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| September 2005 |
| Contents Words of inspiration Words of Inspiration Act now, so that a thousand years from now, when you look back at this moment, you can say this was a moment that mattered—this was a day of determination. Neal A. Maxwell Source: “Why
Not Now?” Ensign, Nov. 1974 Recent and Upcoming Events
All MESJ members, wherever they lived, were invited to Salt Lake City on July 28 for a MESJ Conference to chart the organization's future. MESJ Conferences are the organization's major decision-making body at the "global" (that is, as opposed to the local) level. Between 15 and 20 members and observers came from various parts of the country, including California, Nevada, Iowa, and North Carolina. For a report of the conference, visit the News Archive. Photos from the conference are available in the Photo Gallery.
Visit the News Archive for reports on the following recent activities by MESJ chapters:
Jump to the Calendar to see upcoming activities by local chapters. Information about upcoming international observances can be found in the Holiday Resources section of our website. Check out MESJ's Labor Day-themed family home evening ideas and electronic greeting cards (thumbnails below).
Anxiously Engaged: One Year Old and Growing by John-Charles Duffy, Media Director
Anxiously Engaged has reached its one-year anniversary, and that’s prompted me to think about what it’s accomplished and where it should go in the future. The decision to publish an electronic newsletter was made by the May 2004 MESJ conference. At that time, the goals of the newsletter were twofold: (1) to help MESJ members stay connected with one another, especially members who did not live close to organized chapters (2) to provide a forum for gospel-centered discussions of social justice that could uplift and motivate The first of those goals strikes me as pretty typical for a newsletter. The second goal was what I hoped would make Anxiously Engaged distinctive. Anxiously Engaged isn’t just a vehicle for reporting on recent and upcoming activities, though certainly it does that. It also has a mission to nourish readers’ spirituality—to prompt reflection on how gospel principles intersect with our efforts as engaged citizens or activists and to motivate readers to take action consistent with those principles. A Spiritual Newsletter It's hard for me to measure how well Anxiously Engaged is actually accomplishing that mission. We don’t receive a lot of feedback about the newsletter, though the feedback we do receive is generally positive. I hope readers find the newsletter spiritually nourishing. If I were leading a missionary discussion or a church class, it would be easier to sense whether speakers and hearers “understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together” (D&C 50:22). When the interaction is “virtual,” not face-to-face, it’s harder to know. In its first year, the newsletter has evolved some more-or-less regular features which, as editor, I plan to continue. The Remember in Your Prayers... feature offers suggestions of timely social concerns that readers might include in their personal prayers, and maybe even in their public prayers. The Book of Mormon teaches us to “let [our] hearts be drawn out in prayer . . . continually for [our] welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around [us]” (Alma 34:27). Praying about social problems isn’t a substitute for other kinds of action, but it is a first step toward consecrated mindfulness. I encourage readers to share their concerns for this feature of the newsletter. Another feature that will continue regularly is the Sunday School Notebook. As I follow the Sunday School reading schedule, I try to be attuned to what the scriptures have to say regarding all aspects of my life. One of those aspects, of course, is my concern for social justice, and the Sunday School Notebook has been a place where I can share scriptural reflections on themes of justice, equality, engaged citizenship, and social action. Again, I’d encourage readers to submit their reflections to share as well. “That All May Be Edified of All” As you can probably tell from what I’ve been saying, the newsletter is in one sense a personal project for me. It takes a lot of work to put together, but I do it because I feel it helps me to stay spiritually focused and because I hope it serves MESJ members more broadly. I worry, though, about the newsletter becoming something like a personal blog for the editor (me or whoever else that might be in the future). I don’t want that. The newsletter should be more like a testimony meeting or a good church class, where lots of voices are heard. Recently, MESJ was contacted by a Latter-day Saint named Will Vanwagenen, who’s volunteering with a peace group in Iraq. Will has been sending out emails fairly regularly to me and some other MESJ members about his activities and perceptions of the situation there. Excerpts for one of those reflections appeared in the summer issue of Anxiously Engaged. Will has kept sending messages, and I’ve decided to keep incorporating excerpts from his reports in the newsletter. I hesitated about that at first, because I'm concerned about the newsletter featuring the same few voices all the time. Also, Will’s views can be more militant than I’m personally comfortable with, and I’ve been worried about negative reactions from some readers. But the scriptures challenge us to listen to one another: “Let not all be spokesmen at once; but let one speak at a time and let all listen unto his sayings, that when all have spoken that all may be edified of all” (D&C 88:122). Listening to those whose views may make us uncomfortable is a spiritual discipline. It teaches us charity. It teaches us to be one. So I’m going to keep sharing reports from Will, even though they sometimes make me uncomfortable, and even though they might make some other readers uncomfortable. And I’m happy to share submissions from others who have different perspectives and concerns. As editor, I don’t want Anxiously Engaged to be a forum for debate. But I am interested in hearing other Latter-day Saints speak from the heart about tough issues of peace, justice, and equality. About their personal wrestlings as people committed to gospel values in a world where it isn’t necessarily clear how to apply those values to specific social problems. About their efforts to make a difference in their communities or in society more broadly. Please share with us as the Spirit moves you: an item for Remember
in Your Prayers..., a reflection for the Sunday School
notebook, a book review, a personal story about your engagement
in activities promoting the causes laid out in MESJ’s Mission
Statement or Statement of Principles.
Email the editor at jcduffy@hotmail.com.
Please include Anxiously Engaged in the subject line. Report from LA MESJ by Sue Cannon (Los Angeles)
The Los Angeles chapter of MESJ was recently approached by CLUE (Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice), a coalition of clergy and citizens, about joining them in an action against a nursing home chain that had questionable practices and that happened to be headed by a Mormon. LA MESJ has decided to take on this opportunity to influence our fellow Mormons for the betterment of those who are the most frail and vulnerable among us, our elderly in nursing homes, as well as to support the workers at those nursing home facilities who want to unionize. The Ensign Group owns several nursing home facilities in California as well as other states. They are one of the fastest growing chains in the area. They are the only major chain that has refused to allow their employees the opportunity to seek union representation through a neutrality agreement. We feel that the workers have the right to decide for themselves without the company interfering. We support their right to join the union if enough workers sign union organizing cards. Although Ensign has no glaring areas of routine malfeasance, they are accused of spending less than average for food, using less linen (saving on linen costs), and using less than necessary staff. At the same time, they make greater profits than the average California nursing home (reportedly 4 times as much). Reverend Bill Miller, a member of CLUE, maintains that this adds up to elder abuse over a period of time. It is our stance that especially since this company chose to name itself after a religious symbol that is a beacon to all nations ("ensign"), more than average standards are to be expected of them. As Mormons, we want a company named after something so revered in our religion to stand for something that has high moral integrity and that cares diligently for its residents and workers. We plan to assist the coalition of clergy and community members in their actions. Last month, I joined two clergy, one worker, and three other community members visiting members of the Ensign Board at their homes and places of work. On that day, we were able to introduce ourselves and talk about our concerns to one of the board members for about 10 minutes at his home. Though we received no response for further talks, we feel that our presence gave them pause. We plan to continue with our efforts to aid CLUE by sending a letter to the executives of Ensign Group. Further, we hope to compile a fact sheet of statements LDS leaders have made concerning care of the elderly to share with them. Any and all help with that task would be greatly appreciated. Labor's Split: A Commentary by James Tobler (Los Angeles)
Editor's note: In connection with Labor Day, Anxiously Engaged asked LA MESJ's James Tobler, who works in union organizing, to help readers make sense of the recent conflict over unions breaking away from the AFL-CIO. What are the issues, and how will this conflict affect working people and their families? "Be one, for union is strength." As most of you probably know, a number of unions recently disaffiliated from the country's largest labor federation, the AFL-CIO. The AFL-CIO is not a union but rather a conglomeration of labor unions--more of an umbrella group. Individual unions pay dues to the AFL-CIO, and the AFL-CIO coordinates labor activity on a more macro scale. The hope is that the more unions work together and pool their resources, the more effective they will be. The AFL-CIO has a lot of different projects going. They have done a lot of political action work with the Democratic party, it has a program to recruit and train union organizers for AFL-CIO unions, it coordinates organizing campaigns between unions, it has set up offices in other countries to build international linkages with workers in the U.S., and it also attempts to settle jurisdictional disputes between unions (sometimes two different unions simultaneously try to organize the same workers). About two years ago, a number of unions started pressing for changes within the AFL-CIO. The most persistent was Andy Stern, who was and is president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). It wasn't long before a number of unions joined SEIU in pushing for these changes. They were: the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), the Laborers, UNITE HERE! - hotel and apparel workers, and the Teamsters. At first they tried to influence the AFL-CIO from within and called themselves the New Unity Partnership NUP. They met with AFL-CIO leadership on many occasions to work out a compromise. Although the AFL-CIO was willing to implement many of the changes the NUP was pushing for, in the end it wasn't enough for Stern and his allies. The NUP then met with many of the other larger unions in the AFL-CIO to generate more support. The NUP had a plan to run their own slate of leaders and vote out the then current leadership of the AFL-CIO. In the end they didn't have the support from the other unions they would have needed to win such an election. The SEIU, UFCW, Teamsters and the Laborers than voted to boycott the AFL-CIO convention in July and also disaffiliate from the nation's premiere labor federation. They formed a new federation which they have called the Change to Win Coalition. Of course, the question that a lot of people have is what issues were so important to NUP unions that they decided to boycott the AFL-CIO's 50th anniversary convention and disaffiliate from the AFL-CIO altogether. The main issue put out by the NUP was that the AFL-CIO needed to do more to help with organizing new workers into unions. Of course, new organizing is up to the individual union, but the NUP unions were pressing for the AFL-CIO to reduce the dues of unions in proportion to the amount that they spent on new organizing. In other words, they wanted unions that were spending money on organizing workers nto unions to not have to pay as much to the AFL-CIO so they could then have more funds for new organizing. The second major change the NUP unions were pushing for was for all the unions in the AFL-CIO to merge with other AFL-CIO unions. There are about 46 unions in the AFL-CIO, and the NUP wanted to reduce that number to well less than 20. The thinking is that since manufacturing jobs have left the country and left the once grand manufacturing unions much smaller than they once were, that those manufacturing unions might as well merge. This is all well and good unless you're one of the smaller manufacturing unions with a long history and proud identity. What has happened in the last 10-15 years is that a lot of these smaller manufacturing unions started organizing non-manufacturing workers, like service workers, and unions like SEIU don't appreciate that. So the thinking is that these smaller unions should merge, and the AFL-CIO should draw strict jurisdictional lines so unions will stick to organizing within their specified industry. Third, the NUP proposed a program of supporting politicians who support labor issues rather than just writing a blank check for the Democrats at every level. The NUP has found that on the local level Republicans can often be allies to organized labor, and therefore unions should be more open about supporting non-Democratic politicians. Although some liberals think SEIU is a progressive force within labor and that the Change to Win Coalition will result in a stronger labor movement, I have to say I'm less optimistic. SEIU has become less and less of a progressive voice within the labor movement for the past 6-8 years. The only other union that is somewhat progressive within the coalition is UNITE HERE!. The other NUP unions are great examples of business unionism (which is when unions are run as a business rather than a movement) and sometimes corruption. The Teamsters, UFCW, Laborers and Carpenters are some of the least progressive unions anywhere. My take is that the Change to Win Coalition is more about power and pride than something more positive. Stern likes to draw a parallel between himself and John L. Lewis. Lewis and the mine workers union disaffiliated from the AFL back in the 1930's to form a new labor federation, the CIO. The CIO became an inspiration and changed the lives of black and white, skilled and unskilled workers around the country. The AFL, on the other hand, didn't think much about non-white unskilled workers. In 1955 the CIO merged with the AFL to form the AFL-CIO. Unfortunately, the CIO lost a lot of its fight and labor has never quite been the same. This is a tragedy, and many of us in the labor movement are looking forward to the day when a real coalition will emerge to challenge the problems that face our global society. Unfortunately, Change to Win isn't that coalition. I am, however, optimistic. Richard Trumka, who is the current VP of the AFL-CIO and past president of the United Mine Workers is a positive voice for change. I have also crossed paths with many in the labor movement who are committed to replacing the current and pervasive model of top-down bureaucratic unionism to one that is creative, democratic and grassroots, and willing to step up to a good fight. I am inspired by workers in all unions in at the local level. Even the most bureaucratic unions can't keep workers complacent all the time. A good documentary I would rccommend on this subject is American Dream by Barbara Kopple. Sung to the tune of the Battle Hymn of the Republic: In our hands is placed a power greater than their hoarded gold;Solidarity forever! Letter from Baghdad by Will Vanwagenen
Edtior's note: A few months ago, MESJ was contacted by Will Vanwagenen, a Latter-day Saint who is in Iraq doing human rights work with the organization Christian Peacemaker Teams. Will has continued to send updates about his observations and experiences by email. The following is an excerpt from one of his emails. Lately Will has been trying to raise money to pay for an eye operation for a young Iraqi man who lost his vision in one eye after being beaten by officers in Hussein's army. Email Will if you would like more information about you might be able to help. Reading media reports from Iraq while in the states, I got the impression that there were basically two major sides in the conflict in Iraq: those that supported the US project on the one hand, particularly the Shiites, and those who supported the anti-US insurgency, particularly the Sunnis, on the other. You either had to choose from endorsing the activities of the US, including assaults on Falluja, mass detentions, support for Iranian terror groups on Iraqi soil, the abuse at Abu Ghraib, and the moral appropriateness of assaulting countries for the sake of economic gain. (As Paul Wolfowitz has explained, the invasion of Iraq was necessary because it "swims on a sea of oil.") On the other hand, you could support the anti-US insurgents, whose goals are unknown, and who now terrorize the Iraqi population with daily bombings in civilian areas, which at times target civilians directly. In a famous case recently, scores of children were killed in an attack on US soldiers. Since I've been here however, it seems like most people I speak to do not approve of the US presence nor the violence US forces perpretrate, but nor do they support the terrorist bombings. Iraqi civilians seem to be caught between the violence of two opposing factions, who fight it out with little concern for the terrible affect their actions have on the civilian population. One group which neither supports the terrorists nor the US occupation is the Al-Sadr Movement, led by Muqtada Al-Sadr, a young Shiite cleric whose father was martyred by Saddam Hussein. His militia, the Mahdi Army, fought US forces last year in the Shiite strongholds of Najaf and Sadr City (named after his father), but are now committed to resisting the occupation through peaceful means. We spoke with representatives from the movement in Sadr City, who made clear that their two demands were a prompt US withdrawal, and the release of over 4,000 of their supporters who are currently detained in occupation prisons. I've translated a number of passages I found interesting from a book about the Sadr Movement that I've been reading, and have included them below. I do not necessarily personally endorse all of the positions outlined in the passages I've translated. Just thought they were interesting and useful for understanding how many Iraqis feel.
Remember in Your Prayers...
Refugees of Hurricane Katrina: The devastastion of the hurricane, exacerbated by poor emergency preparedness on the part of government at various levels, produced scenarios of a kind that Americans tend to associate with the world's "underdeveloped" countries. Tens of thousands of refugees--mostly poor blacks who had no way to evacuate--were trapped in New Orleans without food, water, or other basic services for a week. The death toll is expected to be in the thousands. Pray for refugees and for those who are working to provide aid. Consider donating to relief efforts through the Church's Emergency Response Fund or through the American Red Cross.
Pray for those who are at risk of hunger and starvation in West Africa. Pray for workers with organizations such as Oxfam who are working to provide food for the short-term and programs to address the long-term effects of the crisis.
Pray that the vacancies on the Supreme Court will be filled by "such as will administer the law in equity and justice" (D&C 134:3).
Sunday School Notebook
The Word of Wisdom contains principles that could be applied not only at the individual level, but also at the social level. If First World societies heeded the counsel to use meat sparingly, what a difference could that make for problems like the destruction of rain forests to create grazing land for cattle? In socities where people take an abundance of food so much for granted that obesity has become a major public health issue, what would it mean to use food in a spirit of “prudence and thanksgiving” (D&C 89:11)? The Savior says: “Whosoever receiveth my word receiveth me. . . . [A]bide in my word, and hearken to the voice of my Spirit” (D&C 112:20. 22). How will staying close to the Savior and the guidance of the Spirit help me in my work as an activist or engaged citizen? How can I use scripture study to cultivate Christ’s influence into my life?
Call for Submissions
Send submissions to the editor at jcduffy@hotmail.com. Please put Anxiously Engaged in the subject line.
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