#tenant organizing

[alwaysbewoke]

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

Happy to be a member of the Kingston Workers History Project in Kingston, Ontario. I've neglected to share some of the articles we are putting out, so here's one on tenant activism in the 1960s and 1970s:

"In 1968, a group of tenants and activists came together in Kingston to form the Association of Tenants Action in Kingston (ATAK). They opposed high rents, argued that tenants should be able to bargain with landlords, and built a wider movement to defend working class and poor people in Ontario against unjust housing conditions. Led by tireless activists, ATAK used diverse tactics to challenge rising rent prices, low vacancy, and hostile landlords. ATAK provides us with an important historical lesson about the effectiveness of grassroots organizing and the dedication of intelligent, diligent leadership to hold governments accountable and advocate for tenants, workers, the poor, and the unhoused."

- "ATAK: Tenant Action in the ’60s and ’70s," Kingston Workers' History Project. November 27, 2022.

[alanshemper]

the rent is too damn high

[ti-ra-de-ro]

[whetstonefires]

Underrated thing about The Crow (1994) is that ultimately it's a film about a guy utterly wrecking his shitty landlord.

Like yeah, Top Dollar is a spooky casually homicidal goth mob boss who ordered the brutal murders of the protagonist and his fiancee, and we get the whole classic revenge spree film slaughtering your way through the criminals to get to the top guy formula.

(With in addition to the whole revenant bit the interesting variant that Eric isn't even actually going for the guy at the top, he just interjects himself into the proceedings lmao.)

But also he's a slumlord, and the reason they died was Shelly formed a tenant's union in response to wrongful eviction proceedings. And Top Dollar would rather have his building sitting empty than put up with that shit.

Which will make it very funny if the remake that got greenlit for next year is deep-sixed by the studios' deranged collective refusal to come to terms with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA.

[steveyockey]

this should NOT stop you from engaging with your local dsa but don’t be surprised when the thing they excel the most at is unethical non-monogamy

[irenetherogue]

Reframing common employer phrases into plainspeak

Laziness = poor ppl resting/playing, ever

Working vacation = rich ppl getting paid to rest/play

Rage applying = looking for a better job

Rage quitting = leaving toxic job/boss

Quiet quitting = refusing to do free labor

Blackmail = employees leveraging anything

Insubordination = talking about pay at work

Company culture = guilt trips & pizza as pay

Morality clause = make us look bad, get fired

"We're like family" = "we ask for favors, then never pay you back"

"We expect everyone to pitch in" = "we expect you to do free labor"

"HR is here to help you" = "HR is here to stop you from suing us"

Thx for coming to my TedTalk

[lungfuls]

Renters need to organize. Like, refuse to apply to places that don't accept reusable credit and background checks, for one small example.

[elprupneerg]

I just saw someone talk about “gentrification of a fetish” time to log off tumblr for a bit

[followerofmercy]

Hey: this is directed at my fellow Americans but it applies to everyone on the planet.

GET INVOLVED IN YOUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT. YOU CANNOT CHANGE THINGS AT HIGHER LEVELS BY YOURSELF. That's what all the 'community' talk buzzing around is about.

AND ALSO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF AND DON'T BURN OUT

[dragynkeep]

pro tip: don't keep a knife in your hand when you're blinded by onion fumes & trying to find the sink to wash your eyes out

[queen-mabs-revenge]

always on my organizing grind gonna get my building unionized

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"WAR WORKERS' COMMUNITY APPOINTS TOWN COUNCIL'," Toronto Star. October 7, 1942. Page 8. ---- Ajax Citizens' Committee Seeks Store, Physician-Plan Red Cross Branch --- ALREADY 600 HOUSES --- Ajax. Oct. 7 - Residents of Ajax, near Whitby, Ontario's fastest-growing town, have just appointed a "town council." Because all citizens of Ajax are tenants of Wartime Housing, Limited, and thus are rent-payers rather than tax-payers, there is some doubt as to just how far they may go toward incorporation as a town or village, John R. Fidier, secretary of the new "citizens' committee," said today.

"We have, however, what we hope will be in effect a town council, although it must remain in name for the time being as a citizens committee." Mr. Fidler said. The first moves, he indicated, will be to obtain a retail store and a physician for Ajax.

"The citizens' committee and five sub-committees will represent the hundreds of war workers who are setting up their homes here in negotiations with Defence Industries, Limited, where they are employed, and with Wartime Housing which is building the houses," Mr. Fidler said.

May Start Co-op Store "There isn't a store in Ajax at the present time. We are considering whether we might be able to establish a co-operative," he said. "Two hundred of the new houses here are completed and nearly all are occupied. We expect at least 100 more of the first 600 houses. which Wartime Housing is building will be occupied in a few weeks." The nearest shopping centres of any size were Toronto and Oshawa, he added.

"When all the 600 houses are occupied we will have upwards of 2,000 population, and by spring it may be more, so we also want to get a doctor," Mr. Fidler added. "There is one doctor at the plants but he is too busy there for outside calls."

The citizens committee of 15 members, including three women, was formed this week after a meeting of all residents in the recreation hall. George Munns was appointed chairman by the committee and Mr. Fidler as secretary.

Discuss Fire Protection Five sub-committees have been set up. The community service group has as its first responsibility the securing of a store. The emergency service committee is to discuss plans for fire protection, medical services and street lighting. A social services committee is to support formation of a Home and School association and boy scout and girl guide groups.

In addition there is a war service committee which is to look after organization of an Ajax branch of the Red Cross society and raise funds for other war purposes. Funds for all activities will be supervised by a financial committee which is headed by S. T. Hopkins, chief clerk at Defence Industries, and T. W. Lavender, employment supervisor at the plant.

The citizens' committee is also to co-operate with the school board in securing athletic equipment for the pupils of the new eight-room school which it is expected will be opened within two weeks. Built to accommodate 320 pupils, the school may need enlarging before long, members of the committee said. Already 176 enrolments have been registered, an average of one from each occupied house in the village.

"Fire protection is a matter still to be discussed." Mr. Fidler said. "The houses are all of frame construction but we have good water supply, as the mains and hydrants are strategically situated. We are going to discuss with the plant officials to what extent we can rely on them for assistance." he added.

[falinscloaca]

rewatched paranoia agent by proxy (reaction youtube), feeling emotionally akin to warm yet raw eggs again. great.

[caffeinesystem]

Hey all. Me and my entire apartment complex are raising money to help the most urgently in need among us, and pay litigation fees to go after our property management company in court.

(The lawyers representing us are doing so at no charge.)

Said property management company has been continuing to rent units in our complex despite serious HVAC and plumbing issues. We've had heat and water shutoffs constantly during this winter, and it culminated at the beginning of this month in them asking everyone on the ground floor to vacate with a 30 day notice.

A little over a week later they sent out a retraction, saying that no one needed to move out, although they'd allow anyone who had already found new housing to end their lease with no penalty.

Then they tried, halfway through the month, to make everyone leave with three days' notice instead, claiming that they couldn't repair the heat and it wasn't safe for us to keep living here.

They sent out that notice on a Friday afternoon, mind you--making it even more difficult to get moving or storage arranged or contact any other leasing offices.

This wasn't legally enforceable, they didn't offer any alternate housing or help finding new permanent housing (at least not until people started threatening to sue), and now they're aggressively trying to get us to break up our collective organizing.

My roommates and I are okay--we're in the group that originally was told to leave and had been planning to move out anyway. But it's still been an incredibly stressful and disruptive experience.

Many of our former neighbors are in much worse situations and could really use help.

[cqallenwalker]

I saw an American Marxist-Leninist claim that Anarchists do nothing because of "the optics" and I couldn't think of a bigger case of projection. For years now Anarchists have been heading the fight against Cop City, which would not only train cops in this country, but export our brutality to other countries such as Israel. It has been Anarchists destroying the construction equipment, gathering intelligence on the people and companies involved, protecting the forest.

When it comes to the broader police and prison abolition movement, Anarchists have been on top of that too. Especially since most MLs think the A in ACAB means American and are perfectly willing to lick fascist boots if they think that one day they can wear the boots. When the local MLs saw how serious we were during the George Floyd Uprising not only fighting the police but the local fascist militias too, they turned tail and called the cops on us.

When Roe v Wade dissolved, it's been anarchists torching the anti-abortion places and teaching people how to make safe abortion pills.

While MLs have decried trans people as "westerners" engaging in "bourgeois degeneracy", anarchists have been the ones fighting the fascists, smuggling HRT and preventing the infiltration of TERFs in the American feminist movement.

When it comes to Gaza, Anarchists have been the ones smashing banks and other sponsors of the ongoing genocide. Just a week or two ago, Anarchists poured concrete into the water supply of a building where a Zionist event was happening, to remind them of the water they're depriving from the Palestinians.

Time and time again Anarchists have been doing not only the risky, stylish shit, but the quieter necessary shit (childcare, food, intelligence gathering, zine/sticker making, scheduling etc) needed to actually achieve change.

The only thing MLs know how to do is lead people into police kettles, sexually abuse their comrades, call the cops, get infiltrated by the feds and read Lenin like he was a holy prophet.