Jews United for Justice leads Washington-area Jews to act on our shared Jewish values by pursuing justice and equality in our local community. Learn More about JUFJ
Didn't make it to the membership meeting?
Thanks to the many JUFJ volunteers who came to our membership meeting! Didn't make it? Here's what you should know:
Save the Date -- Membership Meeting July 27th!
Save the date! JUFJ's summer membership meeting will be the evening of Tuesday, July 27 at SEIU 32BJ's new office at 1025 Vermont Ave, NW, 7th floor.
The membership meeting is open to anyone who wants to come and learn more about JUFJ!
At our membership meeting, we'll be cooking up justice! Workers from the Restaurant Opportunities Center will be joining JUFJ to share their stories and their amazing talents. We'll learn how to make easy and vegetarian summer spring rolls - local, easy, and perfect for days that are too hot to cook.
Curious to hear more about labor conditions for local restaurant workers and what we can do about it? Interested in talking to other people about the ideas and issues that inspire you to action? Want to learn more about what our campaigns have been up to? Interested in volunteering for Labor on the Bimah?
Make the Jeremiah Fellowship Possible Next Year!
Dear Friends:
Donate to JUFJ! Help us continue this amazing program!
This year has been an amazing year for Jews United for Justice, and we're only halfway! We've had the largest Labor Seder ever - nearly 300 people - and we have seen major progress on our campaigns. And JUFJ's ability to develop the next generation of Jewish social justice leaders is becoming increasingly apparent. With your support, we can continue to focus on this absolutely essential initiative.
Restaurant Worker Justice
Nationwide, the restaurant industry is one of the largest private sector employers. Even in the current economy, it is one of the fastest-and only-growing industries. Although this growth would not be possible without lower-level workers such as wait-staff and bartenders, many employees still do not receive the wages or sick leave they are legally entitled to, nor the vacation time and health insurance that they deserve.
Announcing this year's Labor on the Bimah!
JUFJ's annual Labor on the Bimah program is back! We're especially thrilled to announce this year's theme: restaurant worker justice. We will be working closely with the Restaurant Opportunities Center-DC and Interfaith Worker Justice to address problems such as low wages, wage theft, racial and gender discrimination, and a lack of health insurance and paid sick leave that occur in the restaurant industry.
As always, JUFJ volunteers are critical to the growing success of Labor on the Bimah, especially as we work to break last years' record participation of 45 congregations! 
There are lots of ways to join the JUFJ Labor on the Bimah team. You can help create the resource packet, plan an interfaith text study, contact or speak at congregations, or get involved in recruiting and training volunteers.
New Faces at JUFJ
JUFJ is delighted to announce two new staff who will be joining us this summer! They will be a crucial part of making this year's Labor on the Bimah program an even greater success this year.
Jessie Posilkin has joined JUFJ for Summer 2010 as the Labor on the Bimah Coordinator. She is also working on the Defeat Poverty DC campaign, a project endorsed by JUFJ. Jessie has a history of volunteering with the Labor Seder, the Worker Center Campaign, and previous Labor on the Bimahs. She comes to JUFJ from the Save Our Safety Net Campaign, which mobilized over 3,000 DC residents to support progressive taxation and to prevent cuts to the most critical human services programs. She previously worked as the DC Program Officer for Pursue (formerly the AVODAH-AJWS Partnership), building our community of young, progressive-minded Jews in DC. Jessie is also an alumna of AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps, and has worked in the legal clinic at Bread for the City.
What Happened with the Budget
We started with a challenging set of circumstances -- a tremendous budget deficit in DC, an election year. We also faced ongoing structural probelms in DC, including a smaller tax base and less self-determination than other cities its size. Social services that many vulnerable communities -- foster children, homeless families, poor people with disabilities -- rely on, were facing massive cuts. Out of all of these challenges, with your help and the help of our allies, we crafted a vision: a fairer, more progressive income tax system that would make it possible to continue to fund these vital services.5-24-09: Vincent Gray Doesn't Get the Message
"I got the message, okay? How could I possibly have missed such a forceful and entertaining way to say what it is that you want." These were DC Council Chairman Vincent Gray's first words when greeting nearly 300 attendees at Jews United for Justice's Labor Seder in Cleveland Park on April 11th. The Seder focused on the urgency of protecting vital DC social safety net services in the coming budget cycle. More than 150 participants wrote letters to DC Councilmembers in support of raising taxes on the highest-income earners in order to protect vital services like emergency housing assistance, food assistance, and child care. The proposed measure would create new tax brackets at $250,000 and $1 million. Currently, DC's highest tax bracket is $40,000.
However, since the Labor Seder, Chairman Gray has backed away from his assertion that protecting safety net programs is his "top priority," hanging back while other Councilmembers have spoken out in support of the measure.
However, since the Labor Seder, Chairman Gray has backed away from his assertion that protecting safety net programs is his "top priority," hanging back while other Councilmembers have spoken out in support of the measure.
Call DC Council Chair Vincent Gray!
DC Council Chairman Vincent Gray came to our Labor Seder pledging to help preserve the safety net. Now it's time for him to deliver on his promises!
Council Chairman Vincent Gray has a long history of supporting DC's safety net. We need your help to convince him that now is the time for bold leadership: raise taxes on the highest-earning 5% of DC residents, and generate the revenue we need to invest in an economic recovery that includes everyone.
Who else needs to hear from you? Councilmembers Kwame Brown (At Large) and Mary Cheh (Ward 3).
Call them at the following numbers:
Councilmember Vincent Gray: 202-724-8032
Take Action to Save Our Safety Net!
JUFJ joined with Save Our Safety Net and the Fair Budget Coalition to rally at the John A. Wilson Building, calling upon City Council to prevent budget cuts to safety net programs.
Councilmembers Jim Graham (D-Ward One), Michael Brown (I-At Large), Tommy Wells (D-Ward Six), and Harry "Tommy" Thomas (D-Ward Five) -- donned red capes reading "S.O.S." while declaring their support for progressive taxation.
Councilmember Graham spoke first and set the tone: "It's very simple: we have a tough budget situation, we need more revenue, people who are most vulnerable are suffering more and more and more -- and doesn't it make sense to turn to those with the greatest abilities?"
