Providence Becomes 6th U.S. City to Ban Rent-Setting Algorithms
Providence City Council has been busy as ever this May! Councilors know our city's renters, the most-overburdened renters in the country, need urgent protections to address the housing crisis. That's why on May 15th, Council granted final passage of an ordinance which will ban the use of price-fixing rental algorithms in the city.
Here’s how it works: a handful of large, often out-of-state companies purchase properties across the city in bulk; as more and more units are concentrated in the hands of fewer and fewer landlords, these large firms have more influence to manipulate the housing market; as they acquire more units, landlords turn over rent-setting to algorithms that comb through public market and private competitor data to determine how high they can set rents; then, as more landlords use the same software to set rents, it creates a feedback loop using all of their private data which leads to pricing patterns that drive rents higher and higher.
It's a dangerous loophole -- this sort of price-fixing would be illegal if done by human beings. Corporate landlords know this, which is why they have computers do it in the first place. This month, councilors closed that loophole in the City of Providence.
With the passage of ordinance, which took immediate effect, Providence became the sixth city to secure this protection for renters. City Council continues to take real, meaningful action on behalf of the 60% of Providence residents who rent – with much more to come.
Support for Striking Butler Hospital Workers
Under the leadership of Council President Rachel Miller, this Council has demonstrated once again its steadfast commitment to the right of Providence workers to organize and collectively bargain. This month, after years of stagnating wages and worsening conditions, workers at Butler Hospital voted overwhelmingly to go on strike to demand a fair contract.
Management's response? Canceling striking workers' health insurance. If that weren't enough, demonstrating workers were also given $500 fines for allegedly violating a noise ordinance while exercising their right to peacefully assemble.
In response to these cruel, bad faith tactics, City Council President Miller, Councilor Roias, and Councilor Sanchez turned up in-person to march with organizers and demand Butler management return to the negotiating table. Councilwoman Anthony also expressed her support for the workers in a statement. Read the full release here.
Read on to find out more about what we've been up to this month and, as always, be sure to follow us on social media for the latest news and updates throughout the month!
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