We are a people led, bi-state (MO/KS) Energy Justice organizing network working to dismantle the systems of oppression created by the utility industry.
Join us on Nov. 13 for a discussion featuring Kevin Willmott, co-writer of the film BlacKKKlansman, and a screening of his new documentary addressing the history of healthcare in Kansas City and how past harms have impacted African-American families through generations.
Today I joined 360 tenant union leaders and organizers from across the nation on a zoom call to formally launch the Tenant Union Federation. @TenantFed is a union of unions organizing nationally to build power among tenants to ultimately make housing a public good. 🧵
Let's be clear about something: KC's green building codes cost developers more, but they save your average KC homeowner tons of money with lower energy costs.
Voting to repeal them is a handout to developers at the expense of your average KC homeowner.
@KansasCity Council: Don’t weaken green home build standards” | @KCStar Editorial Board
Join neighbors tomorrow, 1:30pm to tell the council to VOTE NO on Ord 240434 to protect KC residents’ home affordability, health, & climate! https://t.co/Bwj1L0yzgA
Low-wage workers can’t afford rent. Homelessness is at an all time high.
This is a story about the failed housing market. Actually, about a market designed to fail everyone but its architects, the profiteers.
The answer isn’t market reliance. It’s regulation and alternatives.
KC builder - benefits of better-built, more efficient homes
“When you have folks that are getting off allergy medicine..sleeping better at night, or who are telling you how comfortable the house is…you're changing people's lives”https://t.co/so84ibECyH @KSHB41@GrantStephensTV
Meanwhile, rents continue to rise and the same developers and developer-backed @KansasCity elexteds criticizing measures like this are also trying to weaken policies to both support renters and prevent worsening impacts from climate change. @ForTheNorthland @rogersforKC
“Renters making less than 60% of the area median income, $61,860 for a four-person household, spend 8% of their income on energy. In Kansas City, Black and low-income renters spend 51% of their annual income on gas and electricity.” @kcur
Today, the Kansas City Council is likely to pass legislation that would increase protections for renters during extreme heat.
I wrote about how we got here, what the city is considering, and why it's becoming more crucial to protect renters in the heat:
https://t.co/lee9NQTG4s
Carrot / stick discourse is funny to me. The landlords and developers have a bushel of carrots, and yet you're asking for more carrots before you'd consider a stick? The whole system is carrots. You're turning orange.
Show up July 23 1:30pm to defend better buildings, healthier homes, and a JUST future where tenants don’t have to choose between utility bills and having AC in 100 degree heat!
Reality Check from @KCStar’s @narwhallington on the latest attempt to weaken @KansasCity’s landmark building energy codes. Polluter allies are seeking even higher profits by trying to weaken KC’s building code, at the expense of health & environment.
https://t.co/B3761qt2kb
Urgent and excellent from @KateAronoff:
"The lack of protections against extreme heat is thanks... to the basic mismatch between landlords’ financial interests and those of their tenants, as well as the state’s... unwillingness to bridge the gap."
https://t.co/Mg9oMYkE3T
There’s charts and then there’s peoples’ lives. Rent remains the main driver of inflation, and rent happens to be the biggest bill for most poor and working people each month. Pundits may celebrate, but regular people won’t feel good about the economy until there’s a plan on rent
NEW: KCMO City Council caved to the people and passed this year’s KCATA service agreement WITHOUT any language that mentions eligibility requirements for Zero Fare.
The people made it clear that we back zero fare and we forced them to listen!
BAD NEWS: Zero Fare Under Attack 🤬
KCATA staff are working to undermine Zero Fare again, and this time they’re trying to get City Council to sign off on it.
Send an email to city council now to tell them NO NEW FARES (details below ⬇️)
https://t.co/unnVTvY98U
Wild to see so many community groups put all their cards on the table and say "earn my vote" to a team that's been unresponsive at best. As if leverage is a novel concept. Opposing the sales tax is the only powerful (not embarrassing) position for anyone with something to lose.
SOLIDARITY NEEDED: https://t.co/aJlgZ0zZIC
On Thursday, City Council will vote on whether to create and fund an Office of Language Access. A yes vote is a clear message to our non-English-speaking neighbors that their voice matters. A no vote is a vote to take our city backward.
LAST CALL 💥 Our language access survey, available in Somali. Swahili, Burmese, Arabic, Bosnian, Spanish and English, closes on 12/31: https://t.co/vWyw7NMxb7
Dozens of people showed up in person + more on zoom 📣
Hundreds of people sent emails to speak out
That is people power!!! 🔥🔥🔥
They can delay…..but we won’t stop coming back until we win
Zero. Fare. FOREVER!!