Twin Cities Tenants:
March 1Rent StrikeDrive
Pledge to with
Pledge to Rent Strike March 1
This action has concluded. Thank you to everyone who pledged, organized, and showed up. The fight continues.
A rent strike occurs when tenants collectively withhold their rent in order to get demands met. Rent strikes can last days, weeks, or even months. Tenants can go on strike to win demands from political actors—using economic disruption to force a political outcome.
The Twin Cities are under siege. We have come together to launch a cities-wide tenant union with four demands:
ICE Out of the Twin Cities
End the federal occupation of our communities. No cooperation between local government, landlords, and ICE. Our neighbors deserve to live without fear.
Eviction Moratorium
Halt all evictions until the crisis ends. Since January 1, landlords filed 1,311 evictions in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Courts are open, judges are hearing cases, and occupation-era filings will hit dockets soon.
Rent Relief
Direct rent assistance for tenants who lost income during the occupation. Conservative estimates show low-income immigrant households owe an estimated $3 million monthly in unpaid rent.
Solidarity
If thousands of us who can pay our rent decide not to, we create a protective buffer around those who cannot pay—mucking up eviction courts and landlords’ financials until we win real relief.
The rent is the biggest bill for most tenants—a major challenge in a moment of crisis, but also an opportunity for a different kind of leverage. Compared to other forms of economic disruption, like time-limited boycotts or calling out from a day of work, a rent strike could pose an unwieldy, unpredictable economic problem for capital, which could force a political response.
Our strike can also provide material solidarity for our neighbors. If thousands of us who can pay our rent decided not to pay, we create a protective buffer around those who cannot pay, mucking up eviction courts and landlords’ financials until we win real relief.
It’s not over til it’s over, and the economic pain is going to outlast ICE in the Twin Cities. As of right now, ICE agents are still here. Even if they are retreating, the rent is due on March 1 while thousands of tenants simply can’t pay.
The evictions from the occupation will really hit starting in March. We need an eviction moratorium that allows tenants time to catch up, if and when the occupation truly ends.
The strike is structured as a series of escalating tests. First, we gather pledges. When we hit 10,000 pledges, we hold a mass strike authorization vote. If the vote passes, we strike on March 1.
Each phase builds pressure and demonstrates growing collective power. The pledge itself is a signal to landlords and political actors that tenants are organized and willing to act.
10,000 tenants withholding rent represents roughly $15 million in monthly rent payments. That’s an economic disruption large enough to force a political response from city and state leaders.
We can’t GoFundMe our way out of this. Conservative estimates show that low-income immigrant households owe an estimated $3 million monthly in unpaid rent, leaving many at imminent risk of eviction. A strike of this scale changes the math for everyone.
A growing coalition of labor unions and community organizations support the rent strike:
- —SEIU Local 26
- —SEIU Healthcare MN/IA
- —Unite HERE Local 17
- —ATU Local 1005
- —Take Action MN
- —Unidos MN
Pledge
Sign the pledge to withhold your rent on March 1. Every pledge brings us closer to the 10,000 threshold that triggers the strike.
Share
Forward the pledge to your group chats, social media, and community networks. The strike grows person by person.
Recruit
Talk to your neighbors. Knock on doors in your building. The most powerful organizing happens face to face.
Post
Download and post the printable flyer in your building, laundromat, coffee shop, or anywhere tenants gather.
Email twincitiestenants2026@gmail.com with further questions.
Representing more than 25,900 workers, five labor unions and the new cities-wide tenant union together vow to show an unprecedented expression of economic power to ensure action from the Governor.