Election 2010 UCA Resources

Hi Guys, below is all the great work from uniting justice on some of the issues and things to think about leading up to the 2010 election. I have copied the page in full because it could do with a couple of home plus less clicks for you. I will have some hard copies at upperoom project this month or just download some now.  - Age

Your Faith, Your Vote, Your Voice

When it comes time to exercise one of our core democratic rights and responsibilities and vote in a parliamentary election, how do we think about our vote? Do we vote the way we always have? Do we vote on the basis of a single issue? Will we vote for whoever is promising the most? Is our vote based on which candidate will be better able to  represent our locality? Will we think about what kind of society we want and which politicians seem to share our values?

Building an Economy for Lifeinvites you to consider the values which underpin the policies of the political parties and candidates who are asking us to give them the responsibility of national leadership.

Download these resources

Building an Economy for Life Booklet

The cornerstone of the resources is the Building an Economy for Life booklet, which explores some of the major areas of public policy and current issues from a Christian perspective on human and ecological wellbeing. A fuller introduction to the theology and more detailed information about the purpose of the resource can be found here.

The booklet also includes an election toolkit with useful links to information on all things politics and elections and suggestions for planning activities such as pre-election candidates forums and a meeting with your local MP or candidates.

Click here to download the booklet

You can obtain hard copies of this booklet, free of charge, by contacting the Assembly office, on 02 8267 4300 or email enquiries@nat.uca.org.au

Hot Issues

The Hot Issues papers are A5 sized flyers that take a snap-shot look at particular topical issues such as Indigenous health, the Northern Territory intervention, gender pay equity, freedom of religion and multiculturalism. Several of these papers are available in hard copy - contact the Assembly office to place an order, on 02 8267 4300 or email enquiries@nat.uca.org.au

• Alcohol Misuse
• Christmas Island
• Taking the “Dis” out of Disability
• Gambling
• The State of Indigenous Health
• Northern Territory Indigenous Intervention
• Multiculturalism in Australia
• People Trafficking
• Freedom of Religion (web-only)
• Gender Pay Equity (web-only)
• A Tax on Financial Transactions (web-only)

Issues Papers

These web-only papers offer a more in-depth look at the issues and policies covered in the Building an Economy for Life booklet. Papers have been contributed from many parts of the Church, including the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress and numerous Assembly agencies and units.

• Recognition and Respect: Justice for Indigenous Australians
• Protecting the Persecuted: Compassion for Asylum Seekers and Refugees
• Tackling Climate Change: Ensuring our Future
• Beyond the Urban Fringe: Issues for Outback Australia
• Protecting Human Rights
• Justice in Income Support
• Sharing the Wealth: A Just and Progressive Taxation System
• A Decent Life for Older People
• Embracing our Diversity: A Multicultural, Multi-faith Society
• Justice in International Development

Additional Resources

How to plan a candidates forum

Read the statement ‘An Economy of Life’ adopted by the 12^th Assembly. 
http://www.unitingjustice.org.au/uniting-church-statements.html#economyoflife.

* all Federal Election 2010 resources have been printed on ‘carbon neutral’ paper

Labour Start Action - Philippines

Philippines: Locked-out Alta Mode garment workers fight against union-busting

The embattled workers of Alta Mode Inc., a garments factory in the Mactan export zone and subcontractor for global brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch, are appealing for solidarity. Since February 15, a hundred workers have camped out in the main gates of the Mactan export zone, one of the biggest in the Philippines, after they were locked out. The Alta Mode Workers Union, an affiliate of the Partido ng Manggagawa [Labor Party-Philippines], is demanding that they return to work. The workers have proof that management’s claims of monetary losses are lies. The Alta Mode Workers Union accuses the company of closing the factory in order to bust the union.

Over the course of a year of struggle, Alta Mode workers have held a sit down strike, barged into the export zone compound and camped out beside the factory premises. The fight of the Alta Mode workers is a struggle for job security and workers rights. Since labor unrest broke out at Alta Mode, workers have struggled over illegal shutdowns, erratic working days and inhuman production quotas. After workers organized, management interfered in the exercise of the right to unionize with aim of defeating union certification. No union has survived in the three decades-long history of the Mactan export zone, proving the no union, no strike policy of export zones.

Click here for an email action

for info here

Holy Hardware (Batman!)

Congratulations! Good News! Just Holy Hardware campaign is getting places in ensuring Christian products are not made in exploitative conditions.

Below are words from the public liturgy on Saturday. More>info & to Join the campaign http://www.justholyhardware.org.au/ check the morepraxis flickr pool for more photos

Public Liturgy

Today we gather to celebrate the holyhardware campaign and Australia place in ensuring Christian goods are not made in exploitative conditions. We do here outside a key player in Christian Retail who like us does not want christian products made in slave labour conditions. Surely the practice of our faith should not enslave the poor!

Amazing Grace was written by John Newton a repentant former slave ship captain who became a priest. Newton was also the mentor to William Wilberforce, the great crusader for the British abolition of slavery. You can find books and the movie about the life and faith of these Christian activists in Christian and normal stores.

In late November (2007) the US National Labor Committee (NLC) released a report, Today Workers Bear the Cross, exposing the Association for Christian Retail (ACR) for selling crosses manufactured in a Chinese sweatshop.?Here is a case study & some facts.

?The products had to be finished by the 25th [of April] and all of the workers in our department had been working until three o?clock in the morning. We had been working non-stop for just about 16.5 hours. We were making crucifixes?. At 8 am, the morning of the 26th, it seemed as if our heads had just hit the pillows before out coworkers began to call for us to get up and get back to work again. The manager arranged for me to load the boxes for shipment. I, along with everybody else, was busy moving things into the truck. In total, we had close to 300 boxes of crucifixes and other things as well. Everything was so heavy; each box was about 20kg! We were so tired. My shoulders, legs and waist went weak. While we were moving the boxes of crucifixes, one of my coworkers suddenly cried out: ?Jesus, take pity on me! I?m going to die of exhaustion.??

The NLC report found that crucifixes are being made at the Junxingye Factory in Dongguan, China, and the conditions were as follows;

? Factory employed 300 ? 400 women as young as 15

? Employees forced to work regular 14 to 15.5 hour shifts a day, seven days a week

? When an order is due a shift can be extended up to 25 hours

? All overtime in the factory is mandatory and anyone who does not carry out the required overtime loses a full day?s wages

? It is common for workers in the factory to work over 100 hours a week, which includes 51 hours of overtime

? Workers in the factory are paid as little as 30 cents an hour, just over half the legal minimum wage in China. After fees deducted for room and board, the workers pay can drop to just 11 cents an hour

? Workers in the factory are housed in primitive dorm rooms sleeping on narrow double-level metal bunk beds that line the walls. There is no other furniture

? The workers get no paid sick leave, no paid maternity leave, no paid holidays and no health insurance, all of which are required under Chinese labour laws.

? Anyone who gets sick and misses work in the factory loses two-and-a-half days pay for each day they miss

? Workers fear they may be handling toxic chemicals, paints and solvents, whose fumes sting their eyes and skin contact causes rashes, but the factory management refuses to provide even the names of the chemicals, let alone their potential health hazards.

The report states that the ACR has no code of conduct for their members, and no factory monitoring program.

A bible reading from James 5:4

“Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.”

These cries have found the ear of of God and the Church we are part of the response that it should not be so.

In July 2009 The National Council of Churches in Australia officially affirmed the statement ?A Fair Trade in Christian Goods? and encouraged its use alongside the ?Christian Goods Standard?.

Yesterday (Friday 4/12/2009) Word made public it?s global purchasing policy including it commitment to ?not use compulsory or involuntary labour, slavery or debt bondage?.? Also, Word has begun dialogue with the Justice and international mission (JIM) unit to work towards ensuring standards are implemented.?The JIM unit is the lead group working on this campaign for the wider church.

I have presented Word’s CEO Craig Moulton with the shirt affirming our shared value that ?People are not Equal to Money?

The HolyHardware Campaign to end exploitative condition for christian product policies have been adopted a pickup up in the US. Now with the key retail partners, advocates and churches support - Australian can now lead the way in the next steps of global action. Ensuring the standards are mpliment ?by wholesaler and the factories. Thank you to all willing to engage this issue thus far both here now, who have joined with us on past actions and the very many who are signed up as part of the campaign. Thankyou

Let us pray in silence for our part in allowing slave labour and our part in ending it.

The Prohet Micah said. “What does God require of You??Do Justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God. “?Micah 6:8

Amen - please thank the manger and staff inside.

HolyHardware: Goodnews from Word

UPDATE: GOODNEWS! WORD HAS JOINED THE CONVERSATION!!!!

This morning Word updated its public purchasing policy and this afternoon they begun dialogue with the JIM unit.

So now you can join me tomorrow for a celebration of? where we have got to in the holy hardware campaign. Maybe present Word with a thank you gift. Please come and thank them with me, hear the story and pray for those still exploited by our faith product industry.

This is good news because we now have both key players in the Christian retail sector helping find ways we can better the conditions of working people who make products for Christians.

Age

Keen to join me in a little Abolitionist Anti-Sweatshop Caroling and public liturgy? Good book it in, email me and turn up

Have you ever thought about the conditions in which products are made?

Then join us?in a little Abolitionist Anti-Sweatshop Caroling and public liturgy? Outside Word Bookstore Head Office.

When: DEC 5 ?11:30am-12:30pm

Where: 11-13 Moncrief Road
Nunawading

We are asking that they join into the conversation on slave labour and Christian products.

Why? ?Slave Labour 4 Christian Products is a Sin.

Yes! I totally am up for a little holy mischief! Who do I tell that I am in?

All your friends to help spread the word ?and of course Age (age@morepraxis.org.au)

FaceBook Event here (please only say attending if you are coming - we are counting on you. ?Facebook slacktivism will not cut it.)

More>Background info.

A 2007 report found that employees in China at one factory involved in making crosses were forced to work regular 14 to 15.5 hour shifts a day, seven days a week. They were paid as little as 30 cents an hour, just over half the legal minimum wage in China. (US National Labour Committee (NLC), Today Workers Bear the Cross).

?The products had to be finished by the 25th [of April] and all of the workers in our department had been working until three o?clock in the morning. We had been working non-stop for just about 16.5 hours. We were making crucifixes?. At 8 am, the morning of the 26th, it seemed as if our heads had just hit the pillows before out coworkers began to call for us to get up and get back to work again. The manager arranged for me to load the boxes for shipment. I, along with everybody else, was busy moving things into the truck. In total, we had close to 300 boxes of crucifixes and other things as well. Everything was so heavy; each box was about 20kg! We were so tired. My shoulders, legs and waist went weak. While we were moving the boxes of crucifixes, one of my coworkers suddenly cried out: ?Jesus, take pity on me! I?m going to die of exhaustion.??

In late November 2007 the US National Labor Committee (NLC) released a report, Today Workers Bear the Cross, exposing members of the Association for Christian Retail (ACR) for selling crosses manufactured in a Chinese sweatshop. http://www.nlcnet.org/article.php?id=479

Word Bookstores Pty Ltd is a high-profile and successful Christian retailer involved in the selling of a range of products made in China where there are?documentedcases of gross disregard for the fundamental human dignity of working people.

Why Word Bookstores?

Word Bookstores is one of the biggest Christian retailers in Australia. With its roots in the old evangelistic ministry called Gospel Film Ministry Ltd (founded in Sydney), we want to remind Word that heeding the Gospel means supporting working people to be treated with dignity. We don?t think that all the gift items that Word sells are made in sweatshops, but we are concerned that items (particularly those made in China) could very well be. So we are calling on a key player in the Christian retail sector to get behind our campaign to find ways we can better the conditions of working people who make products for Christians.

The Justice & International Mission Unit of the Uniting Church in Australia has repeatedly tried to contact this company to start a dialogue about these issues; but there has been no response.

The JIM Unit contacted the VCC and the Victorian Heads of Churches. This broad group of Christian denominations expressed strong appreciation for the work done on this topic. In November 2008, the Heads of Churches gathered agreed with the document `A fair trade in Christian Goods? and officially endorsed the accompanying ?Christian Goods Standard?.

The Sunday AGE ran a small article which highlighted the issue:?http://www.theage.com.au/national/slave-trade-in-religious-souvenirs-20081206-6swy.html

Union Climate Action

Hi guys got this from rights at work mob.

As we all know, a majority of Australians want action on climate change. ?But some politicians and business groups are acting like dinosaurs by continuing to block important climate change laws.

These laws will help Australia cut greenhouse gasses and create up to a million jobs in our new clean energy and existing traditional industries. In short, they are laws to create a cleaner environment and a stronger economy.

In November, this small group of dinosaurs in parliament are planning to vote against climate change laws for a second time.

I want to take this opportunity to talk to you about what else we can do and how we need your help for strong action on climate change

We have talked with many people across Australia about ramping up our activities by joining together with other community activists. It is clear we need to take our message to the suburbs, towns and regions to ensure all MPs and particularly Senators understand that Australians want these climate laws passed.

Between now and the end of November, we will be holding activities in conjunction with unions and local Trades and Labour Councils, taking our message to the streets in the same way we did in the Your Rights at Work campaign.

It will be simple and fun and designed to be educative.

If you would like to get involved, give us your contact details and we will link you up with activities in your area. Visit - http://www.rightsatwork.com.au/campaigns/cleanenergyjobs/connectorssignup

This will make sure we get a strong message to those MPs and Senators who need our help to evolve.

In unity

Sharan Burrow and the Union Climate Connector Team

Feature Clip - Get Shirty at Poverty

The link for the shirt -?http://www.riseup.com.au/

Anti-Poverty week post ?http://morepraxis.org.au/anti-poverty-week/

Cadbury OZ making the moves to fairtrade

Fairtrade Cadbury Dairy Milk goes global as Canada, Australia and New Zealand take Fairtrade further into mainstream

?25 Aug 2009

?

ASU - Action - Meat in the Sandwich

Sacked Geelong Council workers are the meat in the sandwich

29 July 2009

By ASU-Victorian Authorities & Services Branch

Australian Services Union Victorian Branch Assistant Secretary Igor Grattan has announced that the Union will do whatever it takes to get unfairly sacked members Mick Van Beek and Peter Anderson their jobs back at the City of Greater Geelong’s Drysdale depot.

Van Beek and Anderson were unjustly sacked after the pair filled in two pot holes hazardous to elderly patrons of the Leopold Sportsman Club last November during their lunch break, receiving two free steak sandwiches at management’s insistence a week later.

>> Click here to send an email to the Council showing your support for the workers.

Grattan is shocked the Council went to such lengths over two workers simply being Good Samaritans.

Continue here

AI Action - 10,000 Butterflies

?10,000 butterflies for ?comfort? women?

?

Dear Adrian,

A woman holds a butterfly in her hands

This is incredible! Earlier this month, we asked the Amnesty community to claim justice for survivors of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery system by sending a butterfly to our Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd.

As of this morning, 4,664 unique butterflies are winging their way to the Prime Minister and thousands more have been amplified around the world on social networks like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.

With this extraordinary show of support, we’re well on the way to achieving our target of 10,000 butterflies and another step towards to the Government motion we’re looking for. So, if you haven’t yet created your butterfly, please do so right away and help us reach our target:

Create your butterfly and claim justice for the courageous survivors of wartime sexual slavery

Up to 200,000 women and girls endured repeated rapes and beatings in ‘comfort stations’ throughout the Asia Pacific, including Taiwan, Indonesia, the Philippines and many of the Pacific Islands during World War II. Following decades of denials and dodging responsibility, the remaining survivors are still waiting for an official apology from the Japanese Government.

With your help we’re striving to change this ? by petitioning Kevin Rudd to pass a motion to call the Japanese Government to account. Shamefully, we’re one of the few Allied nations yet to step up and do what’s right.

Please create your butterfly and urge Kevin Rudd to pass a motion supporting ‘comfort women’ survivors

By taking this one simple act, you’re part of Australia’s biggest effort yet to resolve a generations-old issue. Your unique butterfly ? the survivors’ chosen symbol of hope - is a cry for justice and a powerful gesture of solidarity for the survivors of one of the darkest episodes in human history.

It’s now or never. Thank you for standing up and reaching out.

Create your butterfly now or forward this email to at least two friends if you’ve done so already.

?

Hannah, Athena, Seb, Louise and the rest of the campaign team

Amnesty International Australia

PS: Thank you to those who’ve already created a butterfly and contributed to putting a butterfly in the sky above Parliament House. We raised all the funds we needed, and the stunt will happen on 11 August, weather permitting. Thanks to your generosity we’re now looking to redouble our efforts in the run up to 15 August (the anniversary of the end of WWII) to keep this issue high on the agenda for our politicians.

Create your butterfly now

Holy Hardware Action

Action against devotional items made under gross exploitation

Have you ever thought about the conditions in which products are made?

Are you concerned that some Christian stores are selling devotional items under gross exploitation?

A recent report found that employees in China at one factory involved in making crosses were forced to work regular 14 to 15.5 hour shifts a day, seven days a week. They were paid as little as 30 cents an hour, just over half the legal minimum wage in China. (US National Labour Committee (NLC), Today Workers Bear the Cross).

Just Act is organizing an action in holy week to highlight the exploitation that is happening in the industry. Currently Word and Koorong (see top and comment for update) bookshops have no public policy concerned about work standards, even while they profit from sales of books and DVD?s on the theme of abolishing slavery.

Just Act are calling on them to ensure that items like crosses, bible covers and children?s Christian toys are not made under slave like conditions.

Please join us on Easter Saturday (11th April) to show your protest to this situation. (Postponed till later keep watching)

more info on holy hardwear

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