As Tenants Organize, Landlords Embrace Old-School Union-Busting
When a group of renters at New Haven, Connecticut’s Sunset Ridge apartments gathered last month to announce they had formed a tenants union, they were interrupted by some uninvited guests.
Since September, Sunset Ridge tenant organizers had been going door-to-door speaking with neighbors about their living conditions, including persistent mold that’s the likely culprit behind a spate of respiratory illnesses in the 312-unit building. With the help of the Connecticut Tenants Union (CTTU), a statewide union of renters, the group collected signatures from more than 160 residents — enough to file for certification with the city