SAN FRANCISCO RENT STRIKE

A rent strike has been proposed for San Francisco. The people involved in drafting this proposal (The No Business Collective) are few of the over 400,000 people in San Francisco who live in someone else's extra home (commonly known as renters). These extra homes are seen by the Realty companies (and many Landlords) as prized commodities that should be used for profit. The Landowners com modification of property (whether intentional or not) forces the majority of renters into a world of "working to pay the rent" that seems to have no end.

The strike has been proposed as a horizontal association of tenants called
THE TENANT BLOCK who together form a mass protest to the Landowners ability to take advantage of renters. The process begins with meetings amongst neighbors on people's blocks to discuss the various housing problems tenants have. As each block organizes spokespeople are chosen to communicate these problems to surrounding blocks. As multiple blocks organize the spokespeople can meet to discuss all the tenants concerns and demands. Once there is a mass of organized tenants we are then in a position to make demands to improve our situation. The organization process can improve and change as people get involved. The decision of whether to go on strike or not will be determined by all the tenants who participate in the discussion.

The process of spreading the Rent strike flier begins in the month of May 2008. Anyone with questions or wants to join in to help organize please contact us at :

sfstrike [at] riseup.net or sfstrike [at] gmail.com

As this process has just begun, events, meetings, and presentations will be announced ASAP. The fliers are being passed out all over the city so spread the word and check the website for updates.

Square blocks of San Francisco have been numbered. If you leave information of where you live (not necessarily your address if you don't want to) you could be connected to others organizing in your area. The web site will keep track of areas organizing, and post it.







The No Business Collective is a group of people in San Francisco that feel the continual escalating price of rent, and the unsatisfactory conditions tenants face (with rent control or not) will not change unless we change it ourselves. The tenant block format we feel is the most inclusive way to go about a community discussion where everyone has equal say. Some of us were and are involved in DIRECT ACTION TO STOP THE WAR. The name "No Business" can be explained as follows:
Doing business, and the use of the term business, dehumanizes our daily interactions into a world of fake relationships where production is meaningful and the person is meaningless. In this world of business, the quality of relationships between people are dependent directly on the quality of production. If a person lacks efficiency, commitment, or enthusiasm to the world of production, he/she is often rejected by those who spend their time in that world. The world of business and production presumably provides everything for the individuals life except the time to live that life. As the end result, those who do business are impoverished by lack of time to live, and those who do no business are impoverished by lack of necessary materials of life denied to her/him by those who control and do business.
The relationship of business is a relationship of power. Each persons positions of power is based off how well they control business. De constructing relationships of power and business are essential to exposing the time and materials of life that could be available to everyone if there was NO BUSINESS.
The No Business collective does not speak for anyone but ourselves and do not intend to impose or force an agenda on anyone. With the extreme price of living in this city, as well as the continual attack by the Landowners on rent control, we think many people (like us) feel that legislation will always fall short of producing effective results that will improve everyone's lives. We are proposing community organization outside the political spectrum where everyone's voice counts.
We see housing as a human necessity (like health care) that should be available to everyone for free.