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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Marc Kamensky endorsed
“Lenders are deferring most loans for at least 90 days upon request. Thus mortgages are not being paid. But our landlord, a Canadian Dr.(real estate investor) wants full payment anyway. We offered to cover all of his costs, so he doesn't have to take any losses. We asked him to lower the rent by the amount he collects above his expenses. He refused to lower rent! He still wants to PROFIT from us(not just cover cost of ownership) during this time when we have NO income (no gov. assistance) We want to stay in the home until our son graduates, so we have to use our savings now and hope we don't run out.”
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Nicholas Anthony endorsed
“I endorse RentStrike because if you aren't currently able to work in your field due to Covid-19, but are capable of working, you shouldn't be expected to have to pay for such a huge expense. If you aren't making an income right now due to factors completely out of your control and can't change that, something needs to change to have a positive effect and help those people affected, such as myself.”
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James Sanders endorsed
“This crisis could have been better managed, and it is not right for working people to suffer due to the negligence and corruption of our government leaders.”
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Adria Andrews endorsed
“I endorse Rent Strike 2020”
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Ashley g Aguiar endorsed
“Single mother paying all my bills alone and out of work due to covid 19. Come may 1st I wont have my rent and I will fall so far behind I wont be able to catch up. It's a scary time with the pandemic so why make us worry about how we will provide shelter and basic needs for our families when there is a way to help us by unloading the burden of the upcoming bills”
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Darius Rabidoux endorsed
“I can't pay for rent due to not being able to work”
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KARL L STAHL endorsed
“Please help us ,”
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Latiscia Pinckney endorsed
“This economical crisis is tragic along with Covid. We have had a large amount of deaths and adding homelessness surge to that would make a depression seem like a minor vacation. This is America we should stand strong and show other countries that it’s not always about the dollar but about humanity”
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Meghan Maynard endorsed
“I endorse rent striking because the government will continue to bailout big business and leave working class people to suffer and die unless we organize.”
Campaign created!
Show your support for this campaign by endorsing it and sharing why!
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Marc Kamensky endorsed
“Lenders are deferring most loans for at least 90 days upon request. Thus mortgages are not being paid. But our landlord, a Canadian Dr.(real estate investor) wants full payment anyway. We offered to cover all of his costs, so he doesn't have to take any losses. We asked him to lower the rent by the amount he collects above his expenses. He refused to lower rent! He still wants to PROFIT from us(not just cover cost of ownership) during this time when we have NO income (no gov. assistance) We want to stay in the home until our son graduates, so we have to use our savings now and hope we don't run out.”
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William Cox endorsed
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Nicholas Anthony endorsed
“I endorse RentStrike because if you aren't currently able to work in your field due to Covid-19, but are capable of working, you shouldn't be expected to have to pay for such a huge expense. If you aren't making an income right now due to factors completely out of your control and can't change that, something needs to change to have a positive effect and help those people affected, such as myself.”
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Lydia Huber endorsed
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Jennifer M Gardner endorsed
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James Sanders endorsed
“This crisis could have been better managed, and it is not right for working people to suffer due to the negligence and corruption of our government leaders.”
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Adria Andrews endorsed
“I endorse Rent Strike 2020”
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josh zonker endorsed
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Samiksha Pandey endorsed
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Danielle ours endorsed
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Norman Arnwine endorsed
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Truong Nguyen endorsed
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Ashley g Aguiar endorsed
“Single mother paying all my bills alone and out of work due to covid 19. Come may 1st I wont have my rent and I will fall so far behind I wont be able to catch up. It's a scary time with the pandemic so why make us worry about how we will provide shelter and basic needs for our families when there is a way to help us by unloading the burden of the upcoming bills”
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Michael MacIntosh endorsed
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Sara Vinamd endorsed
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Catrece Thomas endorsed
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Marshall Scott endorsed
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Nefertiti Guzman endorsed
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Darius Rabidoux endorsed
“I can't pay for rent due to not being able to work”
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Roksana Begum endorsed
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Robin Marion Parker endorsed
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KARL L STAHL endorsed
“Please help us ,”
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Latiscia Pinckney endorsed
“This economical crisis is tragic along with Covid. We have had a large amount of deaths and adding homelessness surge to that would make a depression seem like a minor vacation. This is America we should stand strong and show other countries that it’s not always about the dollar but about humanity”
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johanna lynch endorsed
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adrienne milam endorsed
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Van S Lancaster endorsed
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Nicole McAllister endorsed
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Lewis Hall endorsed
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Meghan Maynard endorsed
“I endorse rent striking because the government will continue to bailout big business and leave working class people to suffer and die unless we organize.”
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Liberty endorsed
