Happy August! Read on for important upcoming housing actions, as well as updates on striking workers and August Branch Meetings!
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Our Statement on the August 1st Debt Deadline
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On August 1st, tenants across Los Angeles who suffered job and wage loss during the onset of the pandemic will be asked to repay up to 18 months in rent or face threat of eviction.
These debts should be forgiven. We reject the view that housing, as a necessity of life, should be a commodity that others profit from. The debts were incurred because workers were laid off so that businesses could save on costs, and if they are not forgiven, the costs will be borne by all of us. As people are pushed onto the streets, it will become increasingly difficult for them to regain housing and to maintain employment; they will also be more likely to need healthcare services which they will be unable to afford. This will irreparably damage peoples’ lives and social stability in the greater Los Angeles area.
Currently workers across the city are striking due to unfair labor conditions, and it is due to unfair labor conditions and exploitation that workers are asked to subsist on so little and forced to take on such debt in the first place. Forcing tenants to pay or be evicted now will exacerbate the inequities we must confront if we are to create a just society.
We call on Los Angeles City Council to extend the rent freeze in order to protect tenants from gouging and displacement, and for front-funding of ULA in order to provide additional support and protections to tenants.
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Koreatown March: Investigate Corporate Slumlords!
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Monday, August 7 @ 8:00 am - 12:00 pm
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Join DSA-LA and LATU for a march in Koreatown, what Nury Martinez called “the renters’ district”, to protest the Housing Department and the City Council operating in lock-step with corporate landlords illegally raising rents, charging false utilities, and shutting off services to force tenants out of rent controlled buildings.” Koreatown’s city council member Heather Hutt is campaigning for re-election, and we have not received any meaningful response from her regarding the grievances of the neighborhood’s renters. We call on her to support housing that is secure and a neighborhood life that’s oriented around our community’s needs rather than the wealth of landlords, developers, and politicians.
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March on Burbank City Hall for Tenant Protections
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Tuesday, August 8 @ 4:00 pm - 8:00 pm
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Join the Burbank Tenants Union at George Izay Park. We will march up Olive St, past the Maui Apartments, and assemble at City Hall. Rally with us outside, and then when the Council meeting opens to the public we will fill the building. Help show our renter power by making public comments in support of permanent tenant protections for Burbank.
The Aug 8 Burbank City Council meeting includes an agenda item titled: Study Session Discussion on AB 1482 and Tenant Protection Options. We renters need to show overwhelming support for tenant protections. This action could push City Council to take the necessary measures to protect the Burbank renter majority, and lay the foundation for meaningful ordinances being drafted and approved.
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Join the Power to the Tenants Priority Campaign!
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Wednesday, August 2 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
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Join our next campaign meeting to discuss our power-mapping project and campaign goals, as well as coordinate upcoming actions.
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Attend your local branch meeting! DSA LA has 5 branches that cover most of LA county. Our branches allow members to make local connections and adapt our chapterwide work to their local conditions. They are organized by elected Branch Coordinators and have regular meetings where chapterwide updates are shared and to allow for member discussion.
Not sure what Branch you're in? Check here: https://dsa-la.org/branches/
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We've launched our STRIKE SOLIDARITY FUND!
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Across the country, workers are going ON STRIKE, and LA is at the heart of the fight!
As socialists, we must stand with workers when they withhold their labor and shut down an industry in order to fight for their rights. We’re all in this together, so let’s show them we have their backs. That’s why we’re launching our STRIKE TACOS Solidarity Fund!
Going on strike is not easy. There are so many forces pushing back, telling us that we are alone and isolated. Showing up with food, supplies, and solidarity to the picket lines is one of the most powerful ways to show your fellow workers you’re looking out for them.
Our chapter has a proud history of supporting workers fighting back, including for UTLA, SEIU99, UNITE HERE, WGA, Starbucks Workers United, SAG-AFTRA and more. We need your help to keep it going! DSA-LA’s STRIKE TACOS fundraising campaign will be used to bring free tacos from beloved local taquerías out to labor actions. It’s not just tacos either! Funds will be used to bring hot coffee, cold drinks, snacks, and other necessities. We want to make sure we're prepared to support local labor fights for the foreseeable future.
FOR EXAMPLE! For every $2,000 we raise, we can feed 300 people on a picket line! We know times are tough, but every dollar you can give has a huge effect. It shows our fellow workers that we're all in this together. If you can, please consider monthly or weekly recurring donations - they make planning our budgets each week extremely helpful.
We're all in this shared struggle together. Every little bit of solidarity makes a big difference!
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DSA's National Convention is this week!
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DSA's National Convention is this upcoming weekend! DSA LA is sending over 50 delegates to represent Angelenos and help decide organizational priorities and direction for the next two years. Delegates will be giving a report of how Convention goes at the August Branch Meetings, so don't miss them!
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