Missoula Tenants Union highlights Trevoy's Village organizing, pushes city for right-to-counsel funding
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Summary
Julie Sanders of the Missoula Tenants Union described recent organizing at Trevoy's Village after an out-of-state owner raised lot rents, and urged the city to fund a tenants'right-to-counsel program she says is ready but lacks resources.
Joel Baer, general manager of Missoula Community Access Television, interviewed Julie Sanders, a representative of the Missoula Tenants Union, about the group's organizing work and policy priorities on a recent Your Missoula program.
Sanders said the union is organized as a 501(c)(4) and aims to build tenant power across the city through building-level organizing, member committees and public campaigns. "Right now, Missoula roughly is made up about 52% of tenants, and there are almost no tenant protections," she said, arguing that collective organizing gives renters more leverage with landlords.
Sanders described a major local campaign at Trevoy's Village, an affordable long-term trailer-park community that the union says was acquired by Oakwood Properties, an out-of-state manager. "When this happened ... there was a $200 rent increase, and then this summer there was a $150 rent increase," Sanders said, adding that Oakwood had circulated multiple lease versions that confused residents. The union reported it reached a supermajority of residents (about 71%) in September to form a property-specific union at Trevoy's Village.
Sanders said the rent increases have immediate financial consequences for residents, many of whom are on fixed incomes. "They're literally making residents have to choose between taking their heart medication or paying rent or buying food and paying rent," she said.
Another prominent focus is a tenants' right-to-counsel campaign aimed at providing legal representation in eviction cases. Sanders said the union has laid the groundwork for a program to place attorneys in eviction proceedings but has not yet secured funding. "Right now, in an eviction case ... 95% of landlords have access to a lawyer and only 5% of tenants do," she said, urging residents to contact city council members to support funding.
On membership and operations, Sanders said the union relies primarily on modest membership dues and volunteer work rather than grants; it is structured to accept any Missoula renter as a member and to form smaller, property-specific unions where residents choose. She described two main monthly meetings'a first-week general/business meeting and a third-week social-and-committee session'and said new members go through a stewarding process before joining committees.
Sanders emphasized that the Missoula Tenants Union has been active for several years and has ramped up building organizing recently. "We want to see a more fair and just Missoula for renters," she said.
The union's website (missoulatenantsunion.com, as displayed during the program) and the group's Instagram bio list membership forms and meeting details. Baer closed the segment with MCAT contact information for viewers seeking more information.
