Who said unions are just for your place of work?
Let me hit you with a couple of facts from a quick Google search.
35% of American households live in rental properties.
Rental rates have increased by 31% over the last 10 years.
41% of rentals spend more than a third of their income on rent alone.
A LOT of work has gone into convincing us that these horrible circumstances are just a consequence of the time we live in. They're not. They're the result of a protection racket being run at a nation-wide scale. If you don't pay in, good luck finding an apartment that ISN'T owned by a massive property management company.
The more companies like Black Rock and JP Morgan scoop up real estate in bulk, the more we need to find ways of defending ourselves and our communities from insidious leeches in tailored suits.
If you'd like to be more convinced, I urge you to check out the International Union of Tenants at iut.nu
Just a quick look at the “Members” tab should tell you all you need to know about why America specifically has handled this rental crisis as poorly as it has.
Do some exploring, get really REALLY mad, then print out some fliers for a meeting of tenants and start sliding them under doors. I'll be doing it too.
Godspeed!