Resolutions

WHEREAS on March 23 we celebrated the one-year anniversary of the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” and

WHEREAS many of the provisions of this act are being implemented in the next few years, and

WHEREAS the United Methodist Church has affirmed in its Social Principles that “health care is a basic human right” and that at the 2008 General Conference added the phrase “it is a government responsibility to provide health care,”

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that we encourage church members within the Wisconsin Annual Conference to contact their elected representatives (federal and state) and those responsible for implementing the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” to ensure that the implementation follows these values:

--Inclusive: “Health care is a shared responsibility that is grounded in our common humanity.” Our abundant health resources need to be shared with everyone.

--Affordable: “Health care must contribute to the common good by being affordable for individuals, families, and society as a whole.” Health care resources need to be administered efficiently and distributed with equity.

--Accessible: “All persons should have access to health services that provide necessary care and contribute to wellness.” We need to act with justice and love to make sure that everyone in our society has access to the health care they need to enable them to live up to their potential both as individuals and as contributing
members of society.

--Accountable: “Our health care system must be accountable offering a quality, equitable, and sustainable means of keeping us healthy as individuals and as a community.” As individuals and as a community we need to ensure health care that treats equally body, mind, and spirit.
(Quotations taken from ―A Faith Inspired Vision of Health Care‖ developed by the Faithful Reform in Health Care Coalition)

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that through prophetic preaching and faith based study in each local congregation that these values be discussed and advocated publicly as “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” is fully implemented. We instruct the Communications Director of the Wisconsin Annual Conference to distribute this resolution to all churches in the Wisconsin Annual Conference and to send this statement to all of the news outlets in the state so that Wisconsin citizens know the position of The United Methodist Church.

A Resolution on Collective Bargaining

WHEREAS the Social Principles in the 2008 United Methodist Book of Discipline (¶163B) states and Bishop Linda Lee quoted to Governor Scott Walker:

“We support the right of all public and private employees and employers to organize for collective bargaining into unions and other groups of their own choosing. Further, we support the right of both parties to protection in so doing and their responsibility to bargain in good faith within the framework of the public interest In order that the rights of all members of the society may be maintained and promoted, we support innovative bargaining procedures that include representatives of the public interest in negotiation and settlement of labor-management contracts, including some that may lead to forms of judicial resolution of issues. We reject the use of violence by either party during collective bargaining or any labor/management disagreement. We likewise reject the permanent replacement of a worker who engages in a lawful strike.”

WE THEREFORE ENCOURAGE the members of the Annual Conference to make this position available to members of their congregation and to use it as material for education on this matter in the congregation.

FURTHER, WE ENCOURAGE congregation members, in the current political struggle in our state, to use this statement to support those who are oppressed by the actions of the current administration, State Senate and Assembly who have voted to take this right from workers, to let them know that the United Methodist Church stands with them in their efforts to maintain collective bargaining rights. We instruct the Communication Director of the Wisconsin Annual Conference to distribute our Discipline’s statement above to all of the news outlets available to receive our press releases in the state of Wisconsin to inform the citizens of the state of the position of The United Methodist Church.