Dear UFE Family,

Take a deep breath with us. Inhale... Exhale...

This is a hard moment we are in. Not only are we being called to acknowledge the violence and racism woven into the very fabric of this country’s founding, we are being called by all those who have been targeted to imagine a just world.

Imagine with us...

UFE is supporting national and local work to lift up, strengthen, and coordinate immigrant community-based struggles for dignity and well-being, and helping to keep that work alive in virtual spaces. Alianza Americas is a national coalition shaping new narratives about Latin American immigrants and the systemic problems that force thousands of people to flee their countries of origin. We are supporting Alianza as they transition their leadership development online in response to COVID-19. Our support is enabling them to connect with local leaders who are mobilizing immigrant essential service workers to demand dignity and protections now. UFE’s first fully online training of trainers for Alianza took place in early May, and we will provide ongoing online workshops through the remainder of 2020.

Register now for our upcoming online event series Getting Through Economic Downturns Together. During previous crisis, people from different walks of life gathered in solidarity to create real solutions for themselves and their communities. From organizing and advocacy, to mutual aid networks and worker cooperatives, people around the globe have formed lasting solutions at great odds. What can today’s movements learn from how our ancestors built and resisted?

We're excited to release the cover illustration for our upcoming report, State of the Dream 2020: Building a Fair Economy at the Intersections. This year, our State of the Dream report will focus on the significance of gender and race in the fight for a fair economy, and will be released late this month (April) to concide with Coretta Scott King’s birthday.

Feelings Zoomed out? Here’s a list of 25 practices to make online meetings/trainings more engaging, equitable, & effective. Not comprehensive. We're still learning. What would you add?

Earned wages are going down, but the cost of living continues to climb. This is the sad reality for the majority of Americans. But at UFE’s Training of Trainers, we hold space for liberatory conversations to be born between the majority and the minority.

Our second ever cohort of trainers in our new NC Training Network came to Charlotte from cities and towns all across North Carolina, representing 8 different organizations. These included the Fight for Fifteen/NC Raise Up, Communication Workers of America (CWA), Carolina Jews for Justice, Just Economics of WNC, and Power Up NC.

Our current economy and government is not set up to support the health and well-being of all people. This reality is starkly reflected in the disproportionate fallout from COVID-19, which while affecting us all, impacts some of us more than others because of systemic inequality and structural racism. However, if you have more than you need right now, we encourage you to join the #ShareMyCheck campaign and pledge to redistribute your checks in solidarity with those hit hardest.

We're so appreciative of the amazing year we had in 2019... from celebrating our organization's 25th year, to launching a new training network in North Carolina... thank you to all those who collaborated with us, supported us, and otherwise made the work we do possible!

We're proud to share with you our 2019 impact report --as an infographic!

We at United for a Fair Economy recognize that we are in the midst of a disaster, a world-wide public health and economic crisis not witnessed in living memory.

Building a more fair economy capable of better responding to crises requires a more equitable allocation of resources to communities that have been historically disadvantaged or exploited. As we’ve seen with natural disasters in places like New Orleans and Puerto Rico, crises compound already existent inequalities, causing devastation for people of color in particular, while generating opportunities for a powerful few. Uplifting these marginalized voices is the best way to move forward and ensure lasting, economic change that benefits everyone, not just the wealthy.

On March 16, 2020, thirty-five members of Responsible Wealth – all in the top 1% of income and/or wealth – sent a letter to New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo and the Legislature advocating for higher taxes on ultra-wealthy individuals like themselves to help fill New York’s pressing and unmet budget needs. Responsible Wealth, a project of United for a Fair Economy, is a national network of investors and other wealthy individuals who are concerned about growing economic inequality and working to change it.

Just a month before quarantine our Director of Cultural Organizing, Eroc Arroyo-Montano had the opportunity to be a co-facilitator and advisor in collaboration with the Educators Healing Gathering hosted by "Our Fire Collective." Combining healing justice and popular education, Eroc moved educators through different practices and helped to advise the group on next steps.

Our National Education Director, Riahl O'Malley, ended the month of January by facilitating at COPAL's leadership institute. COPAL is working to unite Latinxs in Minnesota in active grassroots communal democracy that builds racial, gender, social and economic justice across community lines. They are doing big things in Minnesota and beyond, so check them out!

This was the first of a series of leadership trainings planned for 2020. The 3-days training was attended by 22 leaders.

Our Resource Mobilization Director, Sara Sargent, shares the story of how she got here while looking back on a transformative year.

Reflecting on my first year at United for a Fair Economy, I’m thankful to be part of the UFE team. I feel that now, more than ever, we need each other and we need grassroots organizations like UFE to stand up to greed, injustice and rising inequality in our communities.

Every year, United for a Fair Economy publishes a “State of the Dream” report that looks at the state of racial economic inequality in the US. The report, written in honor of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., has a different theme each year (view our past reports).

We are excited to share that the 2020 State of the Dream report will be focused around the influences and intersections of gender and race in the fight for a fair economy!

It was the last day of a four-day Training of Trainers at United for a Fair Economy... most had spoken up during one activity or another, but there was one participant -an elder Latina- who had hardly spoken at all. Ok, I thought, no need to push.

Really though, her silence made me nervous. Did she disapprove? Did she feel unsafe? I thought there might be something we were doing wrong or, at the very least, that we needed to adjust.

On December 14, at CCDS's end of year celebration, United for a Fair Economy was recognized with a certificate for our continued support of CCDS since the project’s inception three years ago. CCDS is a Massachusetts-based community working to create a more fair economy by creating space for grassroots organizers in working class communities of color.

There are so many ways to turn your "audience" into active participants. We know from experience that learners are more likely to understand, retain, and apply knowledge if they are engaging their heads, hearts, and hands.

If we want people to take action in groups to end inequality we can't afford to use the same top-down learning methods over and over again. We want people to leave feeling that they have the solution and the means to implement it.

Our executive director, Jeannette Huezo, has been very busy this year! Take a moment to catch up on the awards she's received, the panels she's spoken on, and the work she's led.