Campaign for Renters Rights began its first campaign in Los Angeles with Los Angeles Community College student Arturo Velasquez. Art and I were threatened with expulsion from the Los Angeles Community College District after we demonstrated a 40 person demonstration at the sheriff’s office and briefly occupied the office at LACC. The sheriffs are hired by LACCD. More on this is featured in Facts for Working People (FFWP) December 2006 issue. During this campaign Art and I had political discussions about being involved in working class organizing outside of campus. Art talked about his own apartment close to LACC which was infested with roaches and bad plumbing. I am a member of CRR and sister group Labors Militant Voice (LMV), a socialist organization and told Art about CRR and their victories in the Bay Area against slumlords. After stopping our expulsion CRR (LA) began to prepare for a renters rights campaign at Art’s apartment.

CRR (LA) started with several activists, members of the sister group LMV and students from LACC. The CRR methodology is based on the idea that only the working class can free itself from exploitation and therefore we would rely only on ourselves to fight the landlords. No “special friends in high places” no backdoor meetings, and if there was a lawsuit it would take a backseat to organizing the community. We avoid court because we know the rules are on the side of the landlord not the tenants.

Firstly, we decided Art’s involvement in the group had to remain underground because of the seriousness of the consequences. We could not put him or his family in jeopardy until we knew a majority of the tenants were willing to back up the fight. Why?

The landlord Alfredo Alvarado is a slumlord! He targets the female tenants (especially when their husbands are not home) and threatens them when they ask him to make repairs. He has brandished a .22 pistol at a tenant for asking him to fix a window. He has damaged property of tenants and told him if they don’t like it “too bad I have big lawyers”. For example, when tenant Yajira------- filled her plastic kiddie pool for her 5 and 2 year old to play in summer Alfredo demanded $50 payment on the spot. She refused to give him money without proof that she owed it. The next day he took her pool and threw it in the street! He has also formed relationships with some of the meeker and nervous tenants who mistakenly think being “friends” with Alvarado will save them from eviction. He has proven them wrong. For at least 12 years Alfredo Alvarado and the rest of the roaches and rats have dominated the life of the 4225 Lockwood tenants.

Alfredo’s bully tactics and refusal to make repairs were not out of a personal vendetta against the tenants at the Lockwood units. He knows that because of Rent Control he can only evict tenants for specific reasons and then double the rent. Long time tenants like Marta and her family pay less than half of the market value for the rent. New tenants pay twice as much and the only difference is a new coat of paint. In many slumlords minds rats are what you deserve if you pay low rent.

Secondly, CRR(LA) began to research the landlord. Alfredo Alvarado owns an auto-parts store (A&B Auto-parts 2819 W. Temple St near the Rampart Station) and is a stockholder in an auto parts factory in Peru, his home country. CRR(LA) also heard from tenants that Alfredo sells cheap and defective parts to other stores, and customers pretending they are new. His son and minion Gabriel Alvarado assists him in running the auto parts store and terrorizing the tenants. The neighbors across the street from 4225 Lockwood also said when Alfredo evicts tenants he dumps the former tenants belongings across the street from the apartment so it would not be on his property.

Armed with information about tenant’s rights, Alfredo’s store, business practices, and home addresses our members began to go door to door with Tenants Rights Fact Sheet (in Spanish) and information about the landlords. We visited every tenant in the apartment and at first received a distant response. During this time Art talked with his neighbors about the possibility of organizing and invited them to our first meeting. In particular Angelica Garcia and Eduardo Carreon began the first discussions with tenants and with the help of tenant Marta Orellana a single mother of three, former manager, victim of continuous sexual harassment Alfredo Alvarado. She has become one of the most militant tenants of the campaign. Other CRR members like myself who’s Spanish was not fluent researched Alfredo and tenant laws and put together flyers to be translated into Spanish. We worked together across racial and gender prejudices, gossip and other poisons in the working class and CRR with tenants and created a fighting unit for tenant rights. Of the ten apartment units 7 units have supported the campaign and 8 have attended our meetings and social events.

Because of tenant solidarity we have won almost every demand we have made on the landlord and then some. These have been:

Fumigate for roaches and mice
Fix Plumbing, heating and electrical problems
Repaint the inside of homes
Stop Harassing tenants
After 6 out of ten tenants supported a campaign we filed a complaint with Los Angeles Housing Department ( 3550 Wilshire Blvd Floor 15). LAHD officials were rude to us while joking with another landlord who said, “These Section 8 people are such a hassle, I should just throw them out”. Haha! When we told the representatives about the problems they said, “And what else…and what else…and what else” as if to minimize the issue. That day we went downstairs to the Health department and filed with them. Unlike LAHD who’s inspection was scheduled three months from then Health Department arrived two days later.

The tenants and CRR passed out flyers saying “Wanted: To make repairs” throughout out neighborhood. They had pictures of several roaches including landlord Alfredo Alvarado. By this time more tenants joined us.

After the Health Department inspection Art’s family confronted him. His mother told him if he continued with the inspection she would throw him out of the house. Although his father said he was worried about the consequences and “didn’t want his son to get killed” he would not allow his mother to throw him out. Art’s mom has tried to appease Alfredo Alvarado through their 8 years of residence. She told us Alfredo said that he “would not continue to be her friend” if Art did not stop the Housing Inspection. Art’s home was also one of the most roach infested according to the Health Department.

In order to expedite the Housing Inspection we researched who the City Council Member is for the District; Eric Garcetti. We spoke with the tenants who decided it was a good idea to go to his office en masse and show him our list of demands. During this time female tenants had disputes within their families. Many of their husbands, boyfriends and parents were scared of the consequences and did not want their wives to be involved in organizing. In spite of that the tenants showed up to Garcetti’s office without an appointment and demanded that they meet with his Housing advisor. After seven of us wait for an hour his Chief of Staff met with us. She said she would move up the inspection date two months ahead and have LAPD come in case the landlord decided to get physically violent.

A “community friendly” LAPD officer showed up. After Alfredo tried to talk over and interrupt him the officer called Alfredo a “slumlord who probably didn’t live in the neighborhood or have roaches”. As well several field representatives from Garcetti’s office showed up and looked into every apartment with the Housing Inspectors.

After the first Housing Inspection many of the repairs were made and a half-finished fumigation happened. Many of the tenants were not satisfied. When the inspector was in Art’s house Gabriel Alvarado said the roaches were there because of another single mother Yajiara was dirty. Separately, when Marta complained about her roach problem Gabriel said it was because Art’s family was dirty. Despite these crude attempts at disunite CRR continued on with Art’s father Casto beginning to attend. Art’s mother predicted, “they would be kicked out and sleep under the freeway”.

Retaliation

A week before the second – follow up inspection Art’s car windshield was bashed in and all four of his tires were slashed. One witness saw a white truck pull up next to the car and then take off quickly. She did not see who was inside the truck. The police said there was nothing they could do and LAHD, or Garcetti’s office gave the same disinterested reply. CRR and the tenants decided to go to Alfredo’s home and neighbors and ask for donations to fix the car. We said that we think it was retaliation for Art organizing for tenants rights. We also brought pictures of the apartment to show the neighbors. They responded with donations and to “have a talk with Alfredo”. CRR organized a defense fund for Art’s car and was able to raise enough money to pay for the damage.

After the 3rd and final inspection most of the repairs were made costing upwards of $20,000. A week after the inspection concluded three tenants received 3 Day Pay or Quit Notices from Alfredo. These were for trivial problems such as “too many plants on the porch” and claiming the most active tenant could not have her son living there. We called Univision ( Spanish news station) who covered the story of the apartment the landlord’s refusal to make repairs. Carmen, Marta and Art were both featured and this lead to other media wanting to cover the story including the Los Angeles City College paper The Collegian, and TeleAzteca

In response to the eviction notices CRR organized a Christmas boycott of A&B Auto parts. We had a Santa Claus walk through the neighborhood and handout flyers with candy canes for the kids. CRR and tenants, an LACC professor and students and “Santa Claus” demonstrated in front of the auto parts store. At the demonstration nearby residents told us they had problems with the Alvarados as well. They complained that Alfredo and Gabriel dump their old parts on neighbors’s front lawns. In order to check on the protest Art’s mom drove by the store only to see Gabriel physically assault Art as he stood on the sidewalk. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua3hCrgZWTU. She joined our demonstration and march with us without shame. Alfredo lost a friend! At the end of the demonstration we turned 4 of the 8 people who drove their cars in.

The day after our protest Gabriel Alvarado trespassed onto the trucking company Art’s father Casto works at threatened to “get him fired if Art continued to protest”. However, the slumlords rescinded all three of the of the eviction letters. Not one plant was harmed and another victory for CRR.

After several days a mysterious letters addressed to Art’s mother Maria were received. The read that Art and his father were “sleeping with the neighbors”. This was written in the same handwriting as Gabriel’s letters to tenants.

While his parents were out of town Art certified mailed the rent check. Gabriel said he did not receive the check and therefore proceeded with evicting Art and his family. By this time many of the tenants began to shy away from involvement. Many of their apartments were fixed and they did not want problems with Alfredo. Strangely a return receipt was never sent and the day it was supposed to be received the landlord’s nephew parked in front of the apartment with his truck behind the postman. In any case the family received an Unlawful Detainer (UD). In order to “Answer” a UD and not automatically be evicted we needed $500 paid in 5 days. Through the support of tenants, our friends and comrades we raised $500 so we could fight. How expensive it is just to defend yourself in court. That’s capitalist "justice"!

We again went to City Hall to demand that Garcetti stop the eviction. TeleAzteca accompanied us. That same day we arrived a fire alarm went off and the police tried to kick us out will allowing the rest of the staff including Garcetti to stay inside. We refused to leave until Garcetti left. Before the cop was able to kick us out the PA announced it was a false alarm and we waited outside of Garcetti’s office. Finally the next Chief of Staff came and said he should not have come there and took down our information. One of his field representatives Aren Malikian promised to mail a letter of inquiry about the eviction but neither Art nor any of the other tenants have received. Later that afternoon one of our members had a visit from the Inglewood Police Department on a 911 call they said had been made. None of our family had called 911.

The day of the trial members of the community, tenants, activists and members of CRR came to support Art and his family from being evicted. The landlord offered Art’s family $18,000 to move out. While many of us considered it Art’s Mom refused to budge out of solidarity and determination to win. She said if Art and his family left Alfredo would get rid of all the other tenants in order to make money from rent at higher prices. Her choice to fight came later than ours but it is what made the victory a possibility against the landlord and one of the top slumlord attorneys in Los Angeles. We are proud of our victory and our lawyer who is talented and dedicated to the rights of working people. We were also lucky that the judge was smart enough to see through the landlords lies. But it was the year of organizing at Lockwood and the fight in the tenants and political perspective of CRR which made it possible. We would not and can not win unless we are organized and rely on working people to win our own battles. The bosses, landlords and the government are on an offensive to take away many of the gains won by working people in the past. Its time that the working class of the present, resists, fights back and fights to win those gains back and more.

Fight to Win!
Julia Wallace
Campaign for Renters Rights
Labors Militant Voice
www.laborsmiltantvoice.com
http://www.myspace.com/lmvprofile
http://www.youtube.com/user/LaborsMilitantV

If you want to read more about the expulsion threats made by the Los Angeles Community College District check out the December 2006 issue of Facts for Working People

We have a pamphlet on Campaign for Renters Rights and how they stopped 238 families from being evicted.