This month’s Fresh Fridays featured a lively conversation that was focused on the people and organizations who are working on commercial and residential tenant organizing in Rhode Island.
One Neighborhood Builders was joined by Mel Potter, Emily Harrington, and Shana Crandell, and facilitated a discussion that level-set the conversation with an overview of what a tenant union is, highlighted the work of several of Rhode Island’s commercial and residential tenant unions, and discussed the future of this organizing work.
Potter is a tenant leader with the Elmwood Tenants Union, the first non-public housing tenants’ union in Rhode Island. Harrington is an organizing committee member of the Atlantic Mills Tenants Union, which is the first commercial tenants’ union in Rhode Island. Crandell is Executive Director of Reclaim RI, an organization supporting local economic and social justice efforts, including housing justice. Reclaim has supported local tenants organizing against their landlords and advocate for just housing legislation.
Conversation Highlights:
The group discussed the state of Atlantic Mills in the Olneyville neighborhood of Providence, a property that has drawn much attention in recent months as the building’s owners consider a sale to a developer known for luxury residential spaces, a decision that would displace the tenants who have historically benefiting from the owners focus on providing affordable space for artists, community organizations, and small businesses.
“There is an energy to try and stop that displacement from happening, so tenants started meeting on a regular basis and it became clear that the tenants’ union was the best way to go,” said Harrington.
In the Elmwood neighborhood, safety concerns in residential apartments that were frequently ignored by landlords were the catalyst for community organizers to form the Elmwood Tenants Union. Potter discussed the challenges the union faces, particularly the need for ongoing recruitment and messaging around its value.
“Most of the people who initially formed the union with us have been evicted one by one; I’m the last remaining person at the property that’s still part of the union” Potter said.
Though, she provided a galvanizing motivation for people to get involved: “We need to take back our power and let people realize that by having these unions, it gives us all our voices back to be able to say, hey, you know, this isn’t cool. We don’t want to do this anymore and get everyone involved.”
Why are tenants’ unions needed when we have code enforcement and renter protections laws? Crandell highlighted that “in the city of Cranston, not a single fine has been issued to a landlord in at least a year. So even though there are standards to which residential units are supposed to be held, they’re not enforced.” “By coming together and forming strong organizations that can actually exercise power over the landlords, we can win dignified conditions and stability in our homes. So that’s at the heart of why we need tenants unions.”
Listen to the full conversation:
Anterior Fresh Fridays Sessions:
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- Fresh Fridays: A Conversation with Cortney Nicolato and Peter Chapman
- Viernes frescos: Sistemas de vivienda y personas sin hogar
- Viernes frescos; aplicación equitativa del código
- Viernes frescos: El coste de construir viviendas asequibles
- Viernes frescos: Transporte y comunidades equitativas
- Viernes frescos: Zonificación y desarrollo de viviendas asequibles
- Viernes frescos: Organización comunitaria en Providence
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Gracias a nuestros patrocinadores:
