Speaker 0 00:00:38 <inaudible> hello? Hello, this
Speaker 1 00:01:14 Is <inaudible> from Somali link. I'm here in this cool roam studio for at K F a I 90.3. We've been doing this show. This is the only English speaking Somali program in the whole United States or probably in north America and Europe. And, um, we're so happy to be doing this show. That's so unique in Minneapolis at K F a I 90 43 F M. I want to also, again, acknowledge and say thank you to every day to my producers, Annie and DECA. Today, we have a wonderful program for you. One of the most important issues, um, in our city as the city goes into election mode, uh, there is, um, uh, good people, uh, the Minneapolis United rent control. It's an organization that's fighting for this craziness that people are becoming homeless. Families are becoming homeless because they cannot afford to have a roof over their head or their families anymore. And as you can see the blight of the homelessness in our city, you, it's not something that anyone can ignore. It's right on every street and park, uh, almost, uh, today, our guest is ginger Jensen. Hello, ginger.
Speaker 2 00:02:49 I thank you so much for having me. Thank
Speaker 1 00:02:52 You very much for coming in on the show. Uh, my producers are also very excited. I've never seen them excited about a program, so thank you very much and thank you for what you do on all the folks that work with you. Um, first of all, um, before we go to the show, let me share this with the community. Um, today we are, uh, I'm helping, uh, a group from minutes of, uh, health, Fairview and health communist to distribute helmets to young bikers. And that that event is today seven o'clock to eight 30 at Kerry bark. So if you're a young one, need a helmet, uh, free helmets will be distributed today at the park Kerry park. Uh, please stop by between 7:00 PM to eight 30 and, uh, the organization has come on health, health, communist, and a health fair few. We thank them for doing this with us. Um, so let me talk to ginger ginger, first of all, welcome. And thank you for what you do tell the audience about Minneapolis United rent control.
Speaker 2 00:04:08 Yeah, I mean, once again, thank you so much for having me, um, you know, we are building a grassroots movement in the city of Minneapolis to try and win the strongest possible rent control policy for the city. And I think exactly, as you said, um, we are facing an increased housing crisis and this is leading to increased homelessness. And, um, in all honesty, it's a lot of the corporate landlords and real estate lobby that are, you know, profiting off of a housing crisis that they have helped to create. And so our coalition of organizations, including my organization, socialist alternative, and then the Harrison neighborhood association, the Cedar Riverside community council, numerous unions, including the nurses, the teachers, um, and so many others, you know, we are organizing every day, um, on the streets and in our buildings to try and garner more support for the strongest possible rent control policy.
Speaker 2 00:05:05 And, you know, all of that is geared toward actually cutting to the heart of this idea that like eventually, you know, all of the luxury development that's happened will somehow trickle down and somehow that will improve and lower rent, but that's the opposite of what we've seen. Rents, just keep going up and up and up. And landlords have just a disproportionate amount of power. They can, you know, most people don't know this, but your landlord can raise your rent basically at any time and they can raise it basically as much as they want. So rent control is to prevent those types of skyrocketing rent increases.
Speaker 1 00:05:40 Thank you. Um, that's very, um, very generous of you on your volunteers to really engage, um, rent control. Is it on the ballot yet, or tell me where it's going in, in the, in the city elections or the terror. Totally, totally.
Speaker 2 00:05:58 Um, as you said, it's going to be a big feature. I think, of the city elections in the fall. And actually, maybe I can say a couple of things about why we're actually fighting for a policy now in the context of these city elections, because, you know, Minneapolis United for rent control. When I say we're fighting for the strongest possible rent control, we're saying that rent could not be increased by more than 3% in any given year, right? That's the cost of living adjustment. That's like, you know, inflation linked to something like that. So we wouldn't see the, you know, hundred percent increases or even 10% increases a hundred dollars increase for a family can be the difference between making the rent or falling behind. Right. And, um, so we also want to make sure that this proposal would be universally applied to every unit in the city of Minneapolis.
Speaker 2 00:06:47 Um, and that means we wouldn't see pockets of instability that have been produced by, um, in other cities where the landlord lobby has gouged the strong rent control that has previously existed. We would also retroactively we would apply the, you know, when we win and when we, uh, pass a proposal, you know, we would have it. So it applied to the year previous so that these landlords, these corporate landlords with multiple units, multiple buildings, you know, making profit off of, uh, the housing crisis that they couldn't lock in rents at a much higher rate. Um, if that makes sense, so that we would try and prevent that further price gouging. Now with all of that being said, um, this proposal isn't yet on the table, right? So the city council put forward two charter amendments, one proposal, uh, puts the decision for rent control in the hands of city council.
Speaker 2 00:07:39 The other proposal makes possible a renter led petition so that we could try and put what I just talked about that strong rent control on the ballot to voters, right? Yeah. And what we're fighting for right now is to make sure that that renter led proposal is on the ballot in the fall for, um, uh, voters in the city of Minneapolis. But we've already heard that the mayor, mayor Jacob pride doesn't want that to happen. He's already saying he would veto it. So we are trying to build the strongest possible movement. Having people contact their council members, having people join us in the streets to spread the news, to put up posters, to get more petition signatures, all of that, to make sure that we have in the fall, both of those options on the table, you know, because the problem with just having the city council make this decision is we may never see a proposal for rent control. They may decide not to do it at all. You know, so the point is we want to be able to put renters working in middle-class homeowners, our communities in the driver's seat of being able to fight for the strongest possible rent control policy.
Speaker 1 00:08:43 Thank you. Um, the expulsion of homelessness in our, in our communities and in our city, how much does that contribute? How much does, um, um, um, runaway rental, um, units contribute to the homelessness in our community? Do we know?
Speaker 2 00:09:04 Yeah, I mean, that's a great question. You know, I think what we're seeing is a lot of the, uh, failures of the city establishment to really reign in these out of control developers and out of control housing costs. Right. Um, so one thing I would say is the city commissioned a study by the center of urban and regional affairs and that rent control study showed that if the proposal that we were talking about that Minneapolis United for rent control is talking about, you know, no more than 3% universally applied, um, no pockets of instability, none of that, um, also that it would be tied to the unit and not the renter so that, you know, people couldn't get pushed out and then that would erode the rent control. Um, we would be fighting against that kind of thing. But so Kira said, um, that if this type of proposal had existed in the city of Minneapolis, uh, prior to 2009, then, um, we wouldn't see these, um, steep rental property, uh, you know, these steep rent increases, um, that we've experienced since the housing crash of oh eight, right?
Speaker 2 00:10:08 Yes. Since the 2008 crisis, we've seen these, you know, real estate conglomerates basically scooping up, um, these rental properties across the city of Minneapolis and particularly targeting historic communities of color as well. And so, um, I think that this, um, rise in homelessness is I think a part of that inaction when we saw the housing crisis of a way, you know, disproportionate, uh, foreclosures in south Minneapolis in a Latino dominated neighborhoods and in north Minneapolis, um, and historic strongholds, the black community here. And then now I think what we're seeing with indigenous and American Indian and native populations, um, and the, the rise of homelessness generally across the region, um, that's also been it's these same real estate and landlord lobbyists who are fighting ranked control in Minneapolis, who also fought to end the eviction ban at the state and federal level. Right. Like they will do anything that they can to try and prevent, um, any sort of regulation on their ability to make profit. And that's a lot of what we're seeing. This is the result of that type of policy. Yeah. But
Speaker 1 00:11:13 The Kura rental control study is done by university of Minnesota. Exactly. Yeah. And, um, you have a very professional, um, study on the issue of rent control. What is it that's making our city council or the city at all say no to that because it's a study. So research, it's a well-done research by very famous university or our university of Minnesota. So what is their opposition?
Speaker 2 00:11:46 You know, that's just such a great question. I think that's a lot of what, um, you know, when we talk about building a, we're talking about building political pressure on the city establishment from below, right. Um, you know, when renters and working people, when they fight for rent control, these corporate landlords and the real estate lobbyists, they threatened to leave the city. They scaremonger that any regulation will make their business on profitable. Um, they say anything that they can, and they walk the back rooms at city hall all the time to try and get their needs met, right. To try and make sure that the regulations in the city of Minneapolis make it so that they can make as much profit as possible. And one other thing that they do is they say they try and really stair small landlords as well. Um, you know, people who own one or two properties or live in a property that they also manage, you know, or, um, you know, it's maybe a three story house and the landlord lives on the bottom or a duplex or one of these type situations.
Speaker 2 00:12:44 Right? Yeah. A lot of the real estate lobby likes to scare these small landlords into thinking that rent control is somehow going to hurt them. But the reality is not only with rent control in place, would these curious study found a lot of these landlords would still make an average of 7% profit on in any given year, but also these small landlords are not the ones who are price gouging tenants. They are not raising their rents more than 3% in any given year, right. They're not the ones who are trying to maximize their profits generally off of, um, you know, like the housing crisis. Um, they're making a little bit of profit. They're able to put some money back into the properties to make repairs, that type of thing, but it's truly just not the small landlords. All that is to say is, you know, in terms of your question about city council and why not just move forward with this, with this study, um, as it is, you know, they did the same thing when, um, working people were fighting for a $15 minimum wage in Minneapolis.
Speaker 2 00:13:44 They commissioned a study. The study came back from Kira. It said that Minneapolis could not only withstand, but thrive on a $15 minimum wage that we should pass a very strong proposal. And a lot of council members, even in that moment just said, well, I don't know, it doesn't look good to me. So the reality is when they say that type of thing, they're reflecting the pressures of, um, you know, who they're sort of accountable to, right? So we want to build the strongest possible movement so that they are accountable and feel pressure to turn toward passing the strongest possible proposal and not, um, something that is, you know, has the fingerprints of the landlord lobby or, um, the corporate real estate developers, um, all over it. And so, I mean, that's kind of what we're up against. I'm working, people get organized, um, and when renters get organized, which is also why I think it's really important to say that, you know, those small landlords that was describing to they have a role to play in this fight as well.
Speaker 2 00:14:40 And like, um, you know, in past weeks we've been out at Curry park in the evenings to talk to people, to make sure folks know, you know, doing everything we can, um, you know, to talk to people in Powderhorn park, to talk to people in bloom island, you know, um, to talk to people on the street corner, out in front of their grocery store. And every time we're talking to people as well, we're saying you should get involved with Minneapolis United for rent control because this is, that's what it means to build a movement it's to, to not just treat it our council members, not just to call our council members, but to build something strong enough that can get organized and when rent control, but then kind of go on to win so much more.
Speaker 1 00:15:18 Um, I am talking to my guest today is ginger Jensen, who is the executive director of Minneapolis United rent control an organization that's really working one of the hot issues in this election, in the beautiful city of Minneapolis. When I come back, I have a great couple of several questions, I would say for Chinchilla when, after we hear this message, hello, welcome back. This is <inaudible> from Somali link radio at K F a I 90.3 FM. If you are in Somalia, Russia, Canada, or Mexico, you can always listen to K F a I radio a community radio 24 7, any kind of music, one in the
[email protected]. Um, my guest today is ginger Jensen. Um, I, I hope I'm saying that the last name, right? Uh, she's the executive director of Minneapolis United rent control an organization fighting for everyone in the city to have, uh, a cap 3% of cab inflation cap on the rent to fighting the three in our exaggeration of, um, rent increases in our city that is also driving a lot of people, homeless, uh, ginger, my question. My other question here is a lot of people destined, don't understand many of my audiences don't understand how the process works. Uh, what is the relationship between the charter commission and the city council?
Speaker 2 00:17:11 Yeah, absolutely. Um, yeah, just to be clear, you're saying my name perfectly, right. I should say I'm, I should say I'm, I'm a volunteer with, um, Minneapolis United Bernanke control. I'm not, I'm not technically the executive director, but I'm, I am playing a big role in hoping to kind of see this through to the end and putting a lot of energy into it. So I appreciate that said that. Um, and I think exactly as you're saying, like the process for this is quite confusing, um, and you know, otherwise there's a lot of different kinds of players in, um, whether or not we're going to add to be able to overcome the, the bureaucratic, uh, to be able to pass the strong rank control and your right to identify the charter commission is one of these entities, one of these players, um, and they, uh, are an unelected, um, body that sits, uh, and kind of they're like the protectors of the city constitution.
Speaker 2 00:18:06 So, um, what we're trying to do with what the city council proposed these two amendments to the city charter, um, you know, we're to make possible that they're like widening the past for our ability to pass rent control. So, like I said, there's one proposal that puts the decision for rent control into the hands of city council. One that makes possible a renter leg position. And what we saw from the undemocratic unelected unaccountable, uh, charter commission last week was their recommendation to city council was not to allow the renter led petition. And they set a couple of, I think, pretty disturbing things, um, in their report back to the city council about this, they said that they were, you know, to quote them. They said they were afraid of majora Tarion tyranny. And in this case, I mean, let's be real. We're talking about the majority being, working class renters, communities of color, uh, people across the city of Minneapolis who are feeling, uh, totally burdened by exorbitant rent increases, right?
Speaker 2 00:19:07 And instead they're giving cover for the city council to side with the corporate real estate lobby with corporate landlords who are the small minority profiting off of this housing crisis, which we think is totally unacceptable. And the thing that's so tricky about the charter commission and that we've been pointing out consistently city council does not have to do what they recommend. It is completely up to city council, whether or not we are going to get to vote on a renter led petition for rent control, right? So it is completely up to us to build the strong enough, again, like multiracial movement that puts pressure on the council, um, to, uh, actually let us vote on that renter led petition so that we can put forward the strongest possible rent control. This, the charter commission is a sort of roadblock, but we are pushing on city council to say, uh, no, let us vote. Let us vote on the renter led petition. You don't have to do what the charter commission has recommended
Speaker 1 00:20:06 And they, and they can deny them, right. They can just go ahead and vote.
Speaker 2 00:20:11 Exactly. So what we experienced last week was, um, the city council at their policy, um, and government oversight committee. They actually voted 11 to two, which is a veto proof majority. Um, and they voted 11 to, to, to move forward both of those charter amendments. So both the one that puts the decision in the hands of city council and the renter led position, which is really good. Like we, we, we saw that as a victory that was as a result of the work we've been putting in, but the city council is going to vote again on August 6th. And so that's what we're really trying to point now. And actually that, that kind of brings me to a really important, this is like a very important part of the overall movement for rent control. Where do we want to make sure everyone is aware that, you know, the city council could kill rent control on August 6th?
Speaker 2 00:21:03 We don't want that to happen. We need to keep that veto proof, majority of council members voting to put forward the renter led petition. So actually we're calling on everyone to pack city hall that day. We're trying to get everyone we know to show up at 9:00 AM at city hall on Friday, August six, to say that we need to be able to put the decision for rent control in the hands of renters and working people in the city of Minneapolis. Um, and we want to make sure that we do that with at least nine votes. If we can keep those 11 council members voting to move forward, that strong path for rent control. That's great because then we're able to overcome mayor fry, wanting to, um, silence, uh, the majority of people in the city of Minneapolis who want to be able to move forward on a strong rent control.
Speaker 1 00:21:51 Okay. And the date is the date that renters who really want to be part of the advocating for this rent control. They should show up the August six at city hall. Yeah. At 9:00 AM 9:00 AM you listen to that? 9:00 AM, August six show up at the city hall, make your voice heard as a renter. Who's struggling rather than a corporate who wants to get seven or 10%, uh, profit from you. Most of the, how many do we know how many of those corporations live here in Minneapolis or half headquarters?
Speaker 2 00:22:34 No, that's such a good question. It's so hard to tell because oftentimes they hide behind smaller LLCs. So you might have one, um, you know, corporate landlord having, you know, multiple tentacles across the country, uh, you know, owning multiple prop properties. Um, there was actually an article in the New York times about this Blackstone group that has been just gobbling up rental properties across the entire country, in the wake of the pandemic. Both when people have been evicted at, you know, maybe when they've silently moved out because they were intimidated, uh, you know, worried about being behind either on branch or on their mortgage. And, uh, you know, it is this type of predatory, um, abuse from the corporate landlord lobby that we are going to see increasingly more of if we don't get organized building by building and actually prepare the ground, you know, for, uh, winning rent control and so much more, which actually brings me to one other aspect of what we're fighting for is a renter's board that we would want to pass a renter's board as part of this, um, to have, uh, it's be the enforcer in the city, you know, for what it looks like, um, to, uh, you know, uh, prevent abuses on the rent control.
Speaker 2 00:23:54 So one thing, um, that I also kind of mentioned was like having the rent control policy tied to the unit and not the renter, um, in, in other parts of the country, um, this is one of the loopholes that the landlord lobby has consistently fought for. It's a way that they kind of cut into a universally applied, um, kind of policy. So it removes the rent control it's called vacancy decontrol, right? So, um, that, that removes rent control when a tenant moves out, we don't want that to be able to happen. And so like part of having a renters board would help us to make sure both that there aren't abuses against that rent control also that we wouldn't end up seeing, uh, an amendment at some point around like vacancy decontrol, which would be terrible. It'd be a terrible loophole to have in the city. Um, we want to make sure that what we get is the most universally applied the most robust, um, rent control that we possibly can across the whole city. Um, so that we don't see this kind of both price gouging and also like the manipulation of a strong rent control policy.
Speaker 1 00:24:59 And ginger also, I read somewhere, um, that you're also fighting for what, not only that, that rent control passes or voted on, but also retroactive as to how long
Speaker 2 00:25:15 Exactly. I think we would, we would try for a year, we would want it to be a year so that the landlord lobby wouldn't. Um, so basically they wouldn't Jack up their prices to try and lock in at higher rents. But as you pointed out in the beginning too, we are already seeing skyrocketing rent increases. So we want to cut across that now, but, but a key part of organizing today is also getting to know, like, if you want to get involved, we all, like if you live in a building with multiple units, we would love to help you, you know, go through your building and talk to your neighbors and get to know your neighbors and like start to organize your building in a way that, um, is sustainable going forward that we can use to not only win rent control, but like going forward and forcing a strong rent control policy would also be dependent on renters knowing what their rights are, you know, and renters, uh, you know, forming their own tenant unions and this type of thing.
Speaker 2 00:26:12 So to me, that's connected to the retroactive application as well, because if we see a landlord tries to Jack up the rent, we, you know, we should get organized, let's get organized as a building stand against this type of, um, abuse, you know? Um, and I think so often we, I see it all the time. People get intimidated and think it's a personal problem when they get behind in rent. Or, and I saw this during the pandemic too. We're an early on, you know, people were afraid to admit that they were behind on their rent, even though they'd lost their jobs, like in the middle of one of the biggest public health crisis we've experienced in any of our lifetimes. You know? And so it's, it's just really, uh, it's, it's, that's the kind of thing I want us to fight against is the idea that somehow this is a personal or an individual problem.
Speaker 2 00:27:03 We need a comprehensive solution to, um, these, the abuses of the landlord lobby. And in reality, I think what we're talking about is, again, a really empowered renter's rights movement that is connected with like working in middle-class homeowners too, who have a real investment as well. I think in, um, keeping community stable and like, you know, um, having good renters in the area, having good homeowners in the area, we all benefit. You know, we are building, uh, the healthiest communities possible in a multiracial city and, you know, in a way that is actually about putting people over the profits of the landlord lobby.
Speaker 1 00:27:41 Thank you, ginger. Um, we're going to hear another message, but I've got a couple of more questions and I will promise you you'll be off to your meeting in about 10 to seven. Hello. Welcome back. This is <inaudible> from Somali link radio at K F a I F M 98.3. And if you are somewhere beyond the twin cities, you can always no matter where you are in the world, listen to K F a I F M radio 24 7 by just tapping K F a i.org today. My guest is changer Jensen. Um, she is, uh, the acting, I would say, executive director of the Minneapolis United rental control organization. That's fighting for one of the core issues that this election is about in November, and that is rent control about housing, affordable housing, and as well as the homelessness, uh, extreme homelessness that our families and our residents of Minneapolis are facing, as you can see on the streets and your neighborhoods. So I want to say thank you to this organization and all the volunteers that are working with them. Ginger, I want to ask you a couple of more questions before we go. Um, you're also fighting several other issues. One of them, if I'm not mistaken is to shorten the amount of eviction record. Am I right?
Speaker 2 00:29:23 No, that's a great, um, I think that's absolutely as part of the fight for rent control. Um, a lot of other organizations, and I think Mark Wood, Minneapolis United for rent control would definitely be involved in trying to fight around other renter's rights issues, um, including, you know, trying to make sure that, uh, your rental history is, um, expunged after a certain period of time, or at least, you know, you don't have dings on your record for a long period of time, specifically with these charter amendments around rent control. That's not written into, um, this particular set of proposals, but, um, you're right to identify that we see rent control is one important tool in, in, in, you know, in a whole tool belt of ways in which we have to address the housing crisis.
Speaker 1 00:30:10 Great. Um, also, as we talked about earlier, I have a question about that the, that, um, some, um, um, uh, corporates are threatening to leave the city. Um, is there a steady that those, um, landlord lobbyist is, is there a steady that they are using study from highly respected, uh, research organization or university that says rental control is a disaster?
Speaker 2 00:30:40 That's a great question. I mean, I, you know, we see a lot of, well, frankly, like, you know, these really well-funded landlord and corporate lobbyists, they can, um, you know, they can fund whatever studies they want to, to get them to say whatever they want to really. So, you know, that's the thing is that, um, you know, a lot of the myths about rent control, a lot of the lies that get spread about rent control are as a result, I think much more about the power of the landlord lobby than anything else, right? So, you know, they say, um, that, uh, if we get rent control in Minneapolis, landlords would stop taking care of their buildings. And the reality is that's absolutely not true. Um, and I think that's, that's part of why our proposal is so comprehensive. They also say that, you know, if we pass rent control, wouldn't that stop new development?
Speaker 2 00:31:37 Wouldn't that staff new buildings, that's also not true. You know, the claim that rent control reduces the quality or the quantity of available housing is absolutely a myth perpetuated by the real estate lobbyists. And multiple research studies have actually showed that there's zero evidence for this claim that they make all the time, rent control policies do not decrease development. Um, and in fact, like in the city of New York, two of their biggest housing bones hacked, it happened, uh, during periods of very strong rent control. So in the 1920s, and then in 1947 to 65, there was an enormous amount of building happening in the city of New York. But that was during again, a very strong period of, of rent control. Um, and you know, that's just the type of thing too, that the curist study, you know, center for urban and regional affairs, um, you know, went a long way.
Speaker 2 00:32:28 I think it starting to bust some of these myths as well. Um, but it's also just it's how much do these sort of corporate landlords repeat these myths and sort of scaremonger about this. Um, and yeah, again, the reality is rent control doesn't cause more development. It doesn't prevent new construction, but, um, it's when landlords and developers use this argument, they push for a carve out for new construction that erodes, what would otherwise be a very strong rent control policy. We want to make sure we fight that tooth and nail, and actually just to like give a little bit of an international scope on what we can win and what, what like is sort of at stake when you have a really empowered renter's rights movement in Sweden recently, uh, actually the government tried to, um, get rid of part of their strong rent control laws.
Speaker 2 00:33:16 And they tried to make the loophole that would exempt new construction from being included in those rent control laws. And that literally caused the government to fall, which was really wild because the renters rights movement was so because renters knew what their rights are in the country, and they know that that's just not good for their future. And that that's something that they've fought for and won in the past. We want this kind of history of struggle in the city of Minneapolis as well. You know, if we can win the strong rent control then with, you know, building a movement like this, a multiracial movement in our communities and workplaces, then we're in a much better position to protect that strong rent control.
Speaker 1 00:33:58 Very good. Um, you know, there are, um, I know there are communities that are suffering from landlord abuses that maintenance other issues. Retaliation is threats. We also know our bigger communities that it's not about the landlord anymore. It's about the tenant association that w w that the people were built long time ago. And for years they used to vote for every month. He used to have a board meeting. It's a nonprofit, and every year they have an election. And in those big communities, it never happened lasted 13 years, and they are threatened by their own tenant association. What your organization or allies can get some information on resources to these communities.
Speaker 2 00:34:49 Yeah. I mean, that's a super challenging question again. I think it really goes to, um, how do we build the most democratic, um, widespread deep movement that we can to be able to, um, reach as many communities as possible and, uh, really start to organize the strongest possible movement to address, um, housing issues in the city. I mean, and I don't know how much this actually gets to the question itself, but in some ways, maybe this is a good moment to also plug, like, if people want to get involved with Minneapolis United for rent control, our Instagram is, you know, MPLS or rent control, and that's the number four. Um, and then also if people haven't signed our petition yet, it's MPLS United for the number for rent
[email protected]. You can get ahold of us or, um, that's our website as well. And when you sign up, um, when you go to the website and you sign the petition, this also immediately sends an email to every council member, or I'm sorry, your council member and to the mayor.
Speaker 2 00:35:50 And this is, I mean, I think in some ways, uh, why we are out in the streets and at, um, grocery stores and at, uh, you know, parks as much as possible, but we're still not big enough, right? Like there's still people as you point out who haven't heard about the movement in the city of Minneapolis, or are facing their own renter's struggles and, you know, facing their own, uh, um, maybe, uh, neighborhood associations or boards that maybe they feel don't fully represent them. Like, what does it look like for us to build the broadest possible support? We want to pull in as many people as possible, um, who are able to talk to their neighbors. And, um, I mean, I think especially as these eviction bands are being lifted, you know, in Minnesota, in New York, I just read an article today about New York, uh, more than half a million renters are behind in their rent.
Speaker 2 00:36:44 And the total back rent is totalling more than $2.2 billion. And if the, you know, like the fact that this is where people are at at this point in the pandemic and, you know, um, that, you know, people feel maybe underrepresented or misrepresented in different ways. I think that that's just pointing to the need to get organized immediately now, yesterday, you know, like we need to get organized and, uh, be prepared to, um, stand with our neighbors and say, um, no, you, you, can't evict, uh, you know, these people who have been pillars in our community or, you know, um, fighting that level of intimidation, um, both for, uh, renters and for homeowners who might be behind in their mortgages, like really calling on a widespread community support and building the movement, but is prepared to take on the city establishment and is prepared to stand up to, um, the city establishment, especially if they decide to call the police out on us. Um, and, uh, we have to be prepared to defend our neighbors with, uh, you know, mass movement. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:37:50 You know, uh, this organization is making waves at city council and, um, probably on its way to the ballot. How old is the organization?
Speaker 2 00:38:04 Yeah. I mean, that's a great question we've been doing, um, this work, I think for about a year now. And again, like some of this it's been a discussion since the 2017 elections. I know I was in, I was involved in 2017, I'm at raising the issue around rent control. And, um, at the same time, you know, um, I also come out of the $15 minimum wage movement. And actually I think that offers a really good example of, um, what Minneapolis United for rent control is fighting to do you, um, in, uh, you know, fast food workers were initially raising the demand for 15 and 2012. And, um, in Minneapolis it took us until 2017 to pass, um, you know, a $15 minimum wage that, you know, was phased in because we weren't quite strong enough to overcome some of the big business opposition, but fundamentally what that grassroots movement was able to accomplish was to make city hall pass something that initially they said was illegal.
Speaker 2 00:39:04 And then they said it was impossible. And then we build a strong enough movement and we won. And I think that those are the lessons we want to take into this Minneapolis United for rent control organizing. So this coalition, um, like I said, is about a year old, but we're growing significantly. Um, you know, we include over 50 faith organizations, um, including Northside churches. And, um, we include, uh, several unions, uh, unite HDRE that represents like hospitality workers, um, make, which is the professional workers at the state level. And, um, the nurses as well and others. And the reality is, um, we need this coalition to be bigger and stronger. So I would say also to your listeners, if you're in an organization or community group, and you want to support, please get in touch, or if you're a small business and you want to support, you know, we, um, right now this, this rent control that we're fighting for, it's only applied to rental residential buildings, but I think that, you know, small businesses can and should play a role in this fight because we also need small businesses.
Speaker 2 00:40:09 Like they are pushed out at just phenomenal rates by big corporations who can pay the rent, you know, who can weather the pandemic. And like, we want to be fighting for our community, you know, uh, businesses that have made a difference and are, um, trying to withstand some pretty phenomenal rent increases themselves. So we want to call it again on all supporters. And again, like, uh, you know, Harrison neighborhood association, Cedar, Riverside community council, Corcoran, neighborhood association, so many other organizations, they have just such a long list, um, that are supportive of this campaign, but we would call on so many more to get involved because we, again, just need to mobilize everybody.
Speaker 1 00:40:48 Thank you. And I, I I'm, I'm glad that you mentioned also the small businesses, because I myself know several hundred Somali and east African businesses that don't even have a list that their rent, they can't even guess what their rent will be next year or next five months. And they can't even talk about that. Um, the recently, uh, several businesses of those Somalia mall businesses, um, uh, actually we're trying saloons, we're trying to, uh, ask their landlord. It's too hard, but an air conditioner in here, and he said, it's got a costume $9,000 and you got to pay for it. Otherwise, I'm going to close your shop that you had for the past five years tomorrow. So there are a lot
Speaker 2 00:41:33 Of, a lot of unacceptable and
Speaker 1 00:41:38 Crazy things that are happening to this. A lot of communities, especially communities of color. And, um, a lot of people are afraid of retaliation, but your organization is really a big voice that really gives hope to these tenants, uh, whether it's a small business or whether it's, uh, is it affordable housing or rental housing? So we say, thank you, you and all the volunteers. And I want to tell you, um, cannon and Nicole and, uh, several others I've met are really engaging the community. And that's why we know Minneapolis United for rental control.
Speaker 2 00:42:15 Absolutely. That's fantastic. I guess I would do one last shout out to like, to your point, we need everyone to show up to city hall 9:00 AM on August 6th, because we need to make sure that the city council doesn't succumb to that pressure of the landlord lobby. And we want to make sure that this is a renter led proposal on the ballot, um, to voters. And, um, so yeah, we need folks to come out if they can. Um, and that's like the kind of deep solidarity I think we can be building through this campaign, um, to be able to be working together, um, to defeat, you know, that kind of manipulative or abusive and exploitative landlord, uh, situation that you're describing. So hopefully this can come out, um, and follow us on social media.
Speaker 1 00:42:58 Thank you again. Thank you. Ginger Jensen and Minneapolis United for rent control. And I will personally show up on the sixth and I ask my audiences if you're interested to keep our community in a stable housing, everyone, and get people off the street, please show up. Thank you, ginger.
Speaker 2 00:43:21 Thank you so much for having me have a great rest of your night. Yeah, you too.
Speaker 1 00:43:24 Bye bye. Welcome back. Um, that was very interesting. Um, one of the interesting programs
Speaker 0 00:43:33 That we have that we have, um,
Speaker 1 00:43:37 That we had, uh, on today, like so many times, uh, I want to say thank you to ginger Jensen, um, uh, from Minneapolis United for rental control, uh, again, nine o'clock August 6th. That's when the hearing will take place on city council and your voice matters. Uh, I just want to mention here, uh, before we hear a nice music by the DGA Amina or the DECA, we call our DECA, um, just wanted to let you know that today there will be helmet, bike, helmet giveaway at carry bark. Today this evening, 7:00 PM to eight 31st come first serve it. Um, the people who are partnering with us and, uh, who are cool, they are health Fairview and health commons, community health settings that are really concerned about young people not wearing helmet. They're saying, be cool, wear your helmets. So if, if you have helmet fine, if you don't, you're welcome.
Speaker 1 00:44:46 It's open to the public. Everyone is welcomed. And at the end, if you are looking for a job, uh, if you are coming out of the bandaid mic on you are looking for a job or you want to help, uh, build a resume or Polish your resume, or you're looking for skills, trainings that are free to you, to everyone. Please call emerge, uh, community development at Cedar Riverside location, 6 1 2 4 2 5 4 7 1 8 is still, the building is not open to the BubbleQ because of the bendamustine, but you can set up an appointment and they will take you in, again, that number for jobs, for resume building for youth programs, for internships, for jobs and skills that are free to you. Call 6 1 2 4 2 5 4 7 1 8. Let's see how DECA is in love. And, uh, we meet an Annie. You can tell that from what kind of a mystery she plays.
Speaker 3 00:45:54 We just get a scene. This is a wedding season. We just going to play a wedding song that, um, and you know, in last year, 2020, a lot of wedding was put on hold. Yeah. So this is for everyone who's getting married.
Speaker 1 00:46:09 Wow. That's a great tribute. I didn't know what it was wedding season. Wow.
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