Who Are We?
We are a group of tenants that saw a need to organize in order to address ongoing
unresolved concerns. The people who have spearheaded UCT has been loosely
organized for several years. The organization became more formal in nature when
the Caltrans home sales process began. The structure of the organization features
shared governance. There are no specific leaders, rather there are several
facilitators/advocates, some organized in the efforts longer than others. We are
currently in the process of formalizing our union to achieve equitable, habitable,
affordable housing.
We have a coordinating committee that meets every week, followed by tenant
support services geared at supporting tenants to navigate Caltrans policies
and procedures. We also host monthly meetings/workshops to inform tenants
on advocacy items and to gather input on what advocacy is needed. We plan
to also host tri-annual general assembly meetings where we can collectively
make decisions about the intents and purposes of the organization moving
forward. The general public is invited to attend all gatherings.
We advocate on behalf of all Caltrans tenants impacted by the 710 fwy initiative.
Yet our advocacy reaches other Caltrans tenants not specifically residing in our
area. We hope that our advocacy will also extend beyond Caltrans tenants to
positively impact other Los Angeles County residents.
We practice shared governance at our gatherings, with the aim to achieve
consensus in our decision making. Since there are no specific Leaders,
we function as a group with facilitators that guide the group in navigating
said decision process.