With Uber moving into downtown Oakland and bringing 3,000 employees, we can expect more rapid displacement unless we place stronger protections in place for renters.

Although we passed the Tenant Protection Ordinance and Increased the Minimum Wage in 2014, further action is required to stabilize our neighborhoods. As a member of the Committee to Protect Oakland Renters alongside many labor and community organizations, Oakland Rising is working to increase protections and power for the city’s most vulnerable renters, the fabric of our communities.

After a long political battle to qualify the ballot measure, Oaklanders will have a chance to vote on increased protections for renters this November through Measure JJ. With 60 percent of the city’s population renting their living space, Oakland Rising’s massive field program will operate tirelessly between now until Election Day to make sure people turn out in full force to pass these safeguards.

If passed, the Renter Protection Act (Measure JJ) would:
• Expand eviction protections to an additional 15,000 tenants
• Fundamentally switch the balance of power between landlords and tenants, by requiring landlords to petition the Rent Board if they want to increase a tenant’s rent above the Consumer Price Index
• Increase tenant representation on the Oakland Rent Stabilization Board

Oakland Rising will contact 17,488 low-income, immigrant and voters of color in Oakland this fall in support of Measure JJ to surpass the margin needed for victory. We have many opportunities to phone bank and door knock. Join the fight for renters’ rights by volunteering with us!