Tenants and Workers United (TWU), also known by the Spanish translation of the name, Inquilinos y Trabajadores Unidos, is a community activist group based in Alexandria, Virginia. TWU originated with campaigns agitating for tenants’ rights and housing subsidies, but eventually embraced broader left-of-center community activism, including support for liberal immigration policies, higher minimum wages, and left-of-center education policies. 1 2
History
Tenants and Workers United (TWU) was founded in the mid-1980s to organize protests and against evictions of low-income renters in Arlandria, a district of Alexandria. 3 TWU stopped the evictions with a class action lawsuit. TWU then launched a ten-year campaign to acquire the Arlandria-Chirilagua Housing Cooperative, a 282-unit housing block “owned and democratically controlled by predominantly low-income residents.” The property was purchased with financial assistance from the Federal Reserve, the City of Alexandria, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. TWU described its acquisition as: “the ACHC effectively removed a bloc of housing from the ravages of the market.” 4
TWU then expanded to left-wing activism across Alexandria, including healthcare access, education funding, and immigration. 5
TWU founded Alexandria Union Cab, a company with more than 230 drivers and a $2 million value. 6
In 2004, TWU opened the Arlandria-Chirilagua Community Center to host public space, TWU’s offices, and other commercial real estate. TWU was built with $100,000 in donations and additional financial support from the City of Alexandria, the Meyer Foundation, the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, former U.S. Representative James Moran (D-VA), and BB&T Bank. 7
Activism
As of June 2024, the Tenants and Workers United (TWU) operates a campaign to encourage Fairfax County to provide housing subsidies to the owners of mobile homes. 8
In 2019, TWU filed a lawsuit against Morgan Properties for allegedly mistreating tenants. In 2023, TWU launched a public relations campaign against minority shareholder Mitchell Morgan, the owner of the NFL’s Washington Commanders. In a press release, TWU stated: “If the NFL values social justice and racial equity, then it must bar Mitchell Morgan from ownership until he adequately addresses the deplorable conditions of his apartments in Alexandria City and beyond.” 9
TWU successfully pressured the Alexandria City Public Schools to hire bilingual parent liaisons. 10 TWU led the College Prep for All Campaign that led to the creation of “culturally sensitive” education programs in Alexandria. 11
TWU co-founded the Right to the City Alliance, a national coalition of left-of-center advocacy groups involved in tenant organizing. 12
TWU successfully pressured Arlington County and the City of Alexandria to reduce their cooperation with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 13
TWU helped raise the minimum wage in Arlington. 14
TWU has advocated for loosening taxi regulations in Arlington. In 2013, the organization led negotiations for taxi drivers against a city task force dealing with regulations. 15
TWU has protested to end the deployment of SROs, a type of police officer stationed in schools. 16
Funding
In 2024, Tenants and Workers United (TWU) received funding from the Junior League of Washington. 17
In 2022, TWU received $25,000 from the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia, 18 and $185,000 from the Emergent Fund. 19
In 2021, TWU received two $20,000 grants from iF. 20
In 2007, TWU received $20,000 from the Northern Virginia Health Foundation. 21
TWU has also received funding from Act for Alexandria. 22
References
- “Our History.” Tenants and Workers. Accessed June 26, 2024. https://www.tenantsandworkers.org/about.
- “Our History.” Tenants and Workers. Accessed June 26, 2024. https://www.tenantsandworkers.org/about.
- “Our History.” Tenants and Workers. Accessed June 26, 2024. https://www.tenantsandworkers.org/about
- “Our History.” Tenants and Workers. Accessed June 26, 2024. https://www.tenantsandworkers.org/about.
- “Our History.” Tenants and Workers. Accessed June 26, 2024. https://www.tenantsandworkers.org/about.
- “Our History.” Tenants and Workers. Accessed June 26, 2024. https://www.tenantsandworkers.org/about.
- “Our History.” Tenants and Workers. Accessed June 26, 2024. https://www.tenantsandworkers.org/about.
- “Tell Fairfax County Supervisors: Fund and preserve mobile home communities! / Dígales a los Supervisores del Condado de Fairfax: ¡Financien y preserven a las comunidades de casa móviles!.” Tenants and Workers United. Accessed June 26, 2024. https://www.tenantsandworkers.org/support_mobile_homes_fairfax.
- “Tenants to NFL: “Mitchell Morgan is Unfit for Ownership of Washington Commanders”.” Tenants and Workers United. July 19, 2023. Accessed June 26, 2024. https://www.tenantsandworkers.org/tenants_to_nfl_press_release_mitchell_morgan_unfit_for_ownership_of_washington_commanders
- “Our History.” Tenants and Workers. Accessed June 26, 2024. https://www.tenantsandworkers.org/about.
- “Our History.” Tenants and Workers. Accessed June 26, 2024. https://www.tenantsandworkers.org/about.
- “Our History.” Tenants and Workers. Accessed June 26, 2024. https://www.tenantsandworkers.org/about.
- “Our History.” Tenants and Workers. Accessed June 26, 2024. https://www.tenantsandworkers.org/about.
- “Our History.” Tenants and Workers. Accessed June 26, 2024. https://www.tenantsandworkers.org/about.
- “TWU, cabbies slam recommended taxi regulations.” Alexandria Times. November 21, 2013. Accessed June 26, 2024. https://alextimes.com/2013/11/twu-cabbies-slam-recommended-taxi-regulations/.
- Horner, Rick. “Tenants and Workers United upset by City Council restoration of school resource officer program.” ALX Now. October 14, 2021. Accessed June 26, 2024. https://www.alxnow.com/2021/10/14/tenants-and-workers-united-upset-by-city-council-restoration-of-school-resource-officer-program/.
- “Current Grant Recipients.” Junior League of Washington. Accessed June 26, 2024. https://www.jlw.org/current-grant-recipients/.
- “Community Foundation Awards $613,725 in Community Investment Fund Grants.” The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia. April 27, 2022. Accessed June 26, 2024. https://www.cfnova.org/news-and-stories/impact-stories/announcing-the-2022-community-investment-fund-grantees.
- “2022 Grantees.” Emergent Fund. Accessed June 26, 2024. https://www.emergentfund.net/2022.
- “Grantmaking.” iF. Accessed June 26, 2024. https://www.iffdn.org/grantmaking-all.
- “Our Grantees.” Northern Virginia Health Foundation. Accessed June 26, 2024. https://novahealthfdn.org/grants.
- [1] “Alexandria Community Access Grant Program.” Act for Alexandria. Accessed June 26, 2024. https://www.actforalexandria.org/initiatives/t/alexandria-community-access-and-emergency-support-grant-program/.