#75: Rent Strike!

This April 1st, people around the world will go on strike and refuse to pay rent. In the midst of the pandemic, we are confronted not only with a virus, but with the murderous logic of the market. Before COVID–19 hit, millions already struggled to afford rent, mortgage, or loan payments; today, all but the wealthiest face ruin, caught between either sickness or poverty. It’s inevitable that most of us will not be able to pay the bills next month—but what we do about it is up to us. This episode offers tools, examples, and history to support you and your neighbors in withdrawing your support from the regime of rent and debt and to devote what resources you have to nourishing yourself and your community through mutual aid. We’ll share excerpts from CrimethInc. texts promoting the strike, discuss the 5 Demands framework and anarchist critiques of it, work through concrete tactical suggestions from a rent strike tool kit, present an invitation to a strike from the West Coast and an interview with the radical housing collective Station 40, and offer a condensed version of an inspiring history of rent strikes around the world over the past century.

{March 31st, 2020}

-------SHOW NOTES------

• Table of Contents:
  • Introduction {0:01}
  • Refuse to Pay! {2:50}
  • The Five Demands, or Actions, or Not {6:20}
  • Toolkit for Rent Strike Organizing {13:20}
  • Invitation to a Strike {21:55}
  • Interview with Station 40: On Rent Strike against Gentrification and the Pandemic {28:10}
  • Rent Strike? A Strategic Appraisal of Rent Strikes throughout History—and Today {37:35}
  • Historic Strikes {42:32}
  • Common Characteristics {1:06:30}
  • Organizations Specializing in Housing {1:11:20}
  • Some Conclusions {1:20:40}
  • Conclusion {1:22:35}
• This episode draws on recent CrimethInc. texts including Immunity for All —Invitation to Strike and 5 Emergence Actions for COVID–19 Survival, as well as an On Rent Strike against Gentrification and the Pandemic, an interview with Station 40. We also shared a condensed version of Rent Strike? A Strategic Appraisal of Rent Strikes throughout History—and Today, translated from a Spanish-language text published by Editorial Segadores in Catalunya.
• To learn more about the global rent strike that has been called for April 1 and beyond, start with the 5 Demands Global site and particularly their very useful toolkit. In the US, find a local rent strike organizing effort here—or check out examples from New York City (see their useful FAQ), Olympia, Durham, Chicago, and elsewhere.
• Our critique of the 5 Demands model emerges from our classic text Why We Don’t Make Demands.
• To promote the strike, check out Keep Your Rent, a promo video collaboratively produced by CrimethInc., SubMedia, and It’s Going Down.
• Also check out It’s Going Down’s article Between Eviction, Infection, and Refusal: What You Need to Know About the April 1st Rent Strike & How to Plug In.
• Our friends at the Rebel Steps podcast have released an emergency episode on COVID–19 rent strikes —check it out!