Sen. Blumenthal introduces plan to help renters unionize

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) has introduced a bill that would make it easier for renters to form a union without worrying about retaliation from their landlords.

He announced the Tenants' Right to Organize Act on Thursday at the Elizabeth Apartments in New Haven.

"All we ask for in a home is safety, security, stability," said Sophie Kandul, a member of the Blake Street Tenants Union.

Kandul said she moved into the Elizabeth Apartments in New Haven in the middle of winter. She said it didn't have heat at the time, and the landlord wasn't communicating.

"Immediately, the tenant union swelled around me," she said. "I had people calling me with solutions, if they continued to be unresponsive."

This complex is where the Blake Street Tenants Union is based. It was the first officially recognized tenants' union in the city.

"Here at Blake Street, this is a scrappy group of tenants who have fought very hard to protect their homes and their community," said Luke Melonakos-Harrison, a member of the Connecticut Tenants Union.

New laws in New Haven aim to expand tenant protections

Now, there are 17 tenants' unions in the state.

"What we face are predatory landlords, who are abusing their power through retaliatory evictions, rising rents, and unsafe and unsanitary conditions," Blumenthal said.

The bill would:

"This bill would provide these protections to all tenants who live in government-supported housing, which is one-quarter of all the housing in the United States because landlords borrow to finance housing," Blumenthal said. "They also take tenants, who have Section 8 subsidies, so the reach of this would be very broad."

At its core, the legislation would give rents the tools they need to address their living conditions and advocate for their rights.

"We just want to make this place a home for everyone," Kandul said.