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Dear John –
Over 30 years ago we were founded with a mission to warn about the
serious risks that concentrated wealth poses to our collective
well-being . . .
. . . pay-to-play decision-making that guts democratic
processes
. . . the withdrawal of social services and the erosion of
our commons, with its potential to provide and unite
. . . the demonization of marginalized groups,
even as their labor delivers essential services and keeps the
wealth-extraction machine running
. . . the frightening prospect of an expansion of state
violence in our daily lives.
Now all of these dangers are unfolding. Like you — and with
you — we are finding our way, staying true to the work that is
ours to do. We are anchored by the core belief that has sustained us
from the start: we have each other.
You know that it takes intentional, ongoing effort to
cultivate ourselves as people who can show up for each other and take
impactful action. UFE’s work is to make this promise
of the collective into something real.
Read our fall news below, and see what we are bringing to life:
=> community
leaders with an informed analysis of our economy, with the
skills to bring people together for meaningful action, who can support
each other to heal from oppressive conditions
=> art and culture and
somatic practices in our movement spaces, where people can
bring all of who they are and find new ways to move together in
rhythm
=> dynamic networks
where organizations come together across differences to build the
relationships and trust that underpin sustained collective action
=> resourced
infrastructure, with skilled organizers, trained
interpreters, and practical support for convening and facilitation
=> narrative and
storytelling that shares the truths of our economy and makes
it irresistible to join in building a better future.
Read on! And if you’re able, support
this work. We are especially looking for monthly
donors – and every monthly giving level makes a
difference.
United for a Fair Economy
https://www.faireconomy.org/
Centering Language Justice:
Interpretation for Social Justice Training in Alabama / Justicia lingüística: Interpretación para la formación
en justicia social en
Alabama
To create inclusive conversations
across language, we use simultaneous interpretation.
It requires interpreters who can listen in one language as they are
voicing in another. It works best when interpreters have familiarity
with economic and racial justice concepts and vocabulary. In Alabama,
a shortage of interpreters was inhibiting our work
and that of our partners. So we decided to do something about it!
In July 2025, we hosted our first Interpretation for Social
Justice training.
UFE tuvo el orgullo de
organizar una potente formación para intérpretes en Alabama, que
reunió a 12 participantes apasionados y comprometidos con la justicia
lingüística.

Making an Impact in Alabama
UFE’s Grassroots Organizing School
of Alabama (GOSA) is meeting the need in Alabama for a
pipeline of skilled organizers – and so much more.
Three years in, GOSA has spawned a constellation of
contributions to bolster the infrastructure for making
change.

Equal Tax Act Would Make the Tax Code More
Equitable
Did you know that stock market
wealth is the most concentrated that it has been at any point in US
history? and that wages for the top 1% have skyrocketed 182% since
1979 (source: EPI blog, 12/11/24)? Now is a great time for those at
the top to pay taxes like the rest of us.
UFE and our Responsible Wealth
project joined Patriotic Millionaires and others in supporting the
Equal Tax Act. This landmark legislation, introduced in September
2025, would ensure that investment income is taxed the same as income
earned by workers.

Reflections on a UFE Summer to Remember / Reflexiones sobre
un verano inolvidable en la UFE
Fall's golden hues and crisp nights
have Jeannette Huezo, UFE's Executive Director and Senior Popular
Educator, reflecting on a UFE summer to remember. We found new
opportunities for Popular Economics Education, and prioritized staff
time to rest and recharge.

Supporting Boston Organizing from Our New Office
Space
When the Massachusetts TPS
Committee and other local partners approached us with a request for
ongoing collective learning and healing, we were delighted to have a
big new space to host them.

Interdependence Resitval
Brings Healing into Movement
Over a long weekend in August,
Eroc Arroyo-Montano, UFE’s Director of Cultural Organizing, brought
healing into the movement at the Interdepence
Restival. Founded and hosted
by frequent UFE collaborator Luana Morales, the focus of this annual
gathering is to restore and bring healing to people working on the
front lines of social justice movements.
Raising Wages NC Isn’t
Celebrating NC’s Stark Divide
North Carolina holds two dubious
distinctions. It is ranked worst for
workers for six years running
(Oxfam 2025). And it scored best for
business for three of the
past four years (CNBD 2025). Together, these achievements tell the
story of a deeply unfair economy that delivers outsized rewards to
companies that enrich themselves through low pay, limited worker
rights, and scant social obligations to NC people and
communities.

Making Sense of Our Times:
A New Quarterly Pop-Ed Training at Avila / Entender Nuestros Tiempos:
Formación Trimestral Sobre Educación Popular
UFE’s Inclusive Economy Project -
NC team has launched a new Quarterly Popular Education series at the
Avila Center for Community Leadership, where we are a partner.
Developed collaboratively with the Union of Southern Service Workers
(USSW) and Peace Hill, it began in August with a day-long training
called “Making Sense of Our Times.”
El equipo
del Proyecto de Economía Inclusiva de UFE en Carolina del Norte ha
lanzado una nueva serie trimestral de Educación Popular en el Centro
Ávila para el Liderazgo Comunitario, donde colaboramos.
Desarrollada en
colaboración con el Sindicato de Trabajadores del Servicio del Sur
(USSW) y Peace Hill, comenzó en agosto con una jornada de capacitación
titulada "Entendiendo nuestro
tiempo".

¡Bienvenida, Erika Arteaga!
We are thrilled to announce Erika
Arévalo Arteaga as the newest member of UFE’s team! She joined us in
July as UFE’s Executive Assistant and Popular Educator. She brings
strong leadership and community building skills. Erika shared, "It is
exciting to work with an organization and a team that seeks real
actions for equality for our communities.“
Nos complace anunciar a Erika
Arteaga como la nueva integrante del equipo de UFE. Se unirá a
nosotros como Asistente Ejecutiva y Educadora Popular de UFE. Aporta
sólidas habilidades de liderazgo y desarrollo comunitario. Erika
compartió: "Es emocionante trabajar con una organización y un equipo
que busca acciones concretas para la igualdad en nuestras
comunidades.”

Hire Us!
Did you know that you can hire UFE
facilitators to help your organization understand economic inequality?
to cultivate your team’s skill at working through conflict? to learn
language justice practices? Our skilled facilitators and educators are
available for hire!

WHAT'S NEXT?
-
Strategic Planning / Plan Estrategico. We began a new round of strategic planning
in Fall 2024 — UFE's 30th year! We are dreaming big to update our
vision and strategies for impactful economic justice movement
building. As ever, the plan will be developed around our unique
contribution to change-making: popular education that develops
critical thinking about the economy as a cornerstone of leadership
development and movement building. This process will continue into
2026.
Justice Williams, skilled facilitator and frequent UFE
collaborator, is coordinating the process.

-
Fall Training of Trainers (ToT) 2025. In just one week we will gather at the
Avila Center for Community Leadership in Durham, NC for UFE’s Fall
Training of Trainers. Over 20 organizers and community-based leaders
from North Carolina, Alabama, Massachusetts, and more will join for
four days of fully bilingual popular economics education, circle work,
facilitation skill building, and more. / En tan solo una semana nos reuniremos en el
Centro Ávila para el Liderazgo Comunitario en Durham, Carolina del
Norte, para la Capacitación de Capacitadores de Otoño de UFE. Más de
20 organizadores y líderes comunitarios de Carolina del Norte,
Alabama, Massachusetts y otros lugares se unirán para disfrutar de
cuatro días de educación económica popular totalmente bilingüe,
trabajo en círculo, desarrollo de habilidades de facilitación y mucho
más.
-
UFE’s Winter Concert / Concierto de
invierno (virtual). Join us on Thursday, December 11, 2025 from
7:30–9 pm EST for an engaging evening of music and spoken word. Mark
your calendars! Únase a
nosotros el Jueves, 11 de Diciembre de 2025 de 7:30 a 9 p. m. EST,
para disfrutar de una velada de música y poesía. ¡Anótelo en su
calendario!
Estimada John –
Hace más de 30 años, nos fundamos
con la misión de advertir sobre los graves riesgos que la
concentración de la riqueza supone para nuestro bienestar colectivo,
como...
... la toma de decisiones basada en
el pago por participar, que socava los procesos
democráticos
... la retirada de los servicios
sociales y la erosión de nuestros bienes
comunes, con su potencial
para proporcionar y unir
... la demonización
de los grupos marginados,
incluso cuando su trabajo proporciona servicios esenciales y mantiene
en funcionamiento la máquina de extracción de riqueza
... la aterradora perspectiva de
una expansión de la violencia estatal en nuestra vida
cotidiana.
Ahora todos estos peligros se están
materializando. Al igual que ustedes, y junto con ustedes, estamos buscando nuestro camino, manteniéndonos
fieles al trabajo que nos corresponde realizar. Nos sostiene la
convicción fundamental que nos ha acompañado desde el principio:
nos tenemos los unos a los otros.
Sabes que se
necesita un esfuerzo intencional y continuo para cultivarnos como
personas que pueden apoyarse mutuamente y tomar medidas impactantes.
El trabajo de UFE consiste en
convertir esta promesa colectiva en algo real.
Lea nuestras noticias de otoño a
continuación y descubra lo que estamos haciendo realidad:
-
líderes comunitarios
con un análisis informado de nuestra economía, con las habilidades
necesarias para unir a las personas en torno a acciones
significativas, que puedan apoyarse mutuamente para recuperarse de
condiciones opresivas
-
arte y cultura y prácticas somáticas en nuestros espacios de
movimiento, donde las
personas pueden aportar todo lo que son y encontrar nuevas formas de
moverse juntas al ritmo
-
redes dinámicas en
las que las organizaciones se unen más allá de sus diferencias para
construir las relaciones y la confianza que sustentan la acción
colectiva sostenida
-
infraestructura dotada de recursos, con organizadores cualificados,
intérpretes formados y apoyo práctico para la convocatoria y la
facilitación
-
narrativa y narración
que comparten las verdades de nuestra economía y hacen que sea
irresistible unirse a la construcción de un futuro mejor.
¡Sigue leyendo! Y si puedes, apoya
este trabajo. Ahora mismo estamos buscando especialmente donantes
mensuales, y cada aportación, sea cual sea su cuantía mensuales, marca
la diferencia.