Author Archives: Seattle Solidarity Network

Tenant action beats money-grubbing banker

Megan and Alan’s old landlord wouldn’t return their $1300 deposit. A small claims court judge ordered the landlord to return the money, but she–a Wells Fargo loan officer and the owner of five properties–still refused to give it back. Megan and Alan, both low income workers, couldn’t afford to let her steal it. They joined SeaSol and prepared to fight for their money back.

On Monday April 5, Megan, Alan, and a small crowd of others marched into the lobby of the landlord’s office at Wells Fargo Home Loans. The receptionist called the landlord, saying “There’s a lot of people here to see you!”. When she came out, Megan and Alan presented their written demand: all the money they were owed, within a week. The landlord took it, then scurried out of the office, exclaiming, “This is my place of business!”

A week went by and no check arrived, so we started preparing for further action against the landlord. Then, just before our next action, she sent her former tenants a text message: the check was in the mail. A couple days later, the check arrived in their mailbox, and it cleared.

Thanks to everyone who helped Megan and Alan win this fight.

Can you spare a dime for a developer in need?

Bruce Lorig, CEO and owner of Lorig Associates, has fallen on hard times. So desperate is his need for money, he has been forced to sue his own former receptionist, Patricia, and the rest of Seattle Solidarity Network in hopes of squeezing a little money out of us after we protested racism at his company. Instead of bringing relief, this lawsuit has impoverished the developer even further, as the law firm he has hired piles on endless fees while promising him results that never come.

Beginning in March, we launched the LorigAid campaign–a monthly series of charity bake sales asking passersby, “please spare a dime for a developer in need.” At the first, festive LorigAid charity bake sale, we collected a lovely jar of change (and a few pebbles), jingled many cans, gave away many cupcakes, and sang a song composed specially for the event:

Won’t you please help Bruce Lorig?
He has fallen on hard times
He has to sue his former secretary
So won’t you spare a dime?

The full song is available for download. (mp3)

We got covered in the Belltown Messenger, and we hope Bruce appreciated the coins we delivered to him a few weeks later, which we estimate should buy about 3 billable minutes from his lawyers.

What’s next for LorigAid? On April 29th, we will be holding our second bake sale and soliciting change for Lorig outside the offices of their “preferred lender,” Bank of America. Like many people, the bankers may be wondering, “Why is Lorig so desperate for money?” To help them understand, we will be sharing information about Lorig’s many recent business problems, from empty condos to stalled and canceled projects to discrimination and nasty lawsuits. If Bank of America (understandably) no longer sees Lorig as a good investment, perhaps out of charity they can still spare a dime for this impoverished developer. Drop by701 5th Ave around 12pm to take a fresh-baked snack and donate a penny, a nickel, or a dime – whatever you can spare.

Victory! Solidarity stops slumlord retaliation

Here is the story of our latest fight, in John’s words:

How I faced down a vindictive landlord
by John Vogt

Loren Ruud was my landlord. The apartment had bedbugs in it. I tried to get rid of them, I bombed it three times, but I couldn’t get rid of them. It was an old apartment. The place wasn’t up to code.

It was terrible. I had to call a crisis hotline. I also had to call the housing authority, because the apartment had bedbugs, it had an unsecured door, and it had dry rot in the kitchen. And as soon as Ruud found out that I had called the city, he came up to my place on Thanksgiving with no notice, and threatened to evict me. He put a ten-day notice on my door.

The housing inspectors rescinded the ten-day notice, since Ruud was trying to retaliate against me. They decided that I should vacate by December 20th and the landlord should pay me $1,000. I vacated December 17th. I left the place clean and tidy.

Then Ruud decided to come after me for $1800 in “damages to the apartment”.

I called my friend Nohl, and he told me what he knew about Seattle Solidarity. He had gotten one of their flyers at the Martin Luther King Jr day march. I called Seasol, left a long message, and sent an email, and then I met with Kaleen, Lee and Ryan at Bedlam Coffee.

We delivered a demand letter to Ruud, saying: rescind the charges of $1800, don’t send it to collections, and “leave John alone.” We waited two weeks, and there was no response to the letter. Then we decided to poster the place. The posters said “Beware: do not rent from 9632 Aurora Ave N – environmental sickness, bedbugs, dry rot…”

The strategy was to let the people in the area know about the conditions in those apartments, and that the landlord steals deposits and rents out substandard housing.

On a Thursday, one week after postering in Loren Ruud’s neighborhood, where he lives, he called me and said “please stop what you’re doing. If you and Seattle Solidarity stop your actions against me, I will not send the $1800 to collections.” And we agreed. And that was it.

The corporations don’t want to pay out anything to workers, and the landlords don’t want to pay to maintain apartments, so they’re trying to pass all the costs onto their tenants. There’s a great need for Seattle Solidarity. In me, they now have a good volunteer.

About the author: I live in White Center, WA. I’m originally from Chicago. When I can, I drive trucks for a living and work in the wholesale industry. I was in Teamsters Local 174 for seven years.

Victory at Kasota

This fight now seems to be over. In a letter delivered to Kasota Apartments residents and to media, Sound Mental Health (SMH) has announced that it will fully meet the tenants’ and SeaSol’s demands. Any non-SMH-client Kasota resident who wants to move out of the building will receive $3,000 in relocation assistance. Any who choose to stay will see a rent increase of no more than 10% over the next year.

This is a huge victory for the low-income tenants at the Kasota, who until recently had been facing $200 rent hikes, and who until a few days ago were under threat of eviction and in danger of homelessness. Most plan on moving as soon as possible, now that they’ll have the money to afford it.

Their victory took courage, as they kept fighting in the face of eviction threats and intimidation. It also took unity, as they insisted on sticking together when management tried to divide them and deal with each individual separately. They couldn’t have done it alone. Thanks to everyone who came out on December 28th to help the Kasota tenants–and SeaSol–win this fight.

Belltown tenants resist rent hikes, fight for relocation

Not long before Christmas, Sound Mental Health (SMH), the property managers of downtown Seattle’s Kasota apartments, began going door to door in the building trying to get tenants to sign a new lease. SMH houses both mentally ill ‘clients’ and roughly seventeen low-income tenants at the Kasota, but the new lease seemed to indicate that they wanted that to change. The terms of the new lease for SMH’s non-client tenants included rent increases by as much as fifty percent. Many of the low-income residents of the Kasota are dependent on Social Security and other fixed incomes for survival and cannot afford to pay rent increases of this magnitude. They were outraged as it became apparent that the terms of the new lease would drive them from their homes and out into the street. For many residents, the new lease would mean desperation and homelessness. It was at this point that one tenant saw a Seattle Solidarity Network (SeaSol) poster and decided to start fighting back.

In their first meeting with SeaSol the tenants decided that if SMH wanted them out of the Kasota so badly, then they would make a pact: unless and until each and every one of them has received adequate relocation assistance, none of them will pay the increased rent or voluntarily vacate the building. Most felt that relocation would be the best solution, because the Kasota had gone downhill ever since SMH took over in spring of 2009. SMH had failed to make long promised improvements to the apartments, and there had been two fires and one flood during that time. While the tenants make it clear that they hold nothing against their neighbors, they do resent the fact that SMH has repeatedly failed to provide them with safe living conditions.

On December 28th eight Kasota tenants and twenty-two other SeaSol’ers formally delivered the tenants’ demand in mass at SMH’s offices on Capitol Hill. Two days later SMH posted notices on every tenant’s door promising to make much needed repairs, draw up new leases which would not raise the rent by more than 10%, and consider providing relocation assistance. Despite these conciliatory promises, the very next day SMH celebrated New Years Eve by retaliating against the tenants who had decided to fight back. SMH posted three-day Pay or Vacate notices on many tenants’ doors, even though only some of them actually owed any back rent. It would seem that SMH is moving to reconcile with one hand while reaching out to strangle with the other. Nonetheless, the tenants are standing strong and have told SMH to stop these intimidation tactics immediately and begin negotiating in good faith, or they will be forced to take further action in conjunction with SeaSol.