‘Why does CATU not allow landlords to join? Isn’t it more difficult having that division and being separated, as opposed to working together?’ asked an attendee at a CATU presentation in Brussels the last weekend of November. The three of us had prepared for exploring the unions history and exchanging experiences and challenges – I don’t think we were ready to explain CATU’s understanding of class politics, power dynamics and capitalism within the last 10 minutes of the lecture. That’s another hour long session. 

ACORN India representatives spoke at a convention in New Delhi on Contemporary Popular Movements in India. In Dharavi, ACORN India hosted a Women’s Group Discussion Meeting among waste collectors, homemakers, and small unit workers. They also conducted a free Food Safety Training & Certification (FOSTAC) training session in Noida for street food vendors.

Every year, hundreds of Muslim women face discrimination in higher education and are excluded and deprived of training. From the recognition of this injustice and the desire to fight against it, Libawat was born, the union of Muslim women in Chalon-sur-Saône launched in September 2022.

Rising expenses and rents, elevator breakdowns, and disregard for their concerns… Tenants of the OPH in Aubervilliers, France continue to rally against the abuses of their landlord. Several neighborhood meetings have taken place at Hélène Cochennec, La Maladrerie, and Emile Dubois. Everywhere, the message is the same: “We’ve had enough, it’s time to take action.”

ACORN Bristol‘s ‘Ban the Bids’ campaign wins as big city letting agent pledges not to engage in ‘bidding wars.’

As reported last month, ACORN’s Bristol branch has been fighting against the practise of ‘bidding wars,’ where landlords and letting agents encourage would be renters to bid against each other over the advertised price. 

Earlier this week, ACORN Coventry successfully resisted the eviction of our member Mandy and her family.

Their landlord, who owns over 40 properties in Coventry, issued a section 21 ‘no fault’ eviction notice so he can sell up.

Mandy repeatedly asked the landlord to delay the eviction until they could find a new home to rent or the council could provide them one. However, instead he refused to negotiate and chose to try and throw them out of their home, putting them at risk of homelessness.

NS ACORN members from across Halifax, Canada came for a rally at Mic Mac Mall on June 24 to demand affordable housing be included in the M District Future Growth Node redevelopment planned for the area surrounding the mall and is expected to construct several high-rises with over 2000 new residential units and commercial spaces.

Tenants at Skyline Towers in New Westminster, British Columbia were happy to see their broken elevators finally being replaced, only to find out that their landlord Bayside Properties intended to have tenants pay for the entire $1,000,000 bill with a rent increase. Under BC Provincial Housing legislation, landlords can now apply to the BC Residential Tenancies Branch (RTB) for an Additional Rent Increase (ARI) to pay for major repairs needed in the building.

Our affiliate, Alliance Citoyenne’s collective Les Hijabeuses, lodged an appeal in November 2021 challenging the French Football Federation’s prohibition on players wearing the hijab.

Amidst this ongoing battle, regardless of the final judgment from the Council of State, what we have accomplished is HISTORICAL. Women, the very individuals most affected, athletes, and activists, stood up against a powerful institution like the FFF. We have refused to stay silent, unapologetically embracing our identities and reclaiming our rights.

ACORN Hamilton, ACORN Toronto, and ACORN London members held an action in front of 140 Tycos Drive in North York, Ontario on June 22 to deliver a demand letter from tenants who are fed up with the tenant displacement tactics employed by Family Properties. Finding an address with an active office to drop a demand letter was challenging, and illustrates the need for one of ACORN Canada’s national Stop Corporate Landlords campaign demands: the right to know your landlord.