Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice (WFVJ) is a left-of-center interfaith policy advocacy organization with a focus on LGBT, “economic justice,” and immigration issues. Based in Madison, Wisconsin, this organization was founded in 2011 and is led by Bonnie Margulis, a rabbi who has ties to Planned Parenthood. She is the former head of the Clergy for Choice Network and director of programming for clergy at the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. ¹

Wisconsin Faith Voices’ member congregations include but not are limited to Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Baha’i congregations. It annually grants the “A Voice for Justice Award” to residents who promote its mission and exemplify its values. The group is also a member of the left-of-center activist group Declaration for American Democracy Coalition. As part of its advocacy this group organizes a “Minimum Wage Challenge” in which participants are asked to spend a week spending only $11 a day without the use of credit cards, the amount presumably left over when making minimum wage and after paying for basic living expenses. Participants are also told to use only public transportation. ²

Policy Advocacy

Legislation

Wisconsin Faith Voices opposed 2023 Senate Bill 10, proposed state legislation which aims to prevent children in  classrooms from being exposed to “harmful material” which is defined as “any picture, photograph, drawing, sculpture, motion picture film, or similar visual representation or image of a person or portion of the human body that depicts nudity, sexually explicit conduct, sadomasochistic abuse, physical torture, or brutality and that is harmful to children.” The bill further stipulates that schools must put in place internet filters or some other system that ensures children are not exposed to such material. It also mandates that parents be informed of and have the right to examine the curriculum for any classroom materials presented that may violate these rules. ³

Wisconsin Faith Voices referred to this bill as “Anti-Equity Legislation,” and also argued that the law would have “unintended consequences” such as excluding photographs of Michelangelo’s “David” or curricula about the Holocaust or slavery. ⁴

Wisconsin Faith Voices also spoke out against a state senate joint resolution to examine whether schools “should be prohibited from providing curriculum or instruction to students that one race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex or that an individual by virtue of the individual’s race or sex bears responsibility for acts committed in the past by other individuals of the same race or sex.” WFVJ expressed concern that such legislation would prevent teaching about slavery and genocide, or discrimination against LGBT groups and women. ⁵

Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice also opposed proposed changes to the local cash bail system which would have allowed judges to factor in previous violent crimes of defendants in their decision making process, on the grounds that this would generate economic inequality. The organization is also against an amendment that would require “adult, able-bodied” individuals to work before receiving Medicaid benefits. ^{6 7}

Economic Bill of Rights

In 2023, state Rep. Francesca Hong (D-WI) and state Rep. Kristina Shelton(D-WI) introduced a joint resolution calling for an “Economic Bill of Rights” which would include a mandated living wage, public or private unions with collective bargaining powers, and affordable childcare and internet services. Wisconsin Faith Voices is a supporter of this initiative, and planned to host Hong and Shelton as keynote speakers for its annual celebration, held virtually, in June 2023. ^{8 9}

Programs

Dane Sanctuary Coalition

Wisconsin Faith Voices is a co-founder of the immigrant advocacy group Dane Sanctuary Coalition. Founded in conjunction with immigration nonprofits Voces de la Frontera and Centro Hispano, and supported by the Women’s international League for Peace and Freedom and agricultural interest group Family Farm Defenders, this coalition was formed from a pool of Christian, Jewish, and Unitarian church congregations that have pledged to offer housing asylum to illegal immigrants who face deportation. ¹⁰

Moving from Charity to Justice

Moving from Charity to Justice is a series of workshops designed for clergy to increase their activism efficacy. The workshops include role-playing sessions on how to conduct postcard campaigns and lobby elected officials. ¹¹

Dignity at Work Coalition

Wisconsin Faith Voices spearheaded the Dignity at Work Coalition, an interfaith initiative that works to raise minimum wage requirements, advocate for labor unions, seek paid family leave and childcare mandates, and push for equity outcomes in the workplace. This group allies with Planned Parenthood and Family Farm Defenders, and the LGBT advocacy group Fair Wisconsin. ¹²

Leadership

In addition to her work at Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice, founder and executive director Bonnie Margulis has been active in pro-abortion activism. She is the chair of the Wisconsin branch of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, and the former head of Shenandoah Friends of Planned Parenthood. She is also a founding member of We Are Many: United Against Hate. She is a former member of the left-of-center Middle East policy advocacy group J Street’s national advisory board, and a former chair of the Reform Jewish Movement’s Commission on Social Action. ¹³

1. “Rabbi Bonnie Margulis.” Linkedin. Accessed March 20, 2023.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/rabbibonniemargulis/
2. “The Minimum Wage Challenge.” WFVJ. Accessed March 20, 2023.  https://www.wisconsinfaithvoicesforjustice.org/wage.html
3. “2023 Senate Bill 10.” Wisconsin.gov. Accessed March 20, 2023. https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2023/related/proposals/sb10
4. “Anti-Equity Referenda and Legislation.” WFVJ. February 3, 2023. Accessed March 20, 2023.  https://mailchi.mp/29b2f248d063/the-most-important-election-you-never-heard-of?e=b6bd33f9e5
5. ^[1] “2023 Senate Joint Resolution 7.” Legiscan.  Accessed March 20, 2023. https://legiscan.com/WI/text/SJR7/2023
6. Accessed March 20, 2023. “Anti-Equity Referenda and Legislation.” WFVJ. February 3, 2023. Accessed March 20, 2023.  https://mailchi.mp/29b2f248d063/the-most-important-election-you-never-heard-of?e=b6bd33f9e5
7. Spears, Baylor. “Assembly Approves Bail Amerndment, Welfare Work Requirement for April Ballot.” Wisconsin Examiner. January 20, 2023. Accessed March 20, 2023. https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2023/01/20/assembly-approves-bail-amendment-welfare-work-requirement-for-april-ballot/
8. Flores, Iuscely. “State Reps. Hong and Shelton Reintroduce Economic Bill of Rights.” Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. March 10, 2023. Accessed March 20, 2023. https://www.wisdc.org/news/commentary/7317-state-reps-hong-and-shelton-reintroduce-economic-justice-bill-of-rights
9. “Annual Celebration.” WFVJ. Accessed March 20, 2023. https://www.wisconsinfaithvoicesforjustice.org/annualcelebration.html
10. “Our Mission.” Dane Sanctuary Coaltion. Accessed March 20, 2023. https://danesanctuarycoalition.org/
11. “Moving from Charity to Justice: A Workshop in Faithful Advocacy.” WFVJ. Accessed March 20, 2023. https://www.wisconsinfaithvoicesforjustice.org/advocacy-workshop.html
12. “Dignity at Work Coalition.” WFVJ. Accessed March 20, 2023. http://www.dignityatworkcoalition.org/
13. ^[1] “Biography: Rabbi Bonnie Margulis.” WFVJ.  Accessed March 20, 2023. Chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.wisconsinfaithvoicesforjustice.org/uploads/1/0/9/4/109458723/bio_rbm.pdf.