amine in Somalia andEast Arica. In the ocus on Somalireugees, internally displaced Kenyanpastoralists devastated by the droughtare being overlooked by internationalaid as they struggle or ood and wateron the outskirts o reugee settlements.UUSC partner the Regional RuralDevelopment Organization (RRDO)provides small wells or water accessand helps displaced people beginarid arming to eed themselves. TeAssociation or Sustainable PastoralistEducation and ransormation(ASPEC), another UUSC partner, is

opening ve child-development centersto provide ood and basic educationto children now in camps or the

displaced.

Visit uusc.org/japan anduusc.org/east_arica_crisis or the latest onUUSCs work in these areas.

Martha Tompson is manager o UUSCsRights in Humanitarian Crises Program.

UUSC on the Ground in Japan and East AfricaBy Martha Tompson

9


12/24

Your reluctance to go among strangerscannot too soon be overcome; and the wayto overcome it is not to remain at home,but to go among them and resolve todeserve and obtain the love and esteem othose who have never beore known you.With them you have a air opportunity tobegin the world anew.

Margaret Fuller

With these words, 19th-centuryUnitarian eminist and activist

Margaret Fuller sounded a timeless

call to live out our deepest UnitarianUniversalist values by transcending the

boundaries that separate us physically,

culturally and spiritually. She knew

that the only way to begin the world

anew is to see the world throughsomeone elses eyes directly, deeply,

and thoughtully. She understood

that transorming the world begins

with transorming ourselves. UUSC,

in collaboration with the UnitarianUniversalist Association (UUA), is

answering Fullers call in the 21st

century through the work o the

College o Social Justice.

A new program area specicallydesigned to build the capacity o

Unitarian Universalists to catalyze

justice, the College o Social Justice

(CSJ) will encourage personaltransormation through service-

learning experiences, justice-educationprograms, and new ways o engaging

congregations more directly in UU

justice work. In the next months, youllbe hearing more about CSJ and exciting

joint programs with the UUA in these

areas but several projects are already

in development.

Building on the historical successo the JustWorks service-learning

program, we will be widening trip

oerings over the next year. New

opportunities will include a new

worker-justice trip, an updated versiono the storied Civil Rights Journey,

and an expert-volunteer program in

The College of Social JusticeBeginning the world anewBy Brock Leach

10


13/24

Haiti designed to match our partners

specic needs with UU experts. Several

new service-learning programs will alsobe oered in conjunction with partner

organizations, such as education and

economic-development projects in

Latin America.

When it comes to justice education,

well be entering new territory thissummer with the launch o our rst

National Youth Justice Summit. Te

event will bring together high-school

youth who demonstrate a commitmentto social justice to participate in

a unique and intensive hands-on

learning and leadership experience.

Tis year, we will also conduct our rsttwo summer internships or college-age

young adults, who will work overseas

directly with UUSC partners in human-

rights work.

Finally, well be testing newprograms to engage UU congregations

more directly and tangibly in our work

through new partnership programs. A

Heart-to-Heart Partnership Program,

in the initial stages o development,will match sponsoring congregations

with specic projects and programs.

We have much to learn rom each

other as we set out to build a new

justice-education institution. We

cant predict exactly what shape it willtake, but we can be assured that i we

engage each other completely in

Fullers words, earning the love and

esteem o strangers we have a airopportunity to begin the world anew.

And a new world, one built on justice

and ree rom oppression, is exactly

what we have in mind.

See page 6 or more inormation regardingupcoming JustWorks service-learning trips.

Brock Leach is UUSCs vice president ormission, strategy, and innovation as well asthe director o the College o Social Justice.

11


14/24

A Legacy of LearningThe Alba and Doyle Bortner LibraryBy Cassandra Ryan

As Unitarians we came to know o and learnmore about the Unitarian Universalist ServiceCommittee. . . . Not only did we come to

recognize the clear commitment o UUSC tothe problems o hunger, health, and humanrights, but we also learned more and moreo its competencies in helping solve them notonly through its individual eorts but, moreespecially, through its cooperative actions

actions involving like-minded organizationsand agencies.

Doyle Bortner

Learn about the many ways to give to UUSC, rom tribute gits tocharitable git annuities, by contacting Cassandra Ryan [email protected] or 617-301-4340.

12


15/24

UUSCs move to new ofces inCambridge, Mass., a ew yearsago provided larger and more efcient

space or our growing sta as well

as better meeting acilities. It also

oered the chance to oster continuedlearning in service o our mission an opportunity made possible by

donor Doyle Bortner through a new

and improved library.

Te new library continues a legacy

o learning that started in 1999 witha generous git rom the estate o

Louis Bowen. Our rst collection,established at UUSCs old ofces and

named in honor o longtime supporter

Eleanor Clark French, included booksand scholarly journals that helped

urther our research needs. Bortner

wanted to help UUSC bring this

important asset into a new era.

A lielong educator and longtimeUUSC member, Bortner served as

the dean o the School o Education

at City College o New York or many

years and endowed the Doyle and Alba

Bortner Distinguished Speaker Seriesin Urban Education there. He and his

wie, Alba, shared a passion or social

justice that ueled the establishmento a similar project with UUSC.

During her lie my wie shared withme a deep and growing concern or

the basic worldwide problems, the H

problems we sometimes called them,

o hunger, health, and human rights.

In 2009, Bortner helped ll the need

or a new library by making a specialgit to UUSC in tribute to his beloved

wie, who passed away in 2006.

In recognition o Bortners

generous support, weve named thespace the Alba and Doyle Bortner

Library. He supplied UUSC with

critical resources to reestablish thelibrary space as well as provide printed

materials. Bortner also recognized the

growing role o technology and new

media in modern libraries with specialprovisions or electronic materials.By supporting the ree and

responsible search or truth and

meaning, the Alba and Doyle Bortner

Library promotes UU values and

UUSCs mission o advancing humanrights. In a space adorned by works

o art rom around the globe, thecollection includes more than 1,000

printed publications on subjects rom

history and human rights to religionand technology.

According to Maxine Neil, director

o UUSCs Institutional Advancement

Department, Doyle Bortners

generosity creates a vital space ormeetings, research, and creative

thinking. UUSC looks orward to

preserving this important collection

and making it accessible to our

constituents or decades to come.Te Alba and Doyle Bortner Library

will be a distinguished, enduring part

o UUSC, stimulating the search orknowledge and acilitating serious

scholarship.

Cassandra Ryan is UUSCs senior advisoror major gits and capital campaignpreparation.

13


16/24

For the past several years, UUSC haspartnered with the American IslamicCongress (AIC) through their HandsAcross the Mideast Support Allianceinitiative to support youth working to

secure civil liberties in the Middle East.Beore the 2011 revolution, projectsincluded translating into Arabic a comicbook about nonviolent action as well astraining online activists in real-worldorganizing. We spoke with Dalia Ziada,director o AICs Cairo ofce, about theirrecent Fahem Haqi voter-education

campaign, which UUSC activelysupported.

Can you explain what the Fahem

Haqi campaign is?

Fahem Haqi, which means I know

my rights, is a public-awareness

campaign to educate Egyptians abouttheir political and civil rights what

the constitution means, how to vote,whom they can vote or, what various

terms like liberalism and Islamic

state mean. We are explaining to

them all the basics that they need

to practice their rights in a healthy

atmosphere.We have a main group o 6,000

people, all over each Egypt, that we

have ongoing direct contact with. But

we have contacted over 20,000 peopleso ar by meeting them in the

street, knocking on doors. And many

individuals in that 20,000 represent

whole amilies, whole households

weve met with, so the real number is

even more.

Why is this campaign so important?

It educates people. In Egypt, or the

rst time in our lives not only

in my generation or the one beoremine but in the rst time in the

7,000-year history o Egypt we are

practicing real democracy, without

election raud, without expectations

o manipulation. Tis campaign givespeople the inormation they need to

make inormed choices.

What was the response to

the campaign?

All the young people we trained were

very, very excited about it, becausethey want to have a role in the uture

o their country. Especially aterthe revolution and the Arab Spring,

they need to eel like it didnt stop

there. People in the community are

hungry or knowledge. Tey insist on

participating in the elections; they

want to vote and to know how to votethe right way. Beore the revolution,

people really did not care much about

politics; all they cared about was how

to nd ood or their children, how tomake their amilies lie more secure.

Were helping people see that those

things are intertwined.

In Their Own Words: I Know My RightsAn interview with Dalia Ziada of theAmerican Islamic Congress

Conducted by Jessica L. Atcheson and Anna Bartlett

14


17/24

Dig Deeper into Dalias Work

Hear more directly rom Dalia Ziada in a video at uusc.org/daliavideo.

Read The Montgomery Story the 1958 comic book about Martin LutherKing Jr. and nonviolence that UUSC and the Hands Across the MideastSupport Alliance translated and distributed across the Middle East atuusc.org/montgomerycomic.

15


18/24

What are the next steps

after the election?

We need to make sure that corruption

will not happen again due to

centralized decision making. Wewant decision making to be moredemocratic and citizens to be more

involved. We want the parliamentary

political leaders to reect the

peoples vision to the government, to

communicate eectively between thepeople and the government. Generally,

we need to make sure that we have astrong institution and constitution;

issue new laws that support peoples

reedoms and limit governmentscontrol over peoples lives; and

encourage more participation by

women and maybe that should be

one o the main goals.

What are the skills and activities

that young people really need

support in right now to engage in

these processes?

Debating skills are a must. Weve

been educating people on this, but I

think we need more o it. We need to

encourage people to share and argue

or their point o view and to delivertheir demands eectively. And we

still need to teach more people about

nonviolent action and strategies.

Tese tactics can be applied even whenyoure under a democracy you stillneed to be able to call or

your rights.

I think we also need to train people

on social entrepreneurship to teach

them how to create their own projects,work in a team, and turn their ideas

into something concrete to improvesociety. I people especially young

people control their own projects

and have something to care about,then they will ght strongly to keep

that thing sae.

Learn more about UUSCs work to

promote and deend civil liberties in theMiddle East and around the world at

uusc.org/civilliberties.

Jessica L. Atcheson is UUSCs writer andeditor. Anna Bartlett is an associate inUUSCs Civil Liberties Program.

16


19/24

Avis Adee

Colin Anderson and

Melody AndersonElizabeth Arnold

Leoni Ayer

John and Joan BarnardEleanor Bell

John and Carolyn Boitnott

Kay Bowen

Richard and Claire BradleyBruce and Junelle Brandt

W. Murray andKathleen Bullis

Kathleen and Arthur ButlerWilliam and F. Lynn Catton

Fern Cleghorn

Jacqueline ColbyEdward Corwin

John Crowley

Arline and Waldo DavisPhilip Davis and

Diana Dixon-Davis

Eileen and Robert DegenLowell and Patricia Edwards

Fred and Evelyn Erb

Carol and Robert EvansWendy Fish

Nancy Ford and

Richard GressleyElizabeth Fuller

Constance and Joseph Gates

Richard and Joyce GilbertMargaret and suyoshi Goka

Philip and Barbara Goodman

Dan and Mary Jane GreeneLouise and William Hall

William and Jean Hellmuth

Harriett Herb

Everett and Margie HiestandJohn Hockman

Richard Horvitz

John and Elizabeth HowellEleanor Hunting

Walter Jacobs

Barry and Ellen Johnson-Fay

Molly and William JonesDavid and Shirley Kates

Joan and Francis KeenanWesla Kerr

John and Carolyn KneislyBrian and Mildred Larson

Herbert and Virginia Lehman

Jon LeviMerle Lewis

John and Louise Lockhart

Eunice LovejoyVirginia and Edwin Lutton

Robert and Alice Mabbs

George and Jean MandlerCurtis and Kathleen Marble

John and Virginia McCall

Donald and Julie McKinneyLoyd Means

Dorothy Muise

Gerald and Carole NewallJames and Monica OBrien

John Oldenkamp

Judith and Richard OttmanPhilip and Jeanette Pendleton

Richard Pokorny and

Ellen WehrleAnthony and Rachelle Psaris

David Ralph

Ruth Reeves

Robert andM. Janneke Resnick

Norman Richardson

Jane RobensJoann Roomes

Earl Ross

Jean and Catherine Roxburgh

David and Jean SchaalRobert and Elizabeth Scott

John and Elinor SeveringhausSylvia and Eugene Short

Paul Siegler and Ruth BoomanJoan and Paul Small

Tornton and Shirley Smith

Rachel SnyderRobert and K. Ann Stebbins

Robert and Elizabeth Stevens

George and Elsa StrubleWilliam and Doris Tompson

Ken inklepaugh and

Marilyn HillChankey ouart and

Mary Lou ouart

Rosellen runnellAnne and Edward witchell

Mary Ellen Waugh

Rhoda WhitneyJane Williams

Linda Sue Witte

Kay Xanthakos andBruce Southworth

Investing in Human Rightsfor the Long Haul

Te people below have consistently put their values intoaction by being members o UUSC or 25 years or more.

UUSC extends its deepest gratitude.

17


20/24

he 10-year anniversary oSeptember 11, 2001, wasespecially personal or restaurant

workers in New York City. On that

tragic day a decade ago, 73 low-wage

immigrant workers died at Windows

on the World, the restaurant at the

top o the World rade Centers northtower. Another 300 Windows workers

lost their jobs and livelihoods in the

atermath. Te surviving Windows

workers ormed the RestaurantOpportunities Center o New York

(ROC-NY) as a vital way to support

their ellow restaurant workers.

Fekkak Mamdouh, a ormerWindows worker, reected, It was

really important or the Windows

survivors to build something powerul

and positive out o the September

11th tragedy. Starting ROC to

improve conditions or all restaurantworkers meant we were honoring

our lost coworkers in the best way.

o help restaurant workers address

rights violations, ROC-NY developed

a multipronged strategy o worker

organizing, litigation, research,policy work, and partnerships with

responsible restaurant owners.

And its made a dierence: since its

ounding, ROC-NYs members havewon over $5 million in discrimination,

sexual harassment, and unpaid wage

claims; educated employers about

existing labor laws; and even compelledsome employers to sign agreements

ensuring that workers receive basic

benets like paid sick days, mandated

breaks, and vacation days.

They Are Power, They Are StrongThe Restaurant Opportunities Center UnitedBy Ariel Jacobson

18


21/24

In 2008, Mamdouh and his ROC-

NY colleague Saru Jayaraman went

national, launching the Restaurant

Opportunities Center (ROC) United,

which empowers restaurant workersto improve working conditions

throughout the United States. A UUSC

partner since 2010, ROC Uniteds local

afliates now involve more than 8,000

restaurant workers in eight major

cities. In each region, ROC is workingwith restaurant-worker leaders and

allies to study restaurant workers

needs as well as provide advanced

training and job placement. ROCeven operates two o its own worker-

owned cooperative restaurants in New

York and Detroit. As they grow, ROC

United embraces its signature chant:

We are power. We are strong. Who

are we? ROC United!

Yet, ROC United is acing

enormous challenges. In a powerul

and growing restaurant industry withless than one percent o restaurant

workers unionized, 80 percent o

restaurant workers earn low wages

with no benets, and 96 percent

have no paid sick days. At the same

time, the restaurant industry has thepotential to hold great opportunity,

since 20 percent o restaurant jobs

provide living wages, and it continues

to expand even as others sectorsexperience massive layos.

Because o gender inequities

that exist in the industry, UUSC is

supporting ROC-United in helping 19


22/24

local afliates establish multiracial

womens committees to empowerwomen restaurant workers. Nikki

Lewis, a coordinator o ROC-DC,

told UUSC, ROC gave me a space

to grow as a leader and explicitlyaddress the sexual harassment I acedin the restaurant industry. Now, as

[a member o the] sta, I want to

create space or other women workers

and . . . show them they can take on

leadership roles in ROC and the labormovement.

In most cities, women restaurantworkers are largely immigrants,

workers o color, and single heads-

o-households who ace sexualharassment, discrimination, and

intimidation due to their immigration

status. Trough this new UUSC-

supported program, ROC United will

bring together women restaurantworkers rom the United States

and countries around the world to

develop a campaign against gender

discrimination in the restaurant

industry.

In its next phase, ROC United will

build consumer alliances to promoteethical eating and responsible

employment in the restaurant world.

ROC is launching a 2012 national

diners guide to provide inormationon the labor practices o the 150 mostpopular U.S. restaurants. As part o its

Choose Compassionate Consumption

initiative, UUSC will work with ROC

United to promote this practical tool

to help consumers act on their values.Compassionate consumers are yet

another powerul orce propellingROC Uniteds mission orward to

shape the uture o the restaurant

industry.

Ariel Jacobson is a senior associate in

UUSCs Economic Justice Program.

As consumers, we can shop with

our values in mind! Through UUSCs

new consumer-advocacy initiative Choose Compassionate Consumption

(CCC) you can help orm a powerul

consumer block promoting workersrights, air trade, and a living

wage. Together, we can act on ourcommitment to a air economy by

spending wisely in alignment withour values and supporting UUSCs

partners. Visit uusc.org/ccc to sign the

CCC pledge and learn more!

20


23/24

Would you like to make real change? Heres one way: become a member oUUSCs Keepers o the Flame.

Many o us wish we had the resources to make real change and wonder how, as alone individual, we can support someone who needs access to clean water or thereedom to exercise basic human rights.

When you become a Keeper o the Flame, a little can go a long way. Keepers othe Flame are riends o UUSC who provide a small monthly git that helps usrespond to pressing human-rights issues.

A monthly git o $30 less than a $1 per day will provide UUSC with areliable source o income that we can count on each month to carry our workorward.

I you would like to join this loyal group o riends supporting UUSC, please

complete the registration orm below and return it in the envelope provided, orvisit us online at uusc.org/keepersothefame.

Make ghting or human rights and social justice your daily practice.

Keepersofthe

Yes, I would like to become a Keepers o the Flame memberwith a monthly git o $_________.

Please charge my credit card.

Monthly Pledge Form

Credit-card number:

Exp. date:

Name on card:

Daytime phone:

Signature

Date

I authorize my bank to transer the above amount rom my checkingaccount each month. I understand that a record o each git will beincluded on my monthly statement. Enclosed is a check or my frstmonthly contribution as a UUSC Keeper o the Flame.

21

flame


24/24

connectwith

UUSCOn Facebookfacebook.com/uusc4all

youtube.com/uusc4alltwitter.com/uusc

uusc.tumblr.com

On Twitter

On Tumblr

On YouTube

Nonproft Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDProvidence, RIPermit No. 980

Rights NowUnitarian Universalist Service Committee689 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02139-3302

Follow UUSC President andCEO Bill Schulz on Twitter at

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