Ottawa Panhandlers' Union

Ottawa Panhandlers' Union

Founded	2003
Affiliations	Industrial Workers of the World

The Ottawa Panhandlers' Union is a trade union for panhandlers formed in Ottawa, Canada in early 2003. It is a shop of the Industrial Workers of the World, Ottawa-Outaouis General Members Branch. Its main purpose is to gather together panhandlers, street vendors, and buskers, and fight for their rights. The OPU feels these people are being unfairly persecuted in Ontario. Tickets are being issued under the Safe Streets Act. One of the primary activities of the union is fighting these tickets in court.

The lead organizer of the union and its current IWW delegate and spokesperson is Andrew Nellis. Aside from one of its members, the panhandlers' union dues are paid for by the Industrial Workers of the World through donations and various organized events.

The Panhandlers union is not a conventional labour union in the sense that its purpose is not to bargain with a third party for a collective contract and higher wages. This misconception led to ridicule of the union, including an article critiquing the union in the Ottawa Citizen which asked if the panhandlers were fighting for "wider sidewalks?"

The newspaper granted the union a chance to respond with their own op-ed piece, and their editorial, "Why Panhandlers Need a Union", appeared in the newspaper on March 20 2006. The editorial was a collaborative piece written by several members of the IWW. It was credited to panhandler Proshanto Smith.

More recently the Panhandlers Union and its organizer Andrew Nellis were featured in a multipage article in the Ottawa City Journal. The newspaper also interviewed panhandlers and the executive director of the Bank Street Business Improvement Area.

The purpose of the union is to bring together panhandlers, street artists, buskers and any other street-affected person to lobby city hall. One of the aims was to create a counter-measure against legislation which had been passed by Ottawa City Hall and by the Ontario government. Specifically the union is opposed to the Ontario Safe Streets Act which was passed under Premier Mike Harris as well as the Vending On Highways law which was passed by Ottawa City Hall.

The organization was largely a collaborative effort by Andrew Nellis, Jane Scharf and other long time anti-poverty Ottawa activists. One of the main pieces of legislation which motivated activists to form the Panhandler's Union was the Safe Streets Act. Other pieces of legislation objected to include the Vending on Highways Law, passed by Ottawa City Hall.

The union has continually stressed that its aim is to create an "entrepreneurial spirit" which aims to have panhandlers sell arts and crafts, books, compact discs or other donated material for money which they will use to support themselves.

History of Union events

The Union has meetings with panhandlers once a month at a local community centre. Additionally, the union holds demonstrations, primarily in the summer when there is a peak in panhandling activity. Since its formation the union has also held an annual May Day event in Ottawa. The earliest action the Panhandlers Union participated in was the Homeless Action Strike in the summer of 2004. The strike was organized by Jane Scharf and other poverty activists. People were encouraged to pitch a tent on City Hall property with the intent of bringing attention to the issue of homelessness. The camp was eventually moved to the grounds of the Human Rights Monument which is separate from City Hall.

On May 1, 2006, The Panhandlers Union organized a May Day protest to shut down Rideau Street, and succeeded for more than one hour. The action targeted the Rideau Centre because of alleged incidents of violence against the homeless by mall security, two of which resulted in litigation. These alleged incidents included attacks against members of the union. Rideau Centre eventually settled the suit for an undisclosed amount of money. The direct action also targeted the Safe Streets Act, which the Panhandlers Union had criticized for being Draconian legislature which unfairly targets the poor. The action also targeted a by-law passed by Ottawa City Hall which outlawed selling newspapers on street corners.

In 2007, a coalition of businesses, social service providers, downtown residents and police launched a campaign urging people to refrain from giving money to panhandlers. The Union's 2007 May Day event targeted the Bank Street Business Improvement Area, which the organizers felt was complicit in targeting the poor and lobbying City Hall for legislation they wished to see pass. A rally was held outside of the BIA offices, with speeches on the issue of panhandling and poverty in Ottawa. Emotions were high during the protest because of recent comments made by Mayor Larry O'Brien comparing panhandlers to pigeons. O'Brien commented that if people stopped "feeding them" the panhandlers would go away. The response by the union was to egg the offices of the Bank Street BIA. Organizers of the event said this was done because it's the exact behaviour to be expected by pigeons.

Andrew Nellis Arrest

Andrew Nellis was arrested on April 30th 2008, the day before the annual May Day march by the IWW and Ottawa Panhandlers Union. Nellis was allegedly caught by police trying to cut a lock on a gate in the pedestrian underpass close to the Rideau Centre. The gate had recently been put up by the City of Ottawa to prevent homeless people from sitting or sleeping under the bridge.

Nellis was first held at the Elgin Police Station but was transferred to the Innes Road Prison facility on the Friday after his arrest. He stayed with the general population. During his time in jail, Nellis began organizing his fellow inmates and generally caused trouble with the guards and warden."Talk Ottawa". Panhandling in Ottawa. May 2008. Rogers Televsion. {{cite episode}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); Missing or empty |series= (help); Unknown parameter |city= ignored (|location= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)

When Nellis appeared in court on Elgin Street on May 1st 2008 an anarchist group stormed the court and chanted "Andrew Nellis under attack. What do we do? Stand up, fight back!" The group was made up of fellow Wobblies, members of People's Global Action Bloc of Ottawa and other Ottawa anarchists and activists. The protestors were thrown out of the court during Nellis' bail hearing. Nellis was later released with minimal bail conditions. "Capitalism Cannot Be Reformed". June 2008 Volume 105 No 4. Retrieved December 20th 2008. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)

An impeachment tea party was also held by the union for mayor Larry O'Brien on the same day.

Nellis was released from jail 5 days later. The charges against him were dropped by the crown attorney several months later.