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With unemployment rising to the highest levels since the Great Depression + calls growing for a #rentstrike on #MayDay, we sat down with a dozen autonomous tenant groups + rent strikers across the US + Canada to see where the movement is going. A thread. https://itsgoingdown.org/as-unemployment-reaches-depression-era-levels-autonomous-tenant-movement-seems-poised-to-explode/
On April 1st, a round of rent strikes kicked off across the so-called US, Canada, and beyond - as many people lost their jobs, could not afford to pay rent, and the government began pushing for people to return to work. https://itsgoingdown.org/rent-strike-spreads-across-us-canada-in-the-face-of-growing-covid-19-crisis/
This wave of autonomous tenant organizing has been coupled with a series of wildcat strikes carried out by workers in various industries and protests, hunger strikes, and riots by prisoners and migrant detainees in the face of the #Covid_19 pandemic. https://itsgoingdown.org/workers-walk-off-job-coronavirus/
As has been widely reported, in April, nearly one third of Americans did not pay their rent. https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/09/business/americans-rent-payment-trnd/index.html
Currently, about 1 in 6 US workers is unemployed, as unemployment claims have hit over 26 million - the highest since the great depression. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-52398837
Wanting to know more about how the developing autonomous tenants movement was growing in this context, especially going into #MayDay2020, we talked with a variety of groups and rent strikers about how things have evolved since April 1st.
In the bay area, we spoke with @TANCBay, who reports: "how the group has grown from about 25 members to now over 240, stating that the group's been contacted by upwards of 500 bay residents over the last few months, many asking for advice on how to organize their buildings..."
Even more exciting, @TANCBay reports that "through their organizing that various tenant councils have formed in various buildings – they’re currently in contact with at least 60 of these self-organized tenant organizations, or councils."
In #Chicago, two different groups of tenants are threatening rent strikes at their respective buildings, if landlords do not negotiate in good faith and meet tenant's demands for a freeze on rent and an end to evictions.
In #Richmond, the @richmondstrike reports that "At least 18 tenant councils have formed for renters of large landlords and property management companies...Many of these councils are already in negotiations...and are escalating...to push their demands."
