At the recent Rochester and Genesee Valley Area Labor Federation awards dinner the Housing is a Human Rights project gained some recognition, further driving a partnership with unions as we develop long-term solidarity. The recently named Jim Schmidt Award for Community Solidarity was awarded to the Metro Justice Housing is a Human Right Committee for the work they have been doing to challenge foreclosures in the city. The committee’s most central campaign is the demand for the City of Rochester to enact a moratorium on bank foreclosure based evictions, which would mean the city would no longer provide police resources to enforce these evictions.
Recently the committee, along with Take Back the Land Rochester, called for a large Housing as a Human Right march, which had the support of labor unions and organizations such as SEIU 200 United and the local branch of the Working Families Party. Together, with around 300 people, we marched to City Hall with a large rally to discuss the crisis of banking fraud and mass eviction in our city. We then packed the Speak to City Council session, with more than two dozen people from the march speaking to the issues of housing in this city.
The award comes as a culmination of our efforts, and is an energizing force as the committee heads into 2013.
At the same event University of Rochester Students for a Democratic Society were awarded for their participation in the contract battle on their campus, which was instrumental. Both the housing committee and the contract battle remain central to our work, and we intend to move forward on developing community support for housing justice and labor solidarity!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DKHz2OsyTA]