The majority Chinese-speaking tenants at a downtown Oakland building organized to fix hot water, broken doors, and lack of security. Management’s response: shut down their community room.
Thirty tenants and another twenty-five union supporters picketed at the Don Stump residential building in downtown Oakland on Tuesday, August 25th, in response to longstanding safety issues and management inaction at their building.
The tenants called the picket to protest management limiting access to their building’s community room, which they use for organizing. Tenants brought signs, walked the block, and talked to the press and a crowd of supporters. Their banner read “TENANT MUTUAL AID GROUP IS IN ACTION” in Chinese (租户互助自救组行动).
“Even though the landlord is not listening right now, the community is listening,” said Mr. Peng, a tenant at the building, who spoke in Chinese. “There will be justice under the sunlight,” he added.
The building, owned by Walnut Creek-based nonprofit affordable housing developer Christian Church Homes (CCH), includes 130 affordable units for seniors. The tenants, most of whom are Chinese immigrants, have been organizing for months against poor conditions — including lack of hot water, a broken front door, and no 24-hour staffing or security. Tenants said the building used to provide 24-hour staffing, but cut this critical service years ago.
An investigation into the conditions by the affordable housing program administrator, California Affordable Housing Initiative, is ongoing. Tenants say the conditions amount to elder abuse.
The tenants have formed a union in their building, and are also organizing with the larger tenant union Tenant and Neighborhood Councils (TANC).
“We are all seniors. When we get in the shower, the water could be at normal temperature one moment, and then scalding hot or ice cold the next,” said Francine Broadnax, another tenant at the building. “Seniors trying to scramble out of the bath, that’s dangerous.”
Other tenants mentioned falling or having other issues, and having no staff in the building to help out. Instead, a 90-year-old will ask a 70-year-old to come help their husband after a fall.
On July 31, management at Don Stump made an announcement: they would be restricting access to the building's exercise and recreation room, the primary space where tenants gather to organize. Management cited the community room closure as necessary to “ensure safety and security of all residents” but tenants say CCH has done nothing to address break-ins, nor has management addressed tenants' demands for a 24-hour security guard.
Kevin Sun, an organizer with TANC, said that building management “added insult to injury” when they decided to use the community room for their own event. That event was planned for today but — in light of the picket — management seemingly chickened out.
“We don’t have to fear retaliation from the landlord — because we have everyone here today,” Mr. Peng said. “Tenants here have nothing to fear.”
Current reached out to CCH for comment on the issues at the Don Stump building, but did not hear back.
Within hours of the picket and this story going to print, management put up a new notice saying the community room “will return to 24/7 access for residents” effective August 27.
“Even though CCH hasn’t acknowledged it, they have been responding to our organizing,” said Sun, noting CCH had also finally fixed the front door and hired a new contractor for the water system. “We know CCH is watching, because we see our organizing working.”
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