Points of Unity

Neighbors United x Vecinos Unidos is a progressive, grassroots community organization based in Monroe NC.
Below are our Points of Unity which help guide the direction and orientation of our organization & campaigns!

1. We’re non-partisan & are not oriented around elections.

NUVU of Monroe is not an appendage of nor does it endorse any electoral party, especially the Republican or Democratic Parties!
It is clearer than ever that both of the major political parties have been fully subsumed & captured by corporate business interests. Representatives of those parties exclusively serve the interests of their wealthy donors at the expense of every-day working people. While many non-profits are wholly oriented around registering voters and lobbying politicians, we aim to organize working people who are largely ignored by such organizations, namely those unable or disinterested in participating in the electoral circus. Many of our neighbors such as the undocumented, housing-unstable, criminalized and others are fully disenfranchised by our electoral system & can seek no reprieve or representation via the ballot, such people still deserve to take an active part in democratic decision-making processes regarding their livelihoods & communities. As workers, tenants, residents & community members all of us hold collective power over our bosses, landlords, politicians & state agents, regardless of our ability or inclination towards voting. NUVU of Monroe aims to empower all working people to help shape where we live.

2. We represent the interests of working & oppressed people.

NUVU of Monroe stands for the rights & interests of all working-class and oppressed people. Wealthy business owners have their own organizations that represent their interests, such as the Chamber of Commerce or either of two major political parties. Working people deserve our own! Oppressed people includes individuals who experience unjust & prejudicial systemic discrimination due to their nationality, skin color, sexual orientation or gender identity. We are unapologetic advocates for Black people, immigrants & Native Americans as well as women & the LGBTQ community. We will not abide any hateful speech or behavior that disparages the most vulnerable amongst us and we aim to combat racism, nationalist xenophobia, white supremacy, misogyny & cis-hetero-patriarchy and any other social prejudices aimed at large segments of the working class.

3. We are grassroots & self-reliant.

We are not beholden to wealthy donors or funders. We do not aim to become a 401c3 or 501c3. We do not seek any financial support from the state via grants or other avenues. We are entirely self-funded and reliant upon the generosity of our members and community. Oftentimes, non-profits that orient themselves around collecting donations & funding end up realizing that money comes with strings that get in the way of their self-professed mission. Would be activists & organizers then end up being staffers more concerned about career-advancement or job security rather than serving the needs of their community. We believe in challenging the existing social relations between employer & employee not recreating them within our organizing space.

4. We operate on democratic basis with open-minded, good-faith dialogue.

We understand we live in a diverse community with a multitude of ideas, worldviews & perspectives that are expressed through all of our neighbors and their experiences. We commit to open-minded, good-faith dialogue with all who are interested in taking an active part of our work and in our community. While disagreements are inevitable, we navigate them by adherence to these points of unity and by encouraging free expression from all who we come into contact with. We aim to knock down barriers than stand in the way of building trust with our neighbors whom we have more in common with than not.

5. We uphold international ideals of solidarity.

We refute the rising ultra-nationalist & militaristic sentiments that pit the working poor in the US against the working poor of countries abroad. We understand working people in every nation face bigger threats from their own governments than they do from each other. We support immigrants, refugees & victims of war overseas and understand the same corporate-driven forces that rain down bombs on their homes are the same that send American youth to die in needless wars. We do not believe our freedoms are protected by never-ending wars in the Middle East or elsewhere. We do not believe immigrants or refugees are the cause of our domestic issues. Rather, we believe it’s plain to see the same corporate class that profits off of war & death overseas also profits off mass incarceration/criminalization of immigrants & other minorities domestically. We believe safer communities are created when working people enjoy access to public education, healthcare & economic opportunity and when these social services are prioritized over police, prison and military spending.