Each year the Unitarian Universalist Association chooses a book for congregations to read together. The annual Common Read is selected to fit with a specific Unitarian Universalist ideal. This year’s theme is Economic Justice and the Common Read is Behind the Kitchen Door by Saru Jayaraman.
Our Green Sanctuary and Social Justice Committees will be working together to coordinate the reading of Behind the Kitchen Door in our congregation followed by either one 90 minute discussion group or two 45 minute groups. There are multiple options for obtaining the book and Patrick Murfin has been detailing those in the Church Happenings every week.
I have ordered several copies of the book from the UUA Bookstore which I will have available on Sunday March 9th. Hopefully you will take a look at the book and sign up to be a part of the Tree of Life Common Read. Once we have an idea of how many people are interested in ordering the book from the UUA we will be able to determine what type of discount we can get.
This book will help us to understand what goes on in our favorite restaurant or fast food place. It will also give us insight as to what raising the minimum wage would mean for people who are barely getting by on their current incomes.
How do restaurant workers live on some of the lowest wages in America? And how do poor working conditions—discriminatory labor practices, exploitation, and unsanitary kitchens—affect the meals that arrive at our restaurant tables? Saru Jayaraman, who launched the national restaurant workers’ organization Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, sets out to answer these questions by following the lives of restaurant workers in New York City, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Miami, Detroit, and New Orleans.