Bay Area
Bay Area TANC Helps Tenants to Unionize
As the COVID-19 pandemic forces mass unemployment and work hour reductions causing over a million Californians to file unemployment insurance claims, Bay Area Tenants and Neighborhood Councils (TANC) is helping tenants to form tenant unions to protect their housing.
“If you’re organized in some kind of tenant union like TANC, you have a lot more leverage. Landlords are a lot less likely to take 10 tenants to eviction court than one,” said Angel Haza-García,* who is forming a tenant union with TANC’s help and is considering going on a rent strike on May 1.
Haza-García’s union includes the people living in her house as well as neighbors who have the same landlord, more than 10 people in total. The tenants at Haza-García’s home are unsure whether they will be able to afford May’s rent and worry they will eventually be evicted. But by organizing with other neighbors who will, as Haza-García puts it, “have their back” by agreeing not to pay rent in solidarity with them, they feel they’re more protected.
“The eviction process is really expensive to go through. A landlord could evict one person and that would be a cost of process. But if they were looking to evict 10 units, the cost would multiply by 10. It would then make more financial sense to give in to [tenant] demands,” said TANC member Sam Walker.*
Walker saw this process work to help tenants get their demands about two years ago during TANC’s inception and their first landlord/tenant power struggle.
The struggle involved more than 15 tenants who all lived in shared houses and had the same landlord. When roommates moved out of the shared homes, leaving empty rooms, the remaining tenants wanted to fill rooms with new roommates so the total rent cost would be less for each individual. But they found it impossible to fill the empty rooms because they say their landlord would ignore or deny applications for new roommates to move in.
After the tenants organized a few meetings and barbecues with each other and unionized, they wrote a collective statement demanding that their landlord allow new roommates to move into their shared housing or they would collectively withhold rent. When the landlord learned of their tenant’s demands and that they had organized together, the tenants got what they asked for without having to go on a rent strike.
“The landlord totally caved and let all tenants know they could decide who lived in their houses,” said Walker, who specified that the landlord then accepted all the then-current applications to move into empty rooms.
TANC’s current collective demand is total rent suspension for the Bay Area during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We demand rent suspensions from every landlord effective immediately. The fact that anybody has to fear being evicted because of their inability to pay rent during a global health pandemic illustrates the utter wickedness of this system,” reads a collective statement called Rent Suspension Now! that TANC recently posted on its website.
The statement, which also appears in Spanish, emphasizes that there should also be no expectation that tenants pay back rent money they didn’t pay during the COVID19 pandemic.
While The City of Oakland has recently passed an emergency ordinance that prevents evictions for non-payment until May 31, the ordinance still requires tenants to pay their back rent eventually. Although there is language in the ordinance that stops landlords from evicting tenants for rent money due from now until May 31 if the tenant can prove the COVID-19 pandemic has prevented them from paying rent, TANC members feel that rent debt still burdens tenants and makes their housing more precarious.
TANC wants tenants to organize to set the groundwork for future tenant demands and to prevent landlords from evicting people who can’t pay rent in the future and may have difficulty proving their income loss was due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
They’ve recently hosted online trainings and know your rights workshops that have each had between 20 and 90 attendees. Their membership has grown from 40 to 200 during March.
Tenants can visit baytanc.com to join TANC or learn more and can learn about future TANC events, which are open to non-members as long as they are not landlords, by visiting the baytanc calendar. They have also released a guide to tenant organizing.
*Since tenants in TANC are actively organizing against their landlords, they asked that names in this article be changed or omitted.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of November 27 – December 3, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 27 – December 3, 2024, 2024
To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.
Activism
OCCUR Hosts “Faith Forward” Conference in Oakland
The conference featured Congresswoman-elect Lateefah Simon, who will begin her term representing California’s 12th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives in January.
Simon was honored with a special recognition from OCCUR for her civic and nonprofit leadership.
By Carla Thomas
The Oakland Citizens Committee for Urban Renewal (OCCUR) hosted its Faith Forward 2024 Conference on Nov. 8 at Resurrection Church in Oakland.
The conference featured Congresswoman-elect Lateefah Simon, who will begin her term representing California’s 12th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives in January.
Simon was honored with a special recognition from OCCUR for her civic and nonprofit leadership. During her remarks, She commended nonprofits making a difference, and shared how she looked forward to representing Oakland and surrounding areas.
Simon also encouraged attendees to continue fighting despite their concerns about the presidential election results. She also cautioned that there may be resources that are discontinued as a result.
“We know the assignment. We have many of the resources right within our own community, and we will be ok,” Simon assured the audience.
The conference led by OCCUR president, Dr. David B. Franklin, also featured panels on funding opportunities, case studies, economic development, sustainable housing solutions, and organizing for action.
“In order for organizations serving the community to thrive, everyone must collaborate, share resources, and not operate in silos,” said Franklin.
Speakers included San Francisco Foundation CEO, Fred Blackwell, San Francisco Foundation FAITHS Program Director Dr. Michelle Chambers, and Kingmakers of Oakland Founder, Chris Chatmon. Guests were briefed on how Kingmakers of Oakland has gone from a budget of zero to several million and is set to acquire 200 acres of property to expand their programs serving young boys. The leadership at the San Francisco Foundation encouraged nonprofits, churches, and community leaders to work together, especially when donations and funding numbers are lower.
Ben Bartlett of Berkeley City Council; Trevor Parham, CEO of Oakstop; and CEO of the Lao Family Community Development, Inc., Kathy Chao Rothberg, inspired attendees with stories about their journeys in the nonprofit sector.
Additional speakers included Deka Dike, CEO of Omatachi; Landis Green, CEO of DGS Strategies; Sasha Werblin, Director of Economic Development, LISC Bay Area; Oakland City Councilmember Treva Reid; Faith and Justice Organizer of East Bay Housing Organizations, Ronnie Boyd; and Todd Bendon, Executive Director of Faith in Action East Bay; among others.
The event allowed community leaders, faith-based leaders, and nonprofits to gain Insight on how to strengthen their profits financially, and communally.
OCCUR has served the community for over 70 years supporting the wellbeing of historically marginalized communities with collaborative strategies. For more information visit occurnow.org
Bay Area
Richmond’s New Fire Chief Sworn In
“Chief Osorio rose up through the ranks in the Richmond Fire Department over the last 21 years before being elevated to chief,” noted Harpreet Sandhu, field representative for Congressmember John Garamendi,. “He joined the department in 2002 and has served in multiple roles including firefighter, engineer, captain, battalion chief, training director and deputy fire chief.”
By Mike Kinney
The Richmond Standard
Richmond Fire Chief Aaron Osorio was sworn into his new role in a well-attended ceremony at Richmond City Council Chambers on Friday, Nov. 15.
The crowd included Osorio’s family and friends, rank-and-file Richmond firefighters, fellow fire chiefs from Bay Area agencies, elected officials and community members.
Richmond City Manager Shasa Curl provided an introduction and acknowledged Chief Osorio’s “heroic service to Richmond.”
Harpreet Sandhu, field representative for Congressmember John Garamendi, presented the chief with a Congressional Commendation, citing his 23 years of serving in the fire service in Richmond in numerous positions.
“Chief Osorio rose up through the ranks in the Richmond Fire Department over the last 21 years before being elevated to chief,” Sandhu noted. “He joined the department in 2002 and has served in multiple roles including firefighter, engineer, captain, battalion chief, training director and deputy fire chief.”
The chief’s wife, Maria, and two sons Roman and Mateo helped perform the badge-pinning.
Richmond City Clerk Pamela Christian then conducted the swearing-in ceremony.
Chief Osorio thanked his family, colleagues, and city for their support, calling it “very humbling” to take on leadership of an “amazing organization.”
Once the ceremony was done, the chief stated, “I’m ready to get to work.”
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