Tuesday May 27th: Door Knocking Training
Hi Everyone,
In this email we have information on our Public Meeting and May's training, updates on rental bylaws around building cooling, and new ways to get involved.
Public Meeting
Our May Public Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 27th 2025, from 6:30pm to 7:45pm. The meeting is being held in the basement auditorium at the New Westminster Public Library (716 6th Avenue, New Westminster).
The agenda for the meeting is as follows:
- State of the Union Updates
- Door Knocking Demonstration and Training
If you would like to learn more about how to talk to neighbours, or have been interested in coming door knocking with us but feel nervous about taking the first step, this is a great meeting to come to!
Skills you'll learn and practice include
- How to introduce yourself
- Active listening
- Educating your neighbours
- Building buy-in and support
- Handling a variety of different reactions and personalities you can meet at the door
Door knocking is a foundational skill for any community powered political campaign. Practice with us!
New: Online Donations
Looking for a way to contribute but can't make it out to volunteer? We have recently set up a Ko-Fi account which allows you to make small donations online to the NWTU. Currently this helps us cover printing costs, buy snacks for public meetings, and cover table rental fees at community events and festivals. In the future we are hoping to fund projects such as printing t-shirts, and creating a building social micro-grants program. Please note we are not a registered charity so donations are not tax deductible.
You can find our donation page here: https://ko-fi.com/nwtenantsunion
Renter's News: Air Conditioning Bylaw
Over the last few years there has been an increasingly urgent need for temperature control in rental units in New Westminster, which was made tragically clear with the deaths of 33 of our community members during the 2021 extreme heat event. Renters and the NWTU have been consistently attending and speaking at City Council Meetings where bylaws have been considered to ensure renters have access to homes at safe temperatures during the summer months.
Renters and the NWTU attended and spoke at the May 12th City Council Meeting. During this meeting City Council approved the next stage of adding an amendment to the rental units bylaw, which would make it illegal for landlords to prevent renters using portable air conditioners. This was in response to issues the NWTU had seen over the last few years and brought to the media, where landlords were banning the use of air conditioners in their buildings, even when unit temperatures were becoming dangerously high.
With the approval of moving this bylaw amendment into the reading stage, it is very likely that it will be put into law in the next few months. This is a win for renters, but there are still changes on multiple levels that need to occur to keep our community members safe during the summer. This includes access to air conditioners for low income members of our community, creating stronger communities within buildings to check in on seniors and people with disabilities during heat waves, and long term upgrades to buildings that help keep rental units cool.
Keeping your neighbours safe starts with you! If you are interested in setting up community check-ins in your building or neighbourhood, or in continuing to pressure the city for better renter protections, we want to work with you. Email us at nwtenantsunion@gmail.com, or come to our May public meeting to get started.
Get Involved
Want to join our volunteer, renter-led action team to fight for affordable, safe and stable housing for our community? We want to meet with you! Send us an email at nwtenantsunion@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 778-358-2680.
We are always on the lookout for Building Contacts who can support the New West Tenants Union's work by keeping us posted of issues at rental buildings around the city.
Learn more about Building Contacts and what your role could be in organizing for stronger tenants' rights in your building here.