Thread by @CalOrganize

Today, ACCE members & @Blackstone tenants from across California took action in San Diego, LA and San Francisco to say loud and clear: our homes are for families, not Wall Street speculators - & we will not be harassed, rent gouged or evicted from our homes without a fight!

In San Diego, Blackstone tenants with ACCE went to the Conrad Prebys Foundation to demand that their concerns be heard, after they sold over $1 BILLION worth in properties to @Blackstone this year, officially making Blackstone the third biggest landlord in San Diego.

Already, the tenants have faced rent increases, major health & safety issues, & attempts at eviction (which were only stopped once ACCE lawyers & press contacted Blackstone about it). The tenants are demanding Blackstone sign a good landlord community standards agreement.

In LA, tenants living under FPI Management - the same property management company hired in San Diego by Blackstone which manages 150K units nationally - went to their office to demand repairs, the firing of the onsite rep, & an end to harassment, extortion & threats of eviction.

And in San Francisco, dozens of ACCE members marched on @Blackstone ’s headquarters to deliver their demand letter, in solidarity with the tenants in San Diego, and with all renters living under corporate ownership in California.

As Wall Street speculators like @Blackstone & @WedgewoodHomes have been historically given carte blanche to buy housing in CA post foreclosure crisis-today, tenants are now organizing & demanding accountability. #AB1199 & yesterday's @AGRobBonta ruling are steps in that direction

Like water, roads, & education, housing must be treated as a public good - not a profit vehicle, a commodity to be bought & sold. Home is where we lay our heads at night, raise our kids, & grow old together - it is the very foundation for functioning society.

And until we treat #HousingAsAHumanRight & stop Wall Street from having free reign to play monopoly on our homes, we can expect homelessness to continue to surge & faith in government to crumble.

But the future is ours for the making. @AsmAutumnBurke we must pass #AB1199 now!