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Support the People Not Platforms North American Tour
Homes for people, not profit. Democracy for people, not platforms.
Across North America, Big Tech platforms like Airbnb, Uber, DoorDash and Google are reshaping our cities, driving up rents, undermining workers, and eroding democracy. This September, we’re bringing communities together to fight back—and we need your support to make it happen.
We’re launching the People Not Platforms North American Tour, built around the new book Platform Politics by Luke Yates, a Sociology professor at the University of Manchester. Luke’s groundbreaking research exposes how platforms engage in a new form of corporate lobbying—going beyond traditional astroturfing to insert themselves into debates about regulation, housing, transportation, and even democracy itself.
Why now?
From New York City to Toronto, Montreal to Los Angeles, New Orleans to Mexico City, platforms are rewriting the rules of our communities:
Toronto:
- Uber in Toronto dismantled long-standing regulations, undermined drivers’ livelihoods, and substituted transit ridership with private vehicles. The Rideshare Drivers Association of Ontario continues fighting for fair wages and regulation.
- Airbnb in Canada eroded housing supply and affordability. Coalitions like Fairbnb Canada won regulations, but enforcement remains a critical battle.
- Google’s Sidewalk Labs tried to seize Toronto’s waterfront, a massive land, data, and power grab stopped only through BlockSidewalk's grassroots organizing .
- Food delivery robots from Magna International are now roaming Toronto’s streets, recording residents with 360-degree cameras—another example of unregulated tech expansion threatening privacy and workers.
New York City
- Airbnb has been interfering in New York City mayoral and council elections in 2025 with a US$10m Super PAC and have partnered with other platforms Uber and Doordash to spend millions more to subvert the city's democracy and influence regulations. Airbnb has also funnelled hundreds of thousands of dollars to front groups like "RHOAR" and “Homeowners for Financial Empowerment”.
Los Angeles
- Airbnb created a brand new coalition "Save our Services" to undermine short-term rental regulations protecting Los Angeles housing' without disclosing its involvement .
These are just a few stories. Many more are unfolding in cities across North America, shaping our homes, our work, and our democracy.
What the tour will do
This September, Luke Yates will visit communities and activists in Toronto, Montreal, Los Angeles (a virtual stop), New Orleans, Mexico City and New York City.
At each stop, local organizers and community groups are creating events where residents, activists, researchers, and policymakers come together to:
- Share lessons from past and ongoing struggles against tech giants
- Build stronger networks across cities and borders
- Develop collective strategies for housing justice, workers’ rights, and democratic accountability
Why we need your help
This tour is organized independently by grassroots groups. To make it happen, we need your support to cover:
- Travel and accommodation costs for Luke
- Accessibility (interpretation, transport subsidies, food at events)
- Fair stipends for the community panelists who are workers struggling on or near minimum wage
- Design (flyers, posters, social media)
Our budget is currently US$5,000*.
* The Rosa Luxemburg Foundation has already kindly contributed to the budget for the Mexico City stop of the tour, which is not included in the US$5,000 target.
Every contribution helps ensure that communities—not corporations—shape the future of our cities.
No donation is too small, this is what your support means to us:
$25 = helps provide food for participants at one event
$50 = supports accessibility needs like interpretation or transport subsidies
$100 = covers a fair stipend for a community panelist
$250 = helps cover Luke’s travel between tour cities
Join us
Your donation will help amplify the voices of people fighting for homes, for fair work, and for democracy across North America.
Donate today and be part of the movement.
This tour is about building power together. With your support, we can amplify community voices, strengthen cross-border solidarity, and push back against the platforms profiting from our homes, our work, and our democracy.
Join us today—because when we stand together, it’s people, not platforms, who win.
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Tour Schedule:
- Toronto: Thursday 4 September
- Montreal: Friday 5 September
- New Orleans: Wednesday 10 September
- Mexico City: Thursday and Friday 11/12 September
- New York City: Monday 15 September
- Los Angeles: Virtual event late September TBD
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Your crowdfunding co-organizers, beneficiaries and tour hosts:
- Luke Yates (Researcher, coordinator)
- Inside Airbnb (Coordinator)
- Jane Place Neighborhood Sustainability Initiative (New Orleans host and crowdfunding host)
- Fairbnb Canada Network (Toronto host)
- University of Toronto (Toronto academic host)
- Front de Lutte pour un Immobilier Populaire FLIP (Montreal host)
- le Comité BAILS (Comité de base pour l’action et l’information sur le logement social) (Montreal host)
- Collectif de Recherche et d'ACtion sur l'Habitat CRACH (Montreal Academic host)
- McGill University School of Urban Planning (Montreal academic host)
- Better Neighbors LA (Los Angeles host)
- the Global Observatory on Short-Term Rentals - OGAT (Mexico City host)
- Rosa Luxemburg Foundation (Financial sponsor, Mexico City)
- Churches United for Fair Housing - CUFFH (New York City host)
- Tenants PAC (New York City host)
- City College of New York (New York City academic host)
All funds up to our budget will go towards the tour.
Any excess funds raised go to the important work of Jane Place in creating and preserving affordable housing in New Orleans.
Organizer
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Jane Place Neighborhood Sustainability Initiative
Beneficiary