June 30, 2010

Notes from June 30, 2010 UJP meeting submitted by Paul Shannon

1. Online organizing committee report is setting up an online forum to try to get strategic discussion going, starting with reports from the U.S. social forum. The idea is to support and ongoing discussion of important issues and of UJP: a place where issues are debated. 

2. UJP endorses the One Nation mobilization.

Duncan recommends bringing One Nation to the Albany Conference. We will make a decision next meeting.

Agreement that the rest of UJP will be invited to One Nation Organizing meetings in boston.

We will also continue to push to broaden the one nation agenda especially in the area of peace demands.

3. July 9 forum on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla in Arlington with footage of the Israeli attack.

Agreed: cole will send out announcement to the “big list”

Duncan and Shelagh will make announcements at events they are attending

4. July 7: Nuclear Disarmament in the age of Obama at the Cambridge friends meeting. This event will also be sent out to the “big list”.

5. Evaluation of June 19 strategy session: great turnout, great speakers, but then people leave after the speakers leave.

Decision: at these meetings we need to make a systematic push for people in the audience to join a UJP community  group as others of us hand out UJP contact information:

New format to Strategy meeting:

1. Welcome
2. We are going to have a good presentation
3. Before we begin we want to welcome new people here tonight. We hope you will consider joining your neighbors in a UJP Community group
4. Hand out contact information on each active UJP group
5. We encourage you to stay after our educational panel to find out the projects that our groups are involved in.
   

6. Report on U.S. social forum:

About 14,000 people, significantly young and African American

Successful peace forums on Thursday

Duncan will send around the resolutions passed by the assembly

There will be report-backs in boston and Somerville

7. need to clean up office

We will cancel the Verizon phone service and go with our google number: 617-383-4857

We need to get another key for the office at AFSC. Someone will see if we can get susan’s key

8. we have $3500 in the UJP account. We have enough income to cover monthly basic expenses but not to fund a major event

We should institutionalize a fundraising letter twice a year

Maybe have a pot-luck fundraiser or a holiday party

Maybe contact Chomsky for an event next spring

9. consider September 11 for next strategy conference. Paul should reserve the Friends Center.