The Twin Cities Daily Planet just published an article on Inquilinxs Unidxs por Justicia, “a tenants’ organizing group fighting back against neglectful, retaliatory landlords.” The piece is important because it speaks not only to the problem, but also to peoples’ powerful organizing against it.
I’ve paraphrased or directly quoted the author’s writing in the image captions below.
Flora Dominguez (left) and Alejandro
Quintero (right) are part of Inquilinxs Unidxs por Justicia. They’ve
dealt with numerous serious problems in their units that their landlord
has been unwilling to fix, including mold, cockroaches, and winter
temperatures below the state-mandated minimum.
The paint chipping in Flora Dominguez’s apartment recently tested positive for lead.
Alejandro Quintero
Jesús and Eduardo are members of Inquilinxs Unidxs por Justicia, and have faced similar problems with their apartment.
When Jesús and Eduardo requested repairs,
they saw all kinds of fees added to their rent. They had to pay late
fees, even though they had sent the rent check on time. They had to pay
fees for people who supposedly lived in the apartment who weren’t on the
lease, even though Jesús and Eduardo were both on the lease and were
the only two who lived there. They now regularly receive letters from
the Apartment Shop with threats of eviction handwritten on every fee
notice.
After standing up for themselves and
taking their landlord to court, the tenants who make up Inquilinxs
Unidxs have finally seen improvements in their homes, including pest
exterminations.
Jesús and Eduardo have found power in
Inquilinxs Unidxs’ collective organizing. “We see a lot of people in
worse situations than us. When we show up [to meetings] and learn, we
eliminate our ignorance. We don’t feel as alone,” Eduardo said.
