LET JUSTICE ROLL

Living Wage Sundays Continue in 2006

Download this flyer for Living Wage Resources!

Hundreds of congregations across the country, including dozens of UU Congregations, held Martin Luther King, Jr. Weekend, Events.

Senator Edward Kennedy keynoted the event held at United First Parish Church (Unitarian) in Quincy MA.

The Unitarian Universalist Association and the UU Service Committee have joined with over 50 faith based and community organizations in the LET JUSTICE ROLL Living Wage Campaign launched on Nov 7th. (See www.LetJusticeRoll.org for coverage of the press conference kick-off and the release of our report—A Just Minimum Wage: Good for Workers, Business, and Our Future .) We are alarmed by the increasing numbers of people living in poverty in this nation. The tragic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has brought the plightof poverty in America into even sharper relief. Since the last minimum wage increase was passed in 1997, the value has eroded by more than 15 percent. To have the purchasing power it had in 1968 the minimum wage would have to be $9.05/hour today, $3.90 more than the current minimum wage of $5.15/hour. The LET JUSTICE ROLL Living Wage Campaign is working to raise the minimum wage at both the federal and state levels.

At the federal level, the campaign is supporting legislation currently before both Houses of Congress. At the state level, plans are underway to support ballot initiatives and legislation in Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Ohio, Michigan, New Hampshire, Pensylvania and elsewhere.

Holding a LET JUSTICE ROLL Living Wage Worship Service is a powerful way to educate and mobilize your congregation to support and act for raising the minimum wage.

Testimonials from low-wage workers struggling for a better quality of life and respect for their dignity are at the heart of these services.

Followed by on-the-spot and ongoing advocacy efforts, these living wage services can create transformative partnerships between low-income workers and families and your congregation.

Go to www.LetJusticeRoll.org for a free LET JUSTICE ROLL Resources for Living Wage Services packet and to register your congregation. This comprehensive guide contains a fact sheet on poverty in America and the need for a living wage; provides interfaith inspirational resources for organizing a worship service including quotes from Dr. King on economic and racial justice; and provides contact information and suggestions for bringing low-income workers and families who want to speak out and organize for change to your congregation. A foreword from the Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr., Senior Minister at The Riverside Church, examines poverty in America, what we can learn from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and makes a compelling case for a living wage.

Let us remember that a key demand in King's "I Have a Dream" speech was for "a national minimum wage act that will give all Americans a decent standard of living." In 1968, Dr. King died in the midst of supporting striking sanitation workers in Memphis, TN who were struggling to earn a living wage and respect for their dignity. Dr. King dedicated his life to working for racial and economic justice. Let us honor Dr. King by continuing his quest for every worker in America to earn a living wage.

Unitarian Universalist Association
25 Beacon St. | Boston, MA 02108 | 617-742-2100