Easthampton Tenants Union

05/20/2026

What necessary social function is being fulfilled here? Seems like landlords like this are nothing more than expensive middlemen, gatekeeping access to housing while profiting off our poverty.

05/15/2026

"Gathering at the Greenfield Public Library earlier this week, residents heard from organizers of the Easthampton Tenants Union about tenants’ rights, rent control and how renters can work together to advocate for fair housing terms."

Greenfield residents look to form a tenants union. Meanwhile, the Landlords Business Association is pushing back against a rent control ballot measure.

05/15/2026

Phenomenal meeting last night with the city's Rent Study Committee! Check out the video in the 1st comment on this post.

05/14/2026

More footage from ETU’s press conference last fall. This has been our position through the entirety of our negotiations with the Gawles.

“We are not asking for a handout, or free lunch.”

These are not high demands. They are the most basic asks, essentially “be open to negotiating rent increases.” But the Gawles won’t even do that.

These people own over 130 parcels in Easthampton alone, which means when they raise rents on their tenants, they shift the entire market, for everyone. The public deserves to know who is responsible for driving up the costs of living in our area.

Pine Valley, negotiate with your tenants! The community is watching 👀

05/14/2026

At last week's meeting, the members of the Easthampton Tenants Union voted to endorse the Proposition 2½ override. While no one is eager to pay more, we believe the deep cuts facing our schools, libraries, public services, and community infrastructure would fall hardest on working people and renters.

This vote reflects our commitment to an Easthampton where ordinary people can not only afford to live, but can count on strong public institutions that make the city livable in the first place.

05/13/2026

What is the Home Rule petition and why does ETU (or you) care?

A Home Rule petition would ask permission from the state to enact municipal policy implemented at the local level. Policies can be presented to the city council for further discussion, with a subsequent decision on whether to move forward and petition the state legislature. The Rent Study committee in town has been working on drafting policy, but this is a key opportunity for the public to weigh in on what rental policies they would like to see enacted at the local level.

Members of ETU will be present at this meeting to present policy proposals we’d like to see the Committee pursue. Proposals will include a vacant unit penalty, T**A (Tenant Option to Purchase Act), and more. We encourage the public to attend and provide input.

05/12/2026

The Gawle family own many residential properties in Easthampton, and have recently raised rents on many of the units as high as 50-60% in many cases. Tenants who recently won their no-fault eviction case against Matthew Gawle of Pine Valley Realty stipulated collective bargaining as part of the court settlement, requiring the Gawles to engage in negotiations on rent rollbacks for all units affected by the recent exorbitant increases. These buildings are home to veterans, the elderly, people on fixed income, and more.

But the Gawles have stonewalled at every opportunity for negotiations. They have demonstrated no desire to negotiate rollbacks even slightly. No empathy or care towards people who are having to choose between feeding their families and paying rent.

We will continue to seek negotiations, and in the meantime we think the rest of Easthampton should know who these people are.

05/12/2026

The Gawles are some of the largest landlords in town, and they’ve been raising rent on our neighbors, in the last year, many between 50-60%. Tenants who recently won their eviction case against the Gawles stipulated collective bargaining as part of their settlements in order to negotiate rent rollbacks for neighbors who have been impacted by these exorbitant rent increases.

The Gawles have stonewalled at every opportunity to negotiate, and are unwilling to consider even mild rent reductions that for some neighbors have exceeded a $600 increase.

05/10/2026

Why we need

04/22/2026

Hot off the presses, check out issue 02 of the ETU Newsletter!

04/21/2026

*DATE CHANGE, now for Thursday 4/30

Do you know your rights? Do your neighbors know theirs? Come on down to this workshop for an overview of tenants rights in MA, and how you can leverage your situation to fight back against rent increases and build tenant power.