Tell Marty Walsh: Rent Freeze NOW

During the COVID-19 crisis, we all have a responsibility towards our communities to keep ourselves healthy and avoid situations that can spread the virus. As of March 17th, the state of Massachusetts will close all bars and restaurants in order to help us uphold that responsibility. While this is a step in the right direction regarding public health, the effects of these sweeping business closures affect the livelihood of thousands of Massachusetts residents that rely on front-of-house restaurant work or tips to make ends meet. Without a plan in place to supplement the income of these workers, and with no guarantee that unemployment benefits will provide the relief people need in a city with one of the highest costs of living in the country, we demand a moratorium on rent collection NOW. Hard-working people are going to suffer at the expense of the greater good. While we don't deny the importance of instituting these closures, we would be ashamed and heartbroken to watch our government let people who rely on restaurant work face evictions, blows to their credit, or be backed into a corner financially through no fault of their own.
As a part-time waitress, I am lucky enough that I only rely on tips for supplemental income. For so many of my friends and family in the industry, however, tips are their MAIN source of income. Simply providing people with an unemployment payment or temporary paid leave at minimum wage would not be enough to cover their typical expenses. We need Boston and Massachusetts as a whole to put a moratorium on rent NOW in order to preserve the livelihood of so many hardworking people both in the restaurant industry and in other affected industries during this time of crisis.