The Grand Rapids Area Tenant Union and Movimiento Cosecha GR showed up to Senator Winnie Brinks’ home to demand she pass critical legislation for immigrants and tenants

Last night some 25 activists with Movimiento Cosecha GR and the Grand Rapids Area Tenant Union held a protest outside of the home of the Senate Majority leader, Winnie Brinks.

It was a beautiful display of collaboration and solidarity between the two groups, both of which were demanding that Senator Brinks put to a vote bills that would drastically improve the lives of tenants and immigrants across the state.

The Grand Rapids Area Tenant Union (GRATU) was advocating the adoption of 9 separate bills, all of which were presented to the Michigan House and the Michigan Senate to pass during the Lame Duck session and were given to them during the Rent is Too Damn High action two weeks ago in Lansing. You can check out which 9 bills that GRATU was pushing by going to this link.

Several members of GRATU read off the list of 9 renter bills while standing in front of the home of the Senate Majority leader, which was followed by other members going to the door to hand over a poster sized version of the list that Sen. Brinks could put to a vote during Lame Duck. Sen. Brinks chose not to come to the door, but sent her husband who agreed to give her the document.

Movimiento Cosecha GR members were also demanding that Senator Brinks pass the Drive Safe Bill, which would allow the undocumented immigrant community to obtain a driver’s license. Cosecha Michigan has been working on this issue since 2018 and were told by Michigan Democrats that after they won the trifecta in 2022, they promised to pass the Drive Safe Bill. This never happened.

In addition, both the tenant movement and the immigrant justice movement, have had numerous protests in Lansing and at the State Capitol. However, over the years, Senator Brinks was never in her office and people were forced to either meet with on of her staff members or were denied access to her office. This was part of the reason why activists with both groups went to her home last night, since they have been left with little choice to present her with their demands.

Throughout the protest, there were chants in English and in Spanish, which helped to maintain good energy, plus it was an important reflection of how the issues both groups deal with intersect with one another. More importantly, the action was simply a testimony to the power of solidarity and how we need to get out of our silos and support each other whenever possible.