An overview of the rent strike movement in the US and Canada. This article was first posted at It’s Going Down.
The number of people infected with the coronavirus across the world has now topped 1 million, with almost a quarter of those testing positive for COVID-19 residing within the United States. The White House is now predicting upwards of 200,000 people will die from the virus in the US, a number which Trump recently praised as low, stating that he has done a “very good job” at containing the outbreak, despite all evidence to the contrary.
The fallout from the pandemic has had a massive economic impact. CNN reports an increase of unemployment claims by a catastrophic 3,000%, raising the unemployment rate to around 10% – and many expect it to raise to upwards of 30% or higher. In response, many banks and State institutions have pushed to issue protections to those paying mortgages and cancel foreclosures, however renters are left scrambling to make rent.
With the threat of homelessness looming in many people’s minds throughout March as the crisis moved from back page news story to global pandemic, calls for a rent strike grew from viral memes into a real world movement. Despite attacks in the corporate press, on April 1st, the rent strike officially kicked off across the US and Canada, as entire buildings and apartment complexes announced their refusal to pay and support grew within the wider population for a rent freeze.
By the evening of April 1st, CNN was even running an entire segment on the strike, showcasing the degree in which the campaign has exploded into the popular imagination of millions of people. This in itself is a testament to the hard work of grassroots organizers, the massive proliferation of flyers, posters, graffiti messages, and the now iconic white sheets which have come to symbolize the rent strike, and the countless hours spent between neighbors in meetings and online discussions.
Continue reading “Rent Strike Spreads Across US and Canada in Surging COVID-19 Crisis”
