Hello fellow renters,
On May 14, the Lansing Center will be hosting the biggest housing industry conference of the year. It’s called the “Building Michigan Communities Conference.” State housing officials, developers, builders, and nonprofits will be gathering to promote their initiatives and celebrate their work. Unfortunately — you guessed it — renters and their interests are only a minor item on the agenda.
This is a critical opportunity to send a message. The Rent Is Too Damn High coalition will be picketing outside the first morning of the conference to insist that legislators and state housing officials take our demands seriously. Tenant delegations are confirmed from Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, and Detroit, and of course Lansing will be showing up strong here in our hometown
I am asking you now to unite with fellow renters in making a show of force. Please RSVP here.
We will be picketing outside the Lansing Center from 8:00am-12:00pm on Tuesday, May 14. This is the first morning of the two-day conference.
The Governor says “the rent is too damn high” and state legislators say they want to do more to support affordable housing, but profit-seeking developers are still driving the policy conversation, and renters are left out in the cold.
We’re not protesting every attendee of this conference. There are lots of good people who are trying to do the right thing. But the fact is that Michigan will never be able to provide good housing for all as long as the rental market is dominated by the interests of corporate landlords and their profit-gouging investors. That’s the status quo, and that’s what we’re working to change.
Join me on May 14 in fighting for rent control, renters’ rights, and social housing. These are policies that will fundamentally shift the balance of power in favor of renters, and provide housing security to working people across our state.
For good housing for all,
Benjamin