6 Responses to “UUSS established as an HP Free Church!”

1. Dirk says:

   December 3, 2017 at 2:50 pm

   Update 12/3/17: an updated clarification about the Board’s decision in May regarding use of Hewlett-Packard equipment and supplies can be found here.
2. Karen Hirsch says:

   June 6, 2017 at 7:41 pm

   I am disturbed by what I see as a lack of transparency in the UUSS Board of Trustees taking this action on behalf of the congregation as a whole. Not that I am necessarily opposed to divestment from HP. But the way in which this action was taken, as compared to discussion and congregational input on the BLM banner, is striking. HP divestment is a core part of the anti-Israel BDS movement, about which progressives have many viewpoints, and Jewish UUs in particular deserve to have their voices heard. There are Jewish stakeholders within UUSS who would like to know if this move is a sign of further congregational alignment with BDS stances. If so, there definitely should be more open dialogue about the complex issues involved.
3. Christine Bailey says:

   June 6, 2017 at 4:14 pm

   Hi, I’ve been so busy I am not up to speed on this issue. I saw you Sunday but was so preoccupied with the Native Voices event that I didn’t focus on asking. Could tell me just briefly the issue with HP in the Middle East? I’m very interested.

   • Sarah Turner says:

     June 6, 2017 at 7:21 pm

     Hi Christine – below is the write-up that we shared with the Board and handed out to our members over the last few months while gathering signatures:

     For thousands of years, churches have served as places to give thanks, to bring families together, to provide sanctuary for those in need. We cannot allow these core commitments to be diminished by allowing companies complicit in human rights abuses to establish themselves in our houses of worship.

     Hewlett Packard (HP) provides Israel with the technological tools to facilitate its oppression of the Palestinian people. HP profits from the illegal Israeli occupation by providing:

     – Key information technology systems used by the Israeli navy to enforce the destruction of Gaza

     – Technologies, such as the discriminatory BASEL ID system, used by the Israeli army to restrict the movement of Palestinians living in the West Bank and to maintain Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land

     – Services and technologies to major Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including Ariel and Mod’in Illit

     HP also profits from immigrant detention and mass incarceration in the United States by providing:

     – Information management for both state and private prisons—technology that tracks prisoner data and is essential not only for the continued incarceration of millions of black and poor people, but also for widespread legal discrimination against former prisoners

     – Technology used by the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to track, raid, detain, and deport millions of immigrant families, on a scale unprecedented in U.S. history

     The Presbyterian Church, Unitarian Universalists, United Church of Christ, Quaker Friends Fiduciary, and Alliance of Baptists have all divested from HP at the denominational level. Let’s bring this courageous stand to the congregational level by becoming an HP-free church.

     • Christine Bailey says:

       June 6, 2017 at 7:32 pm

       Thank you for the information, and thank you very much for organizing this action by our congregation!! I’m so glad we have taken this stand!
4. Karen Hirsch says:

   June 6, 2017 at 3:52 pm

   Curious why this was not put to a member vote, as was the BLM banner?

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