My Life on Rent Strike || School life

My Life on Rent Strike

However, I can understand feeling fear for the organization. When I was a child growing up in North Carolina, it was always very clear to me that unions are not good. Like, "You have to pay fees and they are taking money from you." Now I know better, but it was very difficult for me to overcome that. Similarly, it is difficult to be under the control of an owner 24/7. It can be very difficult to get people to advocate for themselves, which I know is really strange. But people are less likely to fight for themselves than for their community and neighborhood. What I discovered is that when you try to explain to people why they should do this for themselves, they say, "Well, I don't need this right now, I feel comfortable where I am." But it is better if he explains: "Well, your neighbors are going to need help, because attacking them is not an option; it is a means of survival." Most people are good people. They just need a little push.

When you go to your landlord as an individual, they can simply say no. And that is the end of the story. But if you go to their owners like 10, 15, 20 or, in this case, 100, they can talk to those management companies and those owners as huge collectives, as agencies that are essentially larger than management properties.

We want complete relief from renting across the board. We were willing to work with New Age to see what that looks like. We also want them to commit to not processing evictions for the duration of the pandemic, which courts are closed here anyway, but what we really want is for them not to pursue evictions after the courts reopen. We are trying to focus our demands and struggles on queer people, trans people, black people, indigenous peoples and people of color. It is very important that we protect marginalized groups during this time because not only are they most at risk during the pandemic, but marginalized groups will be the first to face evictions when the courts are reopened.

New Age has asked us to disclose private financial information to assist us on an individual basis, which we strongly oppose. And then, last week, they wrote a letter that said, "Contrary to the mantra of the [New Age Tenants Council], the pandemic has not left everyone unable to pay the rent, and unfortunately some see the pandemic as a opportunity for a brochure. " We are not asking for brochures. We ask for genuine human compassion during this time.