Oklahoma Tenants Unionize
The first U.S. labor union was formed by shoemakers in Philadelphia in 1794, forging the practice of banding together as a more powerful force to negotiate with those holding the cards.
Two hundred thirty years later, the principle is catching on with renters. Tenant unions are growing in popularity and have legal protection to organize in 31 states and the District of Columbia. Oklahoma is not among them.
That hasn’t stopped tenants from organizing to negotiate with landlords. Nationally, tenant unions have pushed for just-cause eviction laws following the end of COVID-19 eviction moratoriums. Just causes could include non-payment, lease violations, nuisance cases, or if a landlord wants to move into the property. Tenant unions have also helped halt evictions and push for tenant bills of rights and right-to-counsel laws.
Heather Warlick wrote that in Oklahoma, tenant unions are slowly taking root and growing in numbers and power. In a state ranked sixth worst for evictions, Oklahoma renters have few protections and little power individually.
Although tenant unions are legal in Oklahoma, the state has a weak Landlord-Tenant Act with no provision to prevent landlord retaliation. Organized tenants remain at risk of being evicted by a disgruntled owner. Conversely, property owners can replace one tenant easily; evicting dozens who have organized is harder on the bottom line.
More worth reading:
AG Probes State Board of Education Meetings
The Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office is looking into what appears to be a willful violation of the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act by the State Board of Education. [Oklahoma Voice]
Pot Sting Kept Secret
A new medical marijuana secret shopper program, which has the power to revoke dispensary licenses, is keeping details about its operations top secret. [Oklahoma Voice]
Bradford Settles Mask Lawsuit
A Tulsa mayoral candidate and a company he co-owns has settled a civil lawsuit with the state of Oklahoma over face masks that were purchased during the start of the pandemic but were never delivered. [Tulsa World]
Percentage of Oklahoma households that are rentals: 34.1
Ciao for now,
Ted Streuli
Executive Director, Oklahoma Watch
tstreuli@oklahomawatch.org
