Hi all, I’m not a politician or activist. I’m just a plumber. A working-class guy who’s been doing service plumbing all across King County for the past year—and in that time, I’ve seen things that honestly make me sick. And the worst part? It’s happening right under everyone’s nose.
In one neighborhood, I was working at a client’s house—hers was the only one on the block not owned by a foreign national. Every other house looked abandoned from the outside. Roofs collapsing, rotting siding… yet inside, they were fully occupied. Several families in each home.
These were undocumented immigrants from Central and South America—good, hard-working people, most of them farm laborers just trying to survive. The homes were barely livable. But they don’t report it. Why? Because they’re afraid. Afraid that speaking up means getting deported. And that silence is exactly what their landlord counts on to keep exploiting them.
I didn’t learn all this just from observation—I was told most of it by my client, someone I trust, who is very politically progressive and deeply concerned for the people being taken advantage of. But I did see enough with my own eyes to confirm it.
And here’s what I witnessed directly:
I used to do work for a landlord—also a foreign national—who owns multiple Section 8 single-family homes across the county. These are supposed to be subsidized homes for people in need. Instead, they’ve been carved up into overcrowded living units, barely meeting code. And she’s collecting rent from every square foot—fully funded by the King County Housing Authority.
One day, I was installing a hot water tank in one of her units. She didn’t speak English—used a translator app the whole time, which was fine. But then she recorded the entire installation. Start to finish. I gave her a look like, “What’s going on here?” She just smiled and gave me a thumbs-up.
It hit me later—she wasn’t filming for documentation. She was likely recording to avoid hiring a licensed plumber next time. Maybe she planned to show the footage to an unlicensed worker to cut costs. Either way, I felt used. That was the last time I worked for her.
This isn’t just one shady landlord. This is a pattern: foreign property owners buying up low-income housing, cutting corners, exploiting undocumented tenants, and funneling public housing dollars into private profits—while those actually living in the homes are left in fear and silence.
Let me be clear: this is not about where someone is from. It’s about what they’re doing. This is about exploitation. It’s about public systems being abused—on our dime—while the people most in need are treated like disposable labor.
So here are the questions we need to be asking:
Who owns our neighborhoods?
Who’s profiting from our public housing programs?
And who’s standing up for the people who are too afraid to speak out?
I’ve only been doing this work in King County for a year, and I’ve already seen more than enough. How much more is happening behind closed doors?
We need to stop pretending this isn’t happening. Because it’s not just broken—it’s being abused.
Thanks for reading.
submitted by /u/timmahdm
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