[Peace-discuss] Fw: Urgent Action Alert: Congolese Families Displaced From Their Homes

[David Johnson]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Chris Schwartz" <cschwartz at uaw.net>
To: "Chris Schwartz" <CSchwartz at uaw.net>
Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2012 2:10 PM
Subject: Urgent Action Alert: Congolese Families Displaced From Their Homes


> Dear Friends and Allies –
>
> Please forgive me if you get more than one copy of this email, but we
> are facing a very urgent situation and need your help so I didn't want
> to miss anyone who attended the meeting a few Saturdays ago. As you
> know, workers at Flex-N-Gate’s Guardian West plant in Urbana have been
> working together to form a union for many months now. They are paid
> wages that keep them hovering at the poverty line, and often work in
> dangerous conditions.
>
> Now, a group of workers at the plant who have stood up for change at
> their workplace are facing another crisis. Last weekend, Congolese
> families living at the Continental Plaza and Stoneleigh Court apartment
> complexes simultaneously received letters from their landlord—Royse &
> Brinkmeyer Apartments—stating the company will not renew their leases.
> The letter went on to say that the landlord has had “less than
> satisfactory” experiences with these tenants. To our knowledge, every
> single Congolese resident in these buildings will lose their lease. No
> one else in the complex appears to have received a similar letter.
>
> Altogether, 11 households will be affected when their leases expire in
> the coming months. Seven of these apartments are occupied by workers at
> Flex-N-Gate, including several who have spoken out publicly about the
> dangerous conditions in the plant, which uses toxic chromium to
> manufacture truck bumpers.
>
> We are asking members of the Champaign-Urbana community to take action
> to support these families.
> The residents who received these letters were not behind on their rent.
> They hadn’t received warnings for noise, for not maintaining their
> apartments properly, or for anything else. They work hard, and go to
> school to improve their English and advance their education. Royse &
> Brinkmeyer’s actions will make it harder for these members of our
> community to find affordable housing. In our opinion, their actions
> amount to discrimination against a group of people who are just trying
> their best to build a brighter future for themselves and their families.
>
>
> Residents are in the process of filing fair housing complaints with the
> appropriate agencies, but they need your help, too. Please take a minute
> to send an e-mail to Royse & Brinkmeyer demanding that they do the right
> thing, and copy members of the Champaign Human Relations Commission.
> It’s quick and easy: just go to:
>
> http://afl.salsalabs.com/o/5892/c/1363/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=3695
>
>
> Please forward to others you think may want to get involved.