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Thomas Birmingham

@thomasbirm.bsky.social
923 followers 150 following 56 posts

Y23, He/Him | Someone once said I’m naturally anti-dogmatic. Housing is a human right. Currently @thenation.com. Previously @inthesetimesmag.bsky.social and more!

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Reposted by Thomas Birmingham
In These Times @inthesetimes.com · 21/09/2026
“...we have power, and we will use it.” After years of rent overcharges, Kingston tenants are organizing building by building to force landlords to return money they say they’re owed. @thomasbirm.bsky.social on Kingston’s quiet rent revolution.
inthesetimes.com
Kingston’s Quiet Rent Revolution
Landlords have spent years ignoring a historic rent reduction. Now, tenants are organizing to get their money back.
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Thomas Birmingham @thomasbirm.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Since May, I've followed a building story in Kingston, NY, where tenants whose landlords overcharged them for years (totaling millions collectively) are organizing to win their rent money back. My latest for @inthesetimes.com, with potential national implications: inthesetimes.com/article/king...
inthesetimes.com
Kingston’s Quiet Rent Revolution
Landlords have spent years ignoring a historic rent reduction. Now, tenants are organizing to get their money back.
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Reposted by Thomas Birmingham
Brian Goldstone @brian-goldstone.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
forgot to include a link to the above @inthesetimes.com article by @thomasbirm.bsky.social about KTU's historic win: inthesetimes.com/article/kent...
inthesetimes.com
Rural Kentucky Tenants Win Unprecedented Lease Agreement After Yearlong Campaign
How tenants in four federally-backed buildings in the South overcame intense retaliation and won a new contract from their out-of-state landlord.
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Brian Goldstone @brian-goldstone.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
I had the honor of spending time this week with the Kentucky Tenant Union and came away inspired by their razor-sharp clarity of purpose and commitment to one another. At a time when so many feel powerless, they're showing what's possible when neighbors come together to build real collective power.
Group photo of Brian with Kentucky Tenant Union members and organizers in Louisville
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Thomas Birmingham @thomasbirm.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
There's still time to apply for a summer internship @inthesetimes.com! As fascists and billionaires ransack the journalism industry, there's never been a better time to join an award-winning, nonprofit, progressive outlet. Deadline is March 15! Details: inthesetimes.com/internships
inthesetimes.com
Internships
If you have a strong interest in progressive politics, independent publishing and journalism, we encourage you to apply for an editorial internship with In These Times.
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Reposted by Thomas Birmingham
Ari Bloomekatz @bloomekatz.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
A Staggering Number of Minnesotans Took to the Streets Friday to Demand ICE Leave. The Next Day ICE Responded by Killing Another Resident. by @thomasbirm.bsky.social @inthesetimes.com “How many more Americans need to die for this operation to end?” said Mayor Frey. inthesetimes.com/article/minn...
inthesetimes.com
A Staggering Number of Minnesotans Took to the Streets Friday to Demand ICE Leave. The Next Day, ICE Responded by Killing Another Resident.
Saturday morning marked the third shooting by federal agents in Minneapolis this month. “How many more Americans need to die for this operation to end?” said Mayor Jacob Frey.
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Thomas Birmingham @thomasbirm.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
Masked federal agents have executed another Minneapolis resident, this time 37-year-old nurse and union member Alex Pretti. My latest for @inthesetimes.com inthesetimes.com/article/minn...
inthesetimes.com
A Staggering Number of Minnesotans Took to the Streets Friday to Demand ICE Leave. The Next Day, ICE Responded by Killing Another Resident.
Saturday morning marked the third shooting by federal agents in Minneapolis this month. “How many more Americans need to die for this operation to end?” said Mayor Jacob Frey.
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Reposted by Thomas Birmingham
Heba Gowayed هبة جويد @hebagowayed.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
“American Landmark is … owned by Elco, one of Israel’s largest corporations… Elco … has done extensive business in Israeli settlements … considered illegal under international law. Elco has also maintained deep ties to the Israeli military, including during the genocide in Gaza.” Wow.
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Kathryn Joyce @kathrynajoyce.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
"In August, I contacted the UN Human Rights Office to ask about the implications of a circumstance like this, in which a company they flagged for involvement in Israeli settlements has a large US subsidiary profiting off tenants like Kelly." Stunning new investigation from @thomasbirm.bsky.social
thenation.com
The Eviction Kings
One of Israel’s biggest companies is taking over huge swaths of US real estate—and tenants are paying the price.
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Thomas Birmingham @thomasbirm.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
Yesterday, @thenation.com ran my unprecedented investigation revealing a major U.S. landlord's links to West Bank settlements and the IDF. To see how American Landmark's U.S. tenants are being victimized, let's look at AL's properties in Charlotte, NC. (1/10) www.thenation.com/article/soci...
thenation.com
The Eviction Kings
One of Israel’s biggest companies is taking over huge swaths of US real estate—and tenants are paying the price.
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Reposted by Thomas Birmingham
Eviction Lab @evictionlab.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
“Before they came, rent was manageable. I was never late. When they took over, it became out of reach.” www.typeinvestigations.org/investigatio... By @thomasbirm.bsky.social. Via @thenation.com @typeinvestigations.org #housing+ #urbanism+ #urbanism
typeinvestigations.org
The Eviction Kings - Type Investigations
© Type Media Center document.write(new Date().getFullYear()). All Rights Reserved.
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Thomas Birmingham @thomasbirm.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
For @thenation.com, I dug into American Landmark, a major landlord unleashing rent hikes and eviction filings across the South, all while their parent company Electra has financial ties to West Bank settlements and the IDF. See it in the company's own words: www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Excerpt from a recent article in The Nation magazineExcerpt from a recent article in The Nation magazineExcerpt from a recent article in The Nation magazineExcerpt from a recent article in The Nation magazine
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Alex Han @alexhan.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
our struggles are interconnected in ways we can't even imagine
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Brian Goldstone @brian-goldstone.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
Today's must-read by @thomasbirm.bsky.social: a major corporate landlord is fueling homelessness across the U.S. *and* the mass displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank. The Israeli company owns tens of thousands of apartments in the South, filing evictions at nine times the national average.
thenation.com
The Eviction Kings
One of Israel’s biggest companies is taking over huge swaths of US real estate—and tenants are paying the price.
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Reposted by Thomas Birmingham
Jack Mirkinson @jackmirkinson.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
Also if you read this story and went "omfg," please follow @thomasbirm.bsky.social, who worked on it for over a year and is brilliant in every way.
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Reposted by Thomas Birmingham
Jack Mirkinson @jackmirkinson.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
We have a stunning story from @thomasbirm.bsky.social in @thenation.com. It's about how one of Israel's biggest companies, with deep ties to the IDF and illegal settlements, is taking over huge swathes of US real estate—with tenants paying the price. A MUST-read. www.thenation.com/article/soci...
thenation.com
The Eviction Kings
One of Israel’s biggest companies is taking over huge swaths of US real estate—and tenants are paying the price.
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Reposted by Thomas Birmingham
Type Investigations @typeinvestigations.org · 11/11/2025
One of Israel’s biggest companies is taking over huge swaths of US real estate—and tenants are paying the price. @thomasbirm.bsky.social reports in partnership with @thenation.com: www.typeinvestigations.org/investigatio...
typeinvestigations.org
The Eviction Kings - Type Investigations
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Thomas Birmingham @thomasbirm.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
For @thenation.com and @typeinvestigations.org, I looked into American Landmark, a major landlord filing evictions far more than the national average. I found they are owned by an Israeli company with ties to the IDF, including during the Gaza genocide. (1/10) www.thenation.com/article/soci...
thenation.com
The Eviction Kings
One of Israel’s biggest companies is taking over huge swaths of US real estate—and tenants are paying the price.
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Thomas Birmingham @thomasbirm.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
BREAKING: Hundreds of tenants across four states are waging the first campaign in recent memory to bargain with a shared private equity landlord across state lines For @inthesetimes.com, this is the Tenant Union Federation’s effort to win a historic interstate lease inthesetimes.com/article/priv...
inthesetimes.com
Have Private Equity Landlords Met Their Match?
A new campaign from the Tenant Union Federation is uniting hundreds of tenants in four states to take on the mega-corporation that owns their homes.
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Kathryn Joyce @kathrynajoyce.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
A new campaign from the Tenant Union Federation is uniting hundreds of tenants in four states to take on the mega-corporation that owns their homes. New report from @thomasbirm.bsky.social @inthesetimes.com on how tenant unions are taking on private equity landlords.
inthesetimes.com
Have Private Equity Landlords Met Their Match?
A new campaign from the Tenant Union Federation is uniting hundreds of tenants in four states to take on the mega-corporation that owns their homes.
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Reposted by Thomas Birmingham
Ruthy Gourevitch @ruthygourevitch.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
In NY, homeowners are 2x as likely to vote as tenants. Unless there are pro-tenant policies on the ballot, that is, like a rent freeze. In the mayoral race @tenantbloc.bsky.social tried to awaken the untapped potential of tenants as a political bloc. Read @thomasbirm.bsky.social on this strategy ⬇️
inthesetimes.com
Will NYC's Long-Suffering Tenants Carry Zohran Mamdani to Victory?
A close look inside the campaign that has helped turn New York City renters into a force to be reckoned with.
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Thomas Birmingham @thomasbirm.bsky.social · 22/06/2025
NEW: Since February, I've followed @tenantbloc.bsky.social's campaign to win a rent freeze in NYC. Now, Zohran Mamdani is on the verge of a victory that would deliver one. Here's a first look into how organizers brought over 20,000 tenants into Mamdani's coalition. inthesetimes.com/article/zohr...
inthesetimes.com
Will NYC's Long-Suffering Tenants Carry Zohran Mamdani to Victory?
A close look inside the campaign that has helped turn New York City renters into a force to be reckoned with.
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Reposted by Thomas Birmingham
Sarah Lazare @sarahlazare.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
"These are the moments where we need to turn to our coalitions. We need to have as much communication and joint organizing as possible." Marissa Nuncio, director of the Garment Worker Center in Los Angeles, speaking with @thomasbirm.bsky.social
inthesetimes.com
“Our Biggest Fear”: A Garment Worker Organizer on the ICE Raid That Set Off Mass Protest
“They're picking up folks who were literally just going about making their daily bread and terrorizing them in their place of work," says Marissa Nuncio, director of the Garment Worker Center in Los A...
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Reposted by Thomas Birmingham
In These Times @inthesetimes.com · 11/06/2025
@thomasbirm.bsky.social spoke with Marissa Nuncio of the Garment Worker Center in LA. They discuss the ICE raids—at which two dozen garment workers were abducted—that sparked city-wide protests and how labor can respond to Trump's assault on migrant workers: inthesetimes.com/article/ice-...
inthesetimes.com
“Our Biggest Fear”: A Garment Worker Organizer on the ICE Raid That Set Off Mass Protest
“They're picking up folks who were literally just going about making their daily bread and terrorizing them in their place of work," says Marissa Nuncio, director of the Garment Worker Center in Los A...
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Thomas Birmingham @thomasbirm.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
I got to speak with Marissa Nuncio at the Garment Worker Center in LA for @inthesetimes.com. We discuss the ICE raids—at which two dozen garment workers were abducted—that sparked city-wide protests, and how labor can respond to Trump's assault on migrant workers: inthesetimes.com/article/ice-...
inthesetimes.com
“Our Biggest Fear”: A Garment Worker Organizer on the ICE Raid That Set Off Mass Protest
“They're picking up folks who were literally just going about making their daily bread and terrorizing them in their place of work," says Marissa Nuncio, director of the Garment Worker Center in Los A...
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Reposted by Thomas Birmingham
In These Times @inthesetimes.com · 24/04/2025
Congratulations to @thomasbirm.bsky.social, a named a Livingston finalist for his groundbreaking investigation of a mold crisis in New Haven, CT, fueled by landlord neglect. Read his reporting here: inthesetimes.com/article/mold...
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Thomas Birmingham @thomasbirm.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
I'm so, so honored to be named a 2025 Livingston Award finalist for “As Corporate Landlords Spread, a Mold Epidemic Takes Root” in @inthesetimes.com. I spent 6+ months on this investigation, interviewing New Haven tenants who developed respiratory conditions thanks to landlord neglect. Read below!
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Thomas Birmingham @thomasbirm.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
As someone who was there, the Jewish student the YDN quoted as saying he was “blocked from walking through Yale’s campus”was: - Attempting to forcefully move into the circle of students while filming them - Was the first to inform admin the encampment was being built - Is a frequent Fox News guest
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Thomas Birmingham @thomasbirm.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
BREAKING: Yalies4Palestine, Yale’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, was deregistered as an official student org at 3 PM today by Yale admin. The move comes after 200 students built a new encampment last night, an action the group says they were unaffiliated with. 🧵
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Thomas Birmingham @thomasbirm.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
BREAKING: Under threat of imminent arrests, organizers have instructed the newly constructed Gaza solidarity encampment at Yale to disperse for the night. They instructed protestors to reconvene tomorrow, when war-criminal Itamar Ben-Gvir will be addressing a Yale society. 🧵
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Thomas Birmingham @thomasbirm.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
BREAKING: A new Gaza solidarity encampment is being built at Yale, one year after dozens were arrested here. They demand immediate divestment from Israeli weapons manufacturing. Despite the Trump admin abducting activists like Mahmoud Khalil nationwide, hundreds of are here anyway. FREE PALESTINE!
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Thomas Birmingham @thomasbirm.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
BREAKING: I’ve confirmed that public housing authorities (PHAs) have been told that Trump’s funding freeze has been RESCINDED. Also received word from multiple PHAs that February Section 8 payments will go out as planned. See the email that went out today from HUD below:
An email from the Department of Housing and Urban Development
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Senator Ron Wyden @wyden.senate.gov · 28/01/2025
NEW: My staff has confirmed reports that Medicaid portals are down in all 50 states following last night's federal funding freeze. This is a blatant attempt to rip away health care from millions of Americans overnight and will get people killed.
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Philip Eil @phileil.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
"54 people died while experiencing homelessness in Rhode Island last year...When the polar vortex arrived, it exacerbated the already dire conditions for homeless residents throughout the state." Great reporting in @thenation.com from @thomasbirm.bsky.social.
thenation.com
“If Not for This, I’d Be Freezing to Death”: The Fight in Providence to Open a Temporary Shelter
How a pair of Providence city councilors bucked the mayor—and the trend of homelessness criminalization nationwide—to open an emergency shelter.
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Thomas Birmingham @thomasbirm.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
New from me @inthesetimesmag! In October, I published a feature on the massive and underreported epidemic of hazardous mold exposure in low-income housing, focusing on New Haven. Less than two months later, the city held a hearing to begin addressing the crisis. inthesetimes.com/article/mold...
inthesetimes.com
As Corporate Landlords Spread, a Mold Epidemic Takes Root
Chronic mold has become an epidemic as severe as lead paint, but neither cities nor landlords are taking responsibility.
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Kathryn Joyce @kathrynajoyce.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
Less than two months after a @thomasbirm.bsky.social investigation @inthesetimesmag.bsky.social on the nation’s unrecognized mold health care crisis, one city at its center shows signs of taking action. inthesetimes.com/article/mold...
inthesetimes.com
Hearing: New Haven Testifies On Its Mold Crisis
Less than two months after an In These Times investigation on the nation’s unrecognized mold health care crisis, one city at its center shows signs of taking action.
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Thomas Birmingham @thomasbirm.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
In case you need good news: This month, two Providence city councilmen turned City Hall into an emergency shelter, saving homeless residents from sub-20 temperatures. Their refusal to abandon their neighbors is becoming a statewide reckoning (for @thenation.com) www.thenation.com/article/soci...
thenation.com
The Fight Just to Open a Temporary Shelter Amid Frigid Temperatures
How a pair of Providence city councilors bucked the mayor—and the trend of homelessness criminalization nationwide—to open an emergency shelter.
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Thomas Birmingham @thomasbirm.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
NOW: Displaced tenants from Concord Hills Apartments in Hartford, backed by Connecticut Tenants Union, have traveled all the way to Manhattan to their landlord Greyhill Group’s office to protest their negligence. Tenants were displaced by a fire in August. They are still waiting for repairs.
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Thomas Birmingham @thomasbirm.bsky.social · 08/12/2024
BREAKING: Yale student body has voted OVERWHELMINGLY in favor of divesting the university’s holdings in weapons manufactures, including “those arming Israel” Of 3,338 students, over 76% voted in favor of divestment. The Yale Daily News reports unprecedented engagement in the vote.
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Thomas Birmingham @thomasbirm.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
My latest for @thenation.com: I spoke with three local organizers with the new Tenant Union Federation. Each is low-income and elderly or disabled. Their stories show how TUF is transforming the most marginalized tenants into a political class to be reckoned with. www.thenation.com?post_type=ar...
thenation.com
In the US, Tenants Are Usually on Their Own. Can a New National Tenant Union Change That?
The Tenant Union Federation aims to organize tenants to improve living conditions and transform the housing market, with the aim of turning renters into a powerful political class.
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Puff the Magic Hater @mskellymhayes.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
"Israeli forces injured one of the only journalists left in north Gaza on Tuesday in an airstrike, after the military publicly threatened the Al Jazeera reporter with assassination in October."
truthout.org
Israel Targets, Injures One of the Only Journalists Left in North Gaza in Strike
Al Jazeera reporter Hossam Shabat had just arrived at a house that had been bombed when Israel struck it again.
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Thomas Birmingham @thomasbirm.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
Honored to be sprinkled in with this amazing crew ✊
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In These Times @inthesetimes.com · 15/11/2024
Here's 50 storytellers and comrades we think are worth a follow go.bsky.app/5RpSsNS ... will share more soon too
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Justin Salhani @justinsalhani.bsky.social · 14/11/2024
Reupping this since there’s a lot of new people here and because Israel has further intensified the bombing here (& elsewhere) in the last couple of days On Urbicide in Beirut’s suburbs
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Thomas Birmingham @thomasbirm.bsky.social · 14/11/2024
Hey Bluesky 🫡 By way of introduction, I’m a reporter and intern at The Nation magazine, having covered tenant movements, housing conditions, and criminal justice for a variety of local and national outlets. Happy to be here, and I already feel my brain cells regenerating!
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Mohammed R. Mhawish @mohamhawish.bsky.social · 14/11/2024
So honored to say I’m now officially a contributing writer for @TheNation.com 🎉 From Gaza to the pages of a publication I’ve long admired, this journey has been humbling. Grateful to everyone who’s supported my voice along the way. Here’s to telling more stories that matter! ✍🏼
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The Appeal @theappeal.org · 11/11/2024
Follow our reporters and editors to keep up with the latest criminal justice news: go.bsky.app/94ChN5g
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Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 14/11/2024
1. Ohio has become the first state in the aftermath of the election to pass an anti-trans law on the first day of a lame duck session. It is a transgender bathroom ban that even applies to adults in private universities. Subscribe to support my journalism.
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