Join us Sunday, November 24 for our regular membership meeting! We will be meeting from 4:00pm to 5:30pm at Grassroots House (2022 Blake Street). The meeting will also be a potluck, and you can sign-up here to let everyone know what you’re bringing!
Ads that link to here are paid for by the Berkeley Tenants Union PAC, FPPC #1469678. Major funding provided by the Berkeley Tenants Union, Berkeley, CA ($1,600).
Ads that link to here are paid for by the Berkeley Tenants Union PAC, FPPC #1469678. Major funding provided by the Berkeley Tenants Union, Berkeley, CA ($1,600).
Local Candidates and Ballot Measures
State Candidates and Ballot Measures
Join us this Sunday, September 22 for our regular membership meeting! We will be meeting from 4:00pm to 5:30pm at Grassroots House (2022 Blake Street). The meeting will also be a potluck, and you can sign-up here to let everyone know what you’re bringing!
Finally, we’re excited to announce our guest speaker for this Sunday’s membership meeting is City Councilmember Cecilia Lunaparra!
Join us this weekend to kick-off BTU-endorsed campaigns for the November election!
On Saturday from 6pm to 8pm at Grassroots House (2022 Blake St), we’ll be hosting the campaign kickoff for the Right to Housing Slate for Rent Board and Jenny Guarino for City Council. This will be a fundraiser for the candidates, so we encourage you to bring your checkbook. (No one will be turned away for lack of a donation.)
All five candidates (Jenny + the four members of the slate) are using public financing, which means the city’s Fair Elections Fund will match donations from Berkeley residents by a ratio of 6-1. That means, for example, if you donate $10 to a candidate, they will receive $70, and if you donate $60 then they will receive $420! (You may donate up to $60 to each candidate, for a total of $300 total, which would become $2100 after matching funds are applied.)
Sunday is a two-parter at San Pablo Park (look for us next to the community center). From 3pm to 5pm, we’ll be holding our membership meeting and potluck (sign-up to bring a dish here). Then from 5pm to 8pm, we’re launching our first canvass for the November election! We’ll be campaigning for the Right to Housing Slate, the Tenant Protection & Right to Organize Act, Jenny Guarino, and Jovanka Beckles.
You can RSVP for this weekend’s kickoffs here. And you can sign-up to bring a dish for Sunday’s potluck here.
Want to donate but can’t make it this weekend? You can find the donation links for the Right to Housing Slate here and for Jenny here.
Earlier this month, our members voted to make the following endorsements:
Our members also voted to endorse Regional Measure 4 ($20 billion affordable housing bond). However, BAHFA voted to withdraw Measure 4 while our membership vote was ongoing.
Additionally, our members previously voted to endorse:
The BTU membership also previously voted to endorse YES on a ballot measure to repeal Article XXXIV of the California Constitution. However, the State Legislature subsequently withdrew that measure from the ballot.
Join us Sunday, August 25 from 3PM to 5PM at San Pablo Park (2800 Park Street) for our next regular membership meeting! This meeting will be a potluck, so we encourage you to bring food to share with other members! The main topics of this meeting will be finalizing our November endorsements and organizing for the November election.
After the meeting finishes, we will hold a canvass for the Rent Board Slate and Jenny Guarino for City Council District 2. You can RSVP for the canvass here.
**If your landlord threatens to evict you for ANY reason, immediately email info@berkeleytenants.org with the subject line “I AM BEING EVICTED” so we can provide you help ASAP. (California tenants outside Berkeley should call Tenants Together at 888-495-8020.) Because of the extremely unfair legal deadlines for tenants facing evictions, it is crucial for tenants to react very quickly to eviction notices (even for blatantly illegal evictions). Do NOT wait to use our counseling clinic if you are facing an eviction.**
BTU is proud to hold a free monthly counseling clinic, where any East Bay* tenant may speak with a professional tenant attorney. Our next clinic will take place THURSDAY, June 27 from 3PM to 5PM via phone. In order to use the clinic, you must sign-up for a spot here by 11:59PM FRIDAY, June 23 (i.e. FOUR days before the clinic). However, we only have a very limited number of spots available; priority is always given to BTU members (see below for how to join or renew your dues), followed by sign-up order. (Members are also told about our clinics earlier than non-members.)
You can join BTU/pay your dues by clicking the yellow “Donate” button in the upper-right corner of our website. Dues are a sliding scale of just $10 – $27 per year; however, those who can afford to pay more are strongly encouraged to do so. If you’d prefer to pay dues by cash or check (which lets BTU avoid paying a transaction fee), please email info@berkeleytenants.org to have someone come pick up your dues in-person (we’ll do so in a way that maintains proper social distancing).
* Our clinics’ tenant attorneys are unfortunately only able to assist tenants living in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. If you are a tenant who lives in Solano County (or anywhere else in California), we encourage you to call Tenants Together at 888-495-8020 for counseling.
UPDATE: The deadline to request a ballot is now Tuesday, June 18; the deadline to cast a ballot is now Friday, June 21
You must request your ballot by Friday, June 14 and then cast your ballot by Tuesday, June 18
Help select the progressive, pro-tenant Berkeley Rent Board slate!
Every election year since 1994, the Rent Board Convention has selected the progressive, pro-tenant slate for the open seats on the Berkeley Rent Board. The Berkeley Tenants Union is once again co-sponsoring this year’s Convention; the other sponsors are Friends of Adeline, Healthy Black Families, the Berkeley NAACP, the East Bay Democratic Socialists of America, the Young Democratic Socialists of America – UC Berkeley, Our Revolution East Bay, the Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club, the Gray Panthers, UAW 4811, SEIU 1021, and the Cal Berkeley Democrats.
The 2024 Berkeley Rent Board Convention took place on Sunday, June 9 from 11am to 1pm on Zoom. (Additionally, UAW 4811 hosted a watch party at their union hall for anyone in the community who wanted to watch the Convention with other people.) You can watch the Convention recording. You may can also read the candidates’ questionnaire responses and read sponsoring organizations’ evaluations of the candidates.
Any Berkeley resident at least thirteen years old (including non-citizens) who fully supports tenants’ rights and affordable housing may vote in the Convention. Each Convention, hundreds of Berkeley residents cast ballots and this year is expected to be no different as the housing affordability crisis continues to loom in Berkeley. To vote in the Convention, you must request your ballot by Friday, June 14 and cast your ballot by Tuesday, June 18.
Finally, please consider making a donation to help the Convention organizers cover all the costs. To donate, go to www.berkeleytenants.org and click the yellow “Donate” button in the upper right corner of the website’s homepage (please type “Convention” in the “Add a message to BTU” line to help us distinguish these donations from BTU dues). If you would prefer to donate by cash or check, please email berkeleytenantsconvention@gmail.com to coordinate.
Important Links
Convention Timeline
![City Council Special Election
Register and vote at 2286 Shattuck Ave [NEW LOCATION!] on May 18 - May 27, 9am - 5pm and May 28 (Election Day), 7am-8pm! (Or if already registered, check your mail for your ballot!)
The ONLY candidates you can trust on tenants' rights, affordable housing, and other progressive values
[LOGO OF THE BERKELEY TENANTS UNION]
Berkeley Tenants Union
CITY COUNCIL D4 - DUAL ENDORSEMENT
[Photo of Elana Auerbach]
Elana Auerbach
[Photo of Soli Alpert]
Soli Alpert
Paid for by the Berkeley Tenants Union PAC, FPPC ID # Pending. Major Funding Provided by the Berkeley Tenants Union ($1,000). Please visit www.berkeleytenants.org for more information about the Berkeley Tenants Union.](https://www.berkeleytenants.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2024-D4-BTU-Flyer-2024-05-18-Flipped.jpg)