(Provisional) Points of Unity

Adapted from the Autonomous Tenants Union Network’s Points of Unity.

1. We are an organization run by and for our members. We are not under the direction of paid staff, boards of directors, or state agencies, and we are funded by our members rather than by grants or major donors.

2. We define a tenant as anyone who does not have control over their housing. For us, “tenants” includes unhoused tenants, tenants who are squatting, tenants who are inside the carceral punishment system, tenants in nursing homes, in university housing, and in state institutions.

3. We are not a service organization; we are a movement organization. As such we practice and build solidarityーnot charityーacross buildings, neighborhoods, borders, and language barriers. 

4. We assert that the interests of landlords and tenants are fundamentally irreconcilable, and we reject any policy that attempts to paper over this conflict. We advocate for a strategy of class struggle, and our overall political orientation consists of opposing strategies that encourage collaboration between class enemies.

5. We are an anti-racist, anti-sexist organization. We support social justice and are committed to fighting oppressive behaviors, ideologies, and structures in and outside our ranks. We seek a membership and leadership that reflect the people most impacted by the crisis.