As of 2016, this transitioned into the Philadelphia Tenants Union which focuses on tenant fights (and no longer takes on boss related struggles).
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If you’ve been abused by a boss or landlord and want to fight back, get in touch:
Call us: (484) 383-4923
or email us: solidaritynetwork@phillysocialists.org
Fighting Bad Landlords
Philadelphia is plagued by unscrupulous landlords more interested in extracting profits from their tenants than making decent homes for them. These landlords use every advantage they have over tenants—money, lawyers, the threat of putting someone out of their home—to keep rents flowing in while they avoid fulfilling their responsibilities to maintain their properties.
Tenants don’t have the kind of time and money landlords have to push their cases in court. And, too often, the courts’ default position is to side with property owners.
We’re fighting back against these landlords. Not with lawyers or nonprofits or bureaucrats, but with the power of collective action. We want to make Philly a better place to be a tenant, and to show property owners that they won’t get away with treating our homes as investments they can squeeze for profit.
Fighting Bad Bosses
We also fight bad bosses who fail to pay wages or mistreat workers. Often a boss will not pay the required minimum wage, will not pay overtime, will make false promises, compromise workplace safety, unjustly fire a worker, or otherwise abuse their position of power.
We are organizing and engaging in nonviolent actions to fight for workers rights. And we’re building power and working towards a socialist future where these problems will be gone.
Resources
Facebook Solidarity Networks – used by multiple Solidarity Networks
Building a Solidarity Network Guide
Seattle Solidarity Network – the original and one of the most active solidarity networks.
Philadelinquency – muckraking website on landlords, developers, and city politics.
Map of Property Values in Philadelphia
Justice Map – high resolution map of race and income in Philadelphia and rest of the US
National Alliance of HUD Tenants – with advice on your rights and how to organize
Restaurant Opportunities Center – builds power for restaurant workers in Philadelphia and they wrote a report on “The Hidden Reality of Philadelphia’s Thriving Restaurant Industry”.
Our Record
So far we have taken on two fights. In the first fight, we took on absentee multi-millionaire landlord who lived in NYC and secured compensation for a West Philly tenant whose property was damaged by a pest infestation, and we also secured a commitment to fix the roof leak. Our second fight was much larger as it involved working with an entire apartment building (the Winchester Building on 48th and Chester) of around 40 affordable housing units where the management (Friends Rehabilitation Program – a Quaker nonprofit) had been neglecting maintenance for several years. With our efforts, and that of the tenants, we pushed the management to take a much more active role in addressing the bed bugs, heating system, and other problems.