University Unitarian Church is a proud founding member of the Sound Alliance, a diverse and powerful partnership of religious congregations, labor organizations and grassroots citizen groups in Puget Sound. It is a vehicle for regular people of diverse backgrounds to act for the common good, while strengthening our church's internal relationships and leadership. Currently, the Alliance is working in five issue areas: health care; housing; education; sustainable jobs and environment; and immigration and civil rights.

Sound Alliance is part of a successful model of community organizing and action honed across the US over six decades by the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF). The Sound Alliance is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit organization directed by leaders from member institutions and served by a staff of professional organizers.

Learn more about:

• How do I get involved? Find upcoming Sound Alliance events and activities
• What are we working for? Read about Sound Alliance's Agenda for the Common Good
• UUC's participation in the Sound Alliance Founding Assembly in June 2008

Upcoming Sound Alliance Events & Activities

See the Alliance's Web site for a complete calendar of events. Summer 2008 events include:

• Sound Alliance Orientations: These are 90-minute sessions that give the broad brush of the Alliance and how it works. The next one will be held at UUC - Tuesday, June 24 from 7:00 to 8:30 PM.
• Leadership Institutes: These are 2-day trainings that run through the basic components of the IAF/Sound Alliance model: relational meetings, discernment, research-action teams, power analysis, action, negotiations. Free for UUC members. The Institutes will start again in the fall - contact the Alliance to register. The current scheduled ones are:
  • Saturdays, September 27 and October 4, 9 AM to 3 PM, in both Olympia and Federal Way
  • Thursdays, October 16 and 23, 2 PM to 7 PM, on Mercer Island
• Research Action Teams: You can join the Research Action teams in the five issue areas of the Agenda for the Common Good. Meetings are usually held at the Sound Alliance offices at 649 Strander Blvd, Building E/Suite B, in Tukwila, but contact the Alliance (206-575-2252) to confirm.
  • Education: Tuesday July 8, Tuesday August 19 - 7PM
  • Health Care: Wednesday July 9, Wednesday August 20 - 7 PM
  • Housing: Monday July 7, 7PM
  • Immigration/Civil Rights: Friday June 20 and Friday July 25 - 5:30PM
  • Sustainable Jobs/Environment: Thursday July 10, Tuesday August 26, and Thursday September 25 - 7PM
• Washington Health Care Caucuses: The Healthy Washington Coalition is sponsoring town hall meetings around the state on health care reform.
  • Thursday, June 19, 6:30 pm – University Christian Church, 4731 15th Ave NE in Seattle
  • Tuesday, July 1, 6:30 pm – Temple Beth El, 5975 S. 12th St. in Tacoma
  • Tuesday, August 12, Temple B’nai Torah, 15727 NE 4th St. in Bellevue

Agenda for the Common Good

Over more than a year, the Sound Alliance engaged thousands of people in conversations about the most pressing issues impacting their families and the dreams they have for themselves and their communities. The problems that were felt most passionately and surfaced most consistently revolved around: health care, education, sustainable jobs and the environment, housing, and immigration and civil rights.

Research-Action Teams – comprised of leaders from a diverse mix of faith, education, labor and other nonprofit institutions work to set a vision for change in each area, and proposals that will guide the organization’s action agenda. Three of the issue areas - health care, sustainable jobs and environment, and education - are also priorities for our sister organization, the Spokane Alliance, and we will work together to maximize our impact in these areas.

Our vision:

Health Care

To provide access to affordable, secure and comprehensive health care for all residents, and to control costs and promote good health through an emphasis on wellness and prevention.

Education

To meet the high demands of educating our children in the 21st century, we promote an amply funded, quality education that engages the talents and interests of all students, reducees dropout rates, cultivates lifelong learning, prepares students for a wide range of career paths, and supports high standards using a variety of assessments.

Sustainable Jobs & Environment

To address major environmental and economic challenges - such as rising energy prices, global climate change, water quality and conservation - in ways that are equitable for low and moderate income people and that create large numbers of sustainable, living wage jobs.

Housing

To achieve access for all to housing that is safe, decent and obtainable to all income levels, recognizing adequate housing as a fundamental right essential to the well-being and security of individuals, families and communities.

Immigration & Civil Rights

To challenge all forms of discrimination and promote equitable access for all residents to the resources needed for a full and dignified life, including compassionate and hospitable immigration policies.