Beginning on April 1st, 2020, many Americans will be unable to pay their rent, mortgage, loans, or utility bills in the context of the pandemic and global recession. The president has so far spent $2.5 trillion in bailing out the stock market and large corporations, and nothing to bail out the working class.
Without a massive stimulus package, freeze on rent, utilities, and mortgage collection, millions of people will lose their jobs and homes. Unemployment could reach 30% according to some projections. We have to start organizing right now, turn our collective desperation to collective power, and force our government to enact a bailout for regular people, not Wall Street.
Our DemandsRent Strike 2020 started when a simple petition to freeze rent, utilities and mortgage payments has collected over 2 million signatures within 48 hours. The creators of the petition (Joshua Collins, and Rose Caucus) realized that this is a revolutionary moment and immediately passed it off to organizers who could build this into a movement that will be able to deliver a win for regular people.
We have put together a comprehensive set of immediate demands that we are calling the People’s Bailout. Our goal is to win these demands for the working class by building a mass movement. We hope to partner with local tenants unions, labor unions, immigrant groups, prison reform and abolition groups, and left and socialist elected officials who share our movement strategy and vision. Following are our initial set of of demands:
Freeze all rent, mortgage, utility payments or we will carry out a rent strike!
Freeze all student, medical, car and consumer debt and interest during the ongoing pandemic and recession. Cancel student debt!
Tax big business and the rich, not regular people, to pay for the crisis.
House all unsheltered people to protect their health and safety, and public health at-large.
Suspend all Farm Service Agency payments to ensure that we have an uninterrupted food supply.
Provide free mass testing and treatment! Authorize the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services to cover all out of pocket expenses so people can get tested and treated without worrying about going bankrupt.
Medicare for All! Immediately nationalize pharma, healthcare, medical instruments and all providers for an emergency response like Spain did to swiftly respond to the health crisis.
Give democratic powers to Committees of workers and scientists over the response to the crisis in essential industries – including healthcare, transportation, logistics, grocery.
Nationalize any industry threatening layoffs that hasn't been bailed out under democratic workers' control.
End the mass incarceration system & immediately release all immigrants from detention centers to stop the spread of COVID-19 between prisoners and guards.
Show your support for this campaign by endorsing it and sharing why!
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London Taj'ier endorsed
“We're in a life changing pandemic. Working human beings need to survive free from the worry of being homeless.”
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Amelia Martinez endorsed
“This is not a rural area where you have your own house and a backyard to keep your mind off things until it gets fixed. The suburb/urban life is becoming too stressful to worry about paying rent in these times.”
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TAEYA M BALL endorsed
“Many people are suffering from this occurrence and put in a position to lose alot if not all they work to have or survive. I feel bills i.e. rent utilities etc should be at a haul until social distance is no longer for minimum 30 days that way folks have time to earn the funds to continue to survive and pay the necessary money for debt without penalties. Landlords, mortgage companies, utilities, creditors etc shouldn't be allowed to strong arm the debtee for funds that are much more difficult to come by since the pandemic outbreak. If said debtors, no matter who it is, fails to haul on collecting money then they should reap consequences of some sort. To show it is not allowed and to help protect the debtee from. Slumlords, corporations of any kind. While setting guidelines to follow also make sure the guidelines can not be abused by the people who owe funds too.”
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Kira endorsed
“As long as rent is mandatory, those who cannot afford to take off of work for the duration of the pandemic will continue to risk their lives to stay afloat.”
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Shaun Kasparian endorsed
“A proposal that is beneficial to anyone who has a mortgage, rent, car payment, equipment/inventory payment etc.: DEFER ALL PAYMENTS BY 3 MONTHS WITH NO ADDITIONAL INTEREST and/or PENALTY (or however long this will take) AND EXTEND YOUR LEASES/RENTAL AGREEMENTS/CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS/ETC. BY 3 MONTHS (or however long this will take). This way it will be fair for everyone, not just the rich corps.”
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Amirah endorsed
“I endorse rent stoke 2020 because we shouldn’t have to pay an excessive amount of money during this crisis! this is a time for us to stop being money hungry and realize that millions of Americans have lost their monthly income, they can’t expect us to keep up with this for much longer”
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Chris Jahrling endorsed
“Many of my dear friends cannot pay rent, and they deserve justice and leverage against their landlords.”
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Ursula Robinson endorsed
“I endorse rent strike 2020 because not everyone can afford to stay home and still pay for everything that’s needed to maintain a healthy life. We all are burdened by this pandemic and are just asking for a little relief. We’re not saving the money, were just trying to make sure that we can still maintain during and after this crisis.”
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Justin Slogar endorsed
“I endorse rent strike 2020. We need to protect everyone against their biggest bill. This will also help prevent more national debt.”
Campaign created!
Show your support for this campaign by endorsing it and sharing why!
-
London Taj'ier endorsed
“We're in a life changing pandemic. Working human beings need to survive free from the worry of being homeless.”
-
Amelia Martinez endorsed
“This is not a rural area where you have your own house and a backyard to keep your mind off things until it gets fixed. The suburb/urban life is becoming too stressful to worry about paying rent in these times.”
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Rhys Hastings endorsed
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Keyona bryles endorsed
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Keely Quinn endorsed
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TAEYA M BALL endorsed
“Many people are suffering from this occurrence and put in a position to lose alot if not all they work to have or survive. I feel bills i.e. rent utilities etc should be at a haul until social distance is no longer for minimum 30 days that way folks have time to earn the funds to continue to survive and pay the necessary money for debt without penalties. Landlords, mortgage companies, utilities, creditors etc shouldn't be allowed to strong arm the debtee for funds that are much more difficult to come by since the pandemic outbreak. If said debtors, no matter who it is, fails to haul on collecting money then they should reap consequences of some sort. To show it is not allowed and to help protect the debtee from. Slumlords, corporations of any kind. While setting guidelines to follow also make sure the guidelines can not be abused by the people who owe funds too.”
-
Kira endorsed
“As long as rent is mandatory, those who cannot afford to take off of work for the duration of the pandemic will continue to risk their lives to stay afloat.”
-
Shaun Kasparian endorsed
“A proposal that is beneficial to anyone who has a mortgage, rent, car payment, equipment/inventory payment etc.: DEFER ALL PAYMENTS BY 3 MONTHS WITH NO ADDITIONAL INTEREST and/or PENALTY (or however long this will take) AND EXTEND YOUR LEASES/RENTAL AGREEMENTS/CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS/ETC. BY 3 MONTHS (or however long this will take). This way it will be fair for everyone, not just the rich corps.”
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Amirah endorsed
“I endorse rent stoke 2020 because we shouldn’t have to pay an excessive amount of money during this crisis! this is a time for us to stop being money hungry and realize that millions of Americans have lost their monthly income, they can’t expect us to keep up with this for much longer”
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Amanda Kunz endorsed
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Teresa Villescaz endorsed
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Steven Beshears endorsed
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Tina Caballero endorsed
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Joshua Bigley endorsed
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Randee Lynn Potter endorsed
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Sully Brown endorsed
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jerry paiz endorsed
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Travis endorsed
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Dylan Guy endorsed
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Chris Jahrling endorsed
“Many of my dear friends cannot pay rent, and they deserve justice and leverage against their landlords.”
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Suzy Ayzoukian-Melkonian endorsed
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Richard Tomascik endorsed
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Annette Maestas endorsed
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Alex Chang endorsed
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Ursula Robinson endorsed
“I endorse rent strike 2020 because not everyone can afford to stay home and still pay for everything that’s needed to maintain a healthy life. We all are burdened by this pandemic and are just asking for a little relief. We’re not saving the money, were just trying to make sure that we can still maintain during and after this crisis.”
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Kelly Johnson endorsed
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Susan Regan endorsed
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Justin Slogar endorsed
“I endorse rent strike 2020. We need to protect everyone against their biggest bill. This will also help prevent more national debt.”
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Margaret L Rios endorsed
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Vince Lahey endorsed
