When I first started working at UUSC in February, I was intrigued and inspired by the fact that the organization was formed during World War II to help refugees flee the Nazi regime. Rescue & Flight: American Relief Workers Who Defied the Nazis, a new book by Susan Elisabeth Subak, tells the stories of the people who first started UUSC's human-rights work, introducing us to Robert and Elisabeth Dexter, Charles Joy, Martha and Waitstill Sharp, and Noel and Herta Field. In her words, the stories of these key individuals and their work bring history alive.

As Subak lays out in the introduction, it was a friendship between two young people that helped give birth to the important work of the Unitarian Service Committee (which later became UUSC). In 1937, at an English holiday camp, 19-year-old Harriet Dexter befriended 18-year-old Hans Subak from Vienna. In 1938, as Hitler completed the German annexation of Austria, Hans felt with increasing urgency the need to emigrate. He wrote to Harriet, who convinced her parents, Robert and Elisabeth Dexter, to write the affidavit that enabled Hans, the father of Rescue & Flight's author, to leave Austria for the United States.

And so it began. Those first simple actions would grow into much more. Rescue & Flight details how the Unitarian Service Committee helped hundreds of refugees navigate the channels to safety — both official and underground when necessary — from their outposts in Czechoslovakia, France, and Portugal. It shows the horrifying unwillingness of the U.S. and other governments to help refugees during WWII — the bureaucracy involved in emigrating was nightmarishly byzantine — and to provide any notable support to the activities of the Unitarian Service Committee and related organizations (even while at the same time the U.S. government was enlisting members of those same organizations for espionage).

In the pages of Rescue & Flight, I could see the precursors to UUSC's contemporary approach of responding to the needs of marginalized populations — from setting up a medical and dental clinic in Marseille to organizing kindergarten classes in French internment camps. Noel Field wrote at the time, "'At Rivesaltes, thousands of children are being educated and occupied, physically and mentally, and the spirits of thousands of parents (almost all of these fighters for a better world) are being raised at the sight of it.'"

Subak offers fascinating details — the origins of the flaming chalice symbol (designed by Austrian Jewish refugee artist Hans Deutsch for the Unitarian Service Committee, and which was subsequently adopted by the denomination as the symbol of Unitarian Universalism), narrow escapes as Germany expanded occupation, illegal border crossings, clandestine messengers. The activities of the Unitarian Service Committee in aiding refugees even drew the attention of a Lisbon correspondent of Hitler's own newspaper who wrote an article warning about Charles Joy's work.

What Rescue & Flight really drove home to me, as our current Interim President and CEO Bill Schulz notes in the book's afterword, is the vital importance of telling the personal stories of the work that we do. These stories connect us on a more visceral level to situations that can be hard to process and comprehend; they bring alive the truth and gravity of history and of the present. Stories inspire us to act. We must keep telling them and reading them and sharing them.

Please see update at bottom of post!

On Thursday, May 27, UUSC staff attended a Jobs with Justice rally in support of striking workers from the Shaw's warehouse in Methuen, Mass., who marched 60 miles over five days from Methuen to the State House.

Over 300 workers have been on strike since March, after reaching an impasse in contract negotiation when Shaw's proposed to drastically increase health-care costs for workers. Only a week after the strike was called, Shaw's hired replacement workers, and shortly after that, cut all health-care benefits for the workers, their children, even expecting mothers. Shaw's has exhibited aggressive behavior: repeatedly refusing to return to negotiations and proposing even harsher contract terms when they did resume collective bargaining.

With no recourse, the workers took their case to the streets. Enduring nearly record-breaking heat, they were motivated by the need to protect their families and maintained extraordinary positive energy.

UUSC staff, many of whom are members of UNITE HERE, joined the rally at Cambridge City Hall Thursday to support these workers as they seek to maintain their rights. Many other unions also joined the cause, including UFCW, SEIU, and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, a branch of the Teamsters. 

Constance Kane, our COO, spoke at the rally, noting that UUSC is guided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which clearly affirms that workers' rights are human rights. UDHR includes the right to equal pay for equal work, the right to just and favorable work conditions, the right to form and join trade unions, and the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of one's self and family.

UUSC upholds these rights not only through our program work — we embrace these values at the very heart of our organization. UUSC employees are unionized, not in spite of our identity as a human-rights organization, but because of it. Constance shared that it may not always be easy to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement, but it is essential to the success of an organization to respectfully and reasonably ensure the well-being of its workers. She expressed that Shaw's management needs to open its eyes to see that its continued success depends on doing right by its employees — "It is the least they deserve," she said.

Marjorie Decker, a Cambridge city councilor who addressed the crowd, stated that she and others not only stand up for Shaw's workers, they stand with them, and are honored by their courage, determination, and energy to stand up for their beliefs. Marjorie added that the marching workers' efforts to raise awareness will help benefit all workers, who in turn will make it harder for corporations to do tomorrow what Shaws has done to its warehouse workers since March. She closed by saying that fellow representatives in Cambridge as well as in the State House and in the governor's office have taken notice and are in support of Shaw's workers.

Several striking Shaw's employees spoke, including Anthony Zuba, who led attendees in a prayer expressing thanks for bringing them to this day. Tomas Cologne said it is an honor marching with union brothers and sisters — the group had grown from the original 300 workers from Methuen to having the national support of thousands of workers in several unions. Angel Hernandez reiterated the message in Spanish. Gary Cormier, from a Shaw's warehouse in New Hampshire, added that the injustice has been internationally recognized and voiced his personal message to Shaw's management:  "Can you hear us rumbling? We are coming!"

Others voiced their support, including Vicky Steinitz from United for Peace with Justice and John Templeton from SEIU #509, who spoke on behalf of two million members of SEIU. Brian, a representative from UCFW, got cheers from the crowd when he reported that hundreds of union members from New York and New Jersey were on buses en route to join the State House rally. 

Chants of "yes, we can" and "si, se puede" resounded in the street at the conclusion of the rally, followed by music and preparation for the final leg of the long journey. Representatives from Jobs with Justice reported that the Boston Globe had picked up the story and also shared a letter from an expatriate in London, a member of the Camden Unison union, that harked the Shaw's workers' efforts back to the Bread and Roses march of 1912. The letter added that their determination is an international example to inspire us all today.

It was an honor to join my colleagues from UUSC and stand shoulder to shoulder with so many others who share a common bond and mutual goal — that everyone is entitled to human rights, and workers' rights are human rights.

To learn more about UUSC's efforts for workers' rights, visit our Economic Justice pages.

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UPDATE: Ending the 17-week strike that started on March 7, workers at the Shaw's warehouse in Methuen ratified a new contract on Thursday, July 8, by a vote of 171-37. Jobs with Justice commented on the development, saying, "This is a tremendous victory in the face of the worst economic times in 70 years and a multibillion dollar corporation bent on breaking the union. Thanks to the courage and tenacity of the workers, support from their union, and deep and active support from other unions and community and faith allies, the workers will return to work with their heads held high." Further details will be featured on the Jobs with Justice website as they become available.

 

In the wake of the massive oil drilling disaster created by the explosion of BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig, many of you responded to our action alert pressuring BP to take full responsibility for the disaster's environmental and economic impact. We want you to know that your voices matter. BP took notice of your e-mails and calls, and contacted us directly to share their reply, which we've included below.

We need more than just BP's promise, though; we need accountability.

Urge your senators today to cosponsor the Big Oil Bailout Prevent Liability Act of 2010. If passed into law, this bill would increase corporate liability for oil spills from only $75 million — which amounts to less than one day's average earnings for a company like BP — to $10 billion.

On Saturday, May 1, the Boston metropolitan region was struck by a water crisis. A pipe had burst in Weston, Mass., dumping thousands of gallons of drinking water into the Charles River and leaving 2 million people without potable tap water.

The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority switched to reserves, which meant untreated reservoir water. Bottled water began to empty from store shelves. Residents waited in long lines of cars to receive free cases of water from the National Guard. Others spent the weekend boiling gallons of water on their stoves. College students lamented the lack of coffee during finals while office workers trekked across the bridge to Cambridge for their abundant water and coffee. (Cambridge's water system is fed by a different pipe, and they remained unaffected by the crisis.) Newscasters spent hours discussing the details of the situation and predicting when it would end. It was aquageddon!

Working 24 hours a day, utility employees fixed the pipe, and water quality was verified by Tuesday morning. Residents of the Boston area breathed a collective sigh of relief, and after purging their pipes of the tainted water, returned to their normal habits.

The crisis made me think a bit about water as a precious resource that we often take for granted. It was also interesting to see how the government responded to the crisis. Are the people who are able to drive to distribution points for free bottles of water really the ones who should receive it? I would say that government resources would be better spent on delivering water to elderly people and others unable to leave their homes, or to apartment buildings without stoves for boiling water.

Many people in the Boston metropolitan area region may not know that there are hundreds of thousands of people in the United States who do not have access to safe water on a regular basis, due to contamination and water shut-offs. This past fall, the governor of California chose to veto the California Human Right to Water Act, a piece of legislation that would have made it a state priority to ensure that all people have access to safe, affordable water for basic human needs. In California alone, approximately 150,000 people currently do not have access to clean water. In some areas, children must bring bottled water to school since there is no drinking water available in the building.

In most states, companies can shut off water for those who are unable to pay their water bills. In some states, this in turn can lead to children being taken from their homes by social services, since a home without water is considered unsafe for the child. Furthermore, race and class factor into these decisions; in Boston, according to UUSC partner Massachusetts Global Action, for every 1 percent increase of people of color in a ward, there is a 4 percent increase in water shut-offs.

For the majority of Americans, access to abundant water feels like a normal part of life. However, water is a human right which is violated in many parts of our country, to say nothing of the even more precarious situation internationally. While the health-care debate has recently taken center stage, prompting backlash from Libertarian-leaning Tea Partiers, there is little talk of the extent to which even the most basic services are lacking for many who live in our society. It is a disgrace that our government would not ensure access to safe water for society's most vulnerable members. UUSC, in partnership with our members and supporters, is working toward a future in which everyone has access to safe, sufficient, affordable water. Join us!

• Learn more about the human right to water.
• Investigate access to water in your community.
• Involve your congregation through a covenant group, the Taize water ritual, or religious education.
• Support UUSC's work and show your water-justice beliefs with our attractive and eco-friendly water bottles.
• Stay informed about shareholder advocacy addressing the human right to water and celebrate shareholder victories.

Questions about involving your congregation in water justice? Contact us!

For those of you who use RSS feeds to keep up with UUSC or to add news from uusc.org to your own website, I'm excited to let you know that I've created a new RSS feed. This new feed compiles multiple streams of data from our website into one "master" feed:

http://www.uusc.org/master/feed

This master feed notifies you whenever any newsworthy piece of content is added to uusc.org: articles, blog posts, press releases, job postings, experiential learning opportunities, multimedia resources like videos and podcasts, new publications, and more.

Until now, we had only separate feeds for each different type of content: the blog had its own feed, the job postings page had its own feed, etc. This meant you had to subscribe to multiple feeds if you wanted to keep on top of everything happening on uusc.org. Now, all you need to do is add this one master feed.

I hope you'll take a moment to update the feed address in your RSS reader or on your website to http://www.uusc.org/master/feed. I am confident you'll enjoy the wider scope of content the new feed offers!

Amy Smith — professor, engineer, and founder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's innovative D-Lab — was named by Time magazine on April 29 as one of the top 100 "World's Most Influential People" for 2010.

Highlighted in the category of "Thinkers," Smith, a UUSC partner, helps communities throughout the world develop low-cost and sustainable technologies that can be produced locally, reduce work burdens, and conserve the environment.

"Her machines are one of her gifts to the world; the students she trains will be an even more enduring one," said Sandy Pentland in the Time article.

UUSC's Rights in Humanitarian Crises Program has been partnering with Smith since early 2009 to facilitate and support her work in both northern Uganda and Haiti. Smith works with people in the Global South to transform their ideas into practical technology to meet a community's needs. "Two things are really important in this," Smith has said. "The first is to make technologies affordable, so that they can be accessible to people with very limited income and resources; the other is to take the mystique away and show people that technology is just stuff you can make."

In Uganda — where 1.8 million people are rebuilding their lives in a war-devastated landscape after more than 20 years living in displaced-persons camps — Smith and her D-Lab team have led trainings on developing appropriate technologies, bolstering community members' creative capacity for solving problems. From creating biomass charcoal from agricultural waste and practical tools like a thresher, ground-nut sheller, water cart, and mechanized tool sharpener with locally available materials, the trainings provide foundational skills for making people's work more efficient, environmentally friendly, and potentially income generating.

In March of this year, Smith headed a technical-assistance delegation from MIT's D-Lab on a trip to Haiti's Central Plateau. Accompanied by UUSC staff, she and D-Lab's Kofi Taha met with UUSC partner the Papaye Peasant Movement (MPP) to train a group of 70 people — survivors, community leaders, and MPP technical staff — in creating biomass charcoal.

D-Lab had already begun working in other parts of Haiti, where even before the January earthquake, Haitian families were spending 50 percent of their income on fuel — mostly charcoal from trees, in a country that has only 3 percent forest cover remaining. Smith also worked with people there to develop a prototype for portable water-harvesting systems, another essential technology in light of the severe strain on natural resources both before and after the earthquake.

Amy Smith is a pioneer doing extremely important work. If only all of the Time's top 100 were doing as much to further human rights around the world.

How have Muslims, Arabs, and South Asians in southern California been affected by the erosion of civil liberties since September 2001? An upcoming Building Bridges workshop in Pasadena, Calif., on June 5 — part of an ongoing UUSC series throughout the country — will explore that very question through a day dedicated to learning, discussion, and action. Fostering allies to create a more just and supportive society, the Building Bridges program engages UU, Arab, South-Asian and Muslim-American community members as well as interfaith leaders and human-rights activists to work together in developing an action plan for how to locally address civil-liberties challenges.

The full slate of featured presenters at the Pasadena workshop will include organizers of Not in Our Town (NIOT), a national movement that has done innovative work in developing best practices for community responses to hate crimes. With a newly launched interactive, action-oriented website, NIOT connects people and empowers communities with strategies and tools to counter hate with safety, inclusion, and acceptance. 

NIOT highlights the power of community in the face of hate, whether it's UUs mobilizing on the one-year anniversary of a fatal Tennessee gun shooting, the citizens of Fremont, Calif., celebrating Wear a Hijab Day to honor the memory of a local Muslim woman who was murdered, or Maine's Lewiston-Auburn community showing its solidarity after a local mosque was vandalized.

In addition to NIOT, lawyer and hip-hop artist Shahid Buttar of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee will be talking about model legislation on racial and religious profiling that local communities can implement if they feel the federal government is lagging behind. Shakeel Syed of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California will also present.

If you're in the Los Angeles/Pasadena area, this is a unique opportunity to join with your fellow community members to protect civil liberties — don't forget to register! And if you're unable to attend this event, keep an eye on UUSC's Building Bridges workshop schedule, which includes an exciting youth Building Bridges workshop in the Washington, D.C., area on June 12.

Water covers over 70 percent of Earth's surface. While that might sound like a lot, keep in mind that almost 1 billion people throughout the world don't have access to clean water. In light of the fact that more people now die from contaminated water than from all forms of violence, it is more important than ever to ensure the human right to water for everyone. Work being done in Washington, D.C., gives reason to be hopeful. On this 40th anniversary of Earth Day, UUSC is celebrating recent public-policy advocacy that is advancing the human right to water.

On April 13, the Paul Simon Water for the World Act (S.624) was unanimously approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The bill, which has significant bipartisan support, was introduced by Senate Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL). This legislation — with its companion bill HR.2030 in the House of Representatives — places clean water at the top of the United States' development priorities and aims to provide access to clean water and sanitation for 100 million people throughout the world by 2015.

"Access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation is a right that everyone in the world ought to enjoy but too few are able to realize," Durbin said. "Water access is no longer simply a global health and development issue; it is a long-term threat that is increasingly becoming a national security issue. I hope the Senate can pass this legislation before this problem reaches a devastating tipping point."

Access to clean water as a right is exciting language to hear from policymakers. While she didn't use exactly those words, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered a speech on World Water Day that recognized the crucial importance of water in our lives and the life of our planet: "Water — it kind of goes without saying — certainly deserves the attention it's receiving today. Because in many ways, it does define our blue planet. It's critical to almost every aspect of human endeavor, from agriculture, to industry, to energy. Like the air we breathe, it is vital to the health of individuals and communities. And both literally and figuratively, water represents the wellspring of life on earth." UUSC Manager of Public Policy Shelley Moskowitz attended the World Water Day event, which was organized by colleagues from Water Advocates and held at the National Geographic Headquarters in Washington, D.C. 

To further engage policy makers to support the human right to water, UUSC is active in the Religious Working Group on Water. The group brings together many faiths to work on foreign aid policy reform, extractive industries, and the human right to water. The Religious Working Group on Water formed in 2005, led by Martin Shupack, the director of advocacy for the Church World Service. The group's mission "calls on U.S. policy makers and inter-governmental institutions to work to ensure universal, sustainable access to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic use."

UUSC recently signed on to a letter by faith-based and humanitarian groups to urge Secretary Clinton to support a visit from the U.N. Human Rights Council's Independent Expert on the Human Right to Water and Sanitation, which may take place sometime this year.

Public awareness about the vital importance of clean water, and the ability of all people to access this precious resource, is growing. National Geographic recently devoted an entire issue to water. In February, NPR's Diane Rehm Show featured a panel discussion on global water security. Growing awareness and action are steps in the right direction. There is a lot to be hopeful about — and a lot of work to do.

Marc Franco, a participant on UUSC's recent JustJourney to Ecuador, is the headman — married to Chief Caleen Sisk-Franco — of the Winnemem Wintu people, a small Native American community in northern California. Reverend Lindi Ramsden at the UU Legislative Ministry of California introduced Marc to UUSC. Recently, on the eve of World Water Day, as highlighted in a New York Times article, the Winnemem Wintu embarked on a spiritual vision quest to New Zealand in their efforts to save the Chinook salmon in their ancestral waters of northern California.

Currently, the salmon populations in California are dwindling, and the Winnemem Wintu are asking forgiveness from the species with a special ceremonial dance that will offer apologies for not working harder to stop the construction of the Shasta Dam on the McCloud River in the early 1940s. "We're going to atone for allowing them to build that dam," said Franco to the Times. "We should have fought harder." The species is thriving in New Zealand after eggs bred from the McCloud population were shipped there by the U.S. government in hopes of establishing new fisheries.

The Winnemem Wintu have been allies in UUSC's work on the Human Right to Water Act in California, which passed the California Assembly and Senate only to be vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger last October. With the support of UUSC partner the Environmental Justice Coalition on Water, members of the tribe traveled to Sacramento to voice their support for the bill during debate.

The Winnemem Wintu are combining their traditional spiritual ceremonies with modern strategies for ensuring environmental protections, whether it's performing specific rituals and dances or lobbying members of the California government. As Chief Caleen Sisk-Franco says, "We have to do more than pray . . . We have to follow through."

Read more about the Winnemem Wintu and the New Zealand salmon on the Winnemem Wintu blog, maintained by Marc Franco.