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The Ottawa Panhandlers' Union () was a union for
panhandler Begging (also known in North America as panhandling) is the practice of imploring others to grant a favor, often a gift of money, with little or no expectation of reciprocation. A person doing such is called a beggar or panhandler. Beggars m ...
s, the homeless and others formed in
Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
, Canada in early 2003. It was a shop of the
Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), whose members are nicknamed "Wobblies", is an international labor union founded in Chicago, United States in 1905. The nickname's origin is uncertain. Its ideology combines general unionism with indu ...
(IWW), Ottawa-Outaouais General Membership Branch. The union fought systematic oppression faced by
street people Street people are people who live a public life on the streets of a city. Street people are frequently homeless, sometimes mentally ill, and often have a transient lifestyle. The delineation of street people is primarily determined by residential ...
in Ottawa; this includes the homeless, panhandlers, buskers, and people with who are part of the street. Andrew Nellis was spokesperson for this union from roughly 2005 until his resignation in April 2011. The next spokesperson was Karen Crossman. The union adopted 'Working For Change' as its official motto.


Structure and character

The organization was largely a collaborative effort by lead organizer, IWW delegate and spokesperson Karen Crossman, and other long time anti-poverty Ottawa activists. Some of the main pieces of legislation which motivated activists to form the Panhandler's Union was the Safe Streets Act and a piece of legislation dubbed Brian's Law which was eventually found to be unconstitutional as it was used to pick up homeless people up off the street and put them in jail or mental institutions without due process. Other pieces of legislation objected to include the Vending on Highways Law, passed by Ottawa City Hall. Aside from one of its members, the panhandlers'
union dues Union dues are regular payments made by workers which grant membership of a trade union. Dues fund the provision of union services such as representation in collective bargaining and education activities. Nearly all unions require their members to ...
were paid for by the Industrial Workers of the World through donations and various organized events. The Panhandlers' Union was not a conventional
labour union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
in that its members performed their labour in non-traditional ways. This led to ridicule of the union, including an article in the ''Ottawa Citizen'' that asked if the panhandlers were fighting for "wider sidewalks?" The newspaper granted the union a chance to respond with their own
op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page," is a type of written prose commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and online publications. They usually represent a writer's strong and focused opinion on an issue of relevance to a targeted a ...
piece, and their editorial, "Why Panhandlers Need a Union", was published on March 20, 2006. In May 2007, the union and its organizer Andrew Nellis were featured in a multi-page article in the ''Ottawa City Journal''. The newspaper also interviewed panhandlers and the executive director of the Bank Street Business Improvement Area. The union met once a month at a drop-in centre in the
ByWard Market The ByWard Market (), is a retail and entertainment district in the downtown core of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located east of the government and business district. The Market district includes the market buildings and open-air market alo ...
area of Ottawa. The meetings were open to anyone who interested in becoming a member. The standard IWW rules of membership were followed. Non-members could sign up on the spot to become card-carrying members of the IWW. The meetings operated under Rusty's Rules of Order and voting was based on a consensus system.


History of union events

The union had meetings with panhandlers once a month. Additionally, the union held 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 May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the Northern Hemisphere's March equinox, spring equinox and midsummer June solstice, solstice. Festivities ma ...
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 a group of 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 originally set up on the Laurier St. entrance to city hall but was later moved to the Elgin St. entrance at the Human Rights Monument. On May 1, 2006, the Panhandlers' Union organized a May Day protest to shut down
Rideau Street Rideau Street () is a major street in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and one of Ottawa's oldest and most famous streets running from Wellington Street in the west to Montreal Road in the east where it connects to the Vanier district. Ride ...
, and succeeded for more than one hour. The action targeted the
Rideau Centre The Rideau Centre () (corporately styled as CF Rideau Centre) is a three-level shopping centre on Rideau Street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It borders on Rideau Street, the ByWard Market, the Rideau Canal, the Mackenzie King Bridge, and N ...
because of alleged incidents of violence against the homeless by mall security, two of which resulted in
litigation A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. ...
. These alleged incidents included attacks against members of the union. Rideau Centre eventually settled the suit. The
direct action Direct action is a term for economic and political behavior in which participants use agency—for example economic or physical power—to achieve their goals. The aim of direct action is to either obstruct a certain practice (such as a governm ...
also targeted the Safe Streets Act, which the Panhandlers' Union had criticized for being legislation which 'unfairly targets the poor. The action also targeted a
by-law A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authority. The higher authority, generally a legislature or some othe ...
passed by Ottawa City Hall which outlawed selling newspapers on street corners. On the same day, Union members occupied the Elgin Street Police Station in Ottawa. In 2007, a coalition of businesses, social service providers, downtown residents and police launched a campaign urging an economic boycott of panhandlers. The union's 2007 May Day event targeted the Bank Street Business Improvement Area, which the organizers felt was complicit in targeting Union members 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 Lawrence Francis O'Brien Jr. (July 7, 1917September 28, 1990) was an American politician and commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1975 to 1984. He was one of the United States Democratic Party's leading electoral strat ...
comparing panhandlers to
pigeon Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...
s. 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 of pigeons.


Complaint against City of Ottawa

The union prepared a complaint to the
Canadian Human Rights Commission The Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) was established in 1977 by the Government of Canada. It is empowered under the '' Canadian Human Rights Act'' to investigate and to try to settle complaints of discrimination in employment and in the ...
against the City of Ottawa in January 2009 after the latter erected a
wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.05%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4.5%), or 0.25 for low carbon "mild" steel. Wrought iron is manufactured by heating and melting high carbon cast iron in an ...
fence to prevent union members from sleeping beneath an underpass. The fence was installed on the recommendation of the city's transportation committee in order to improve safety on the underpass, though Nellis argued that it in fact threatened the safety and security of those union members in Ottawa who relied upon its shelter in the winter. Nellis revealed in a statement at an Ottawa City Council meeting that a settlement had been made between the city and the OPU. There is a non-disclosure agreement in place so the exact details of the agreement are unknown.


Andrew Nellis

One of the original organizers of the OPU, Andrew Nellis was active with the union between 2005 and 2011. He was the spokesperson for the union for much of that time, which involved him meeting with Ottawa
police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...
and city councillors. Nellis was arrested on April 30, 2008, the day before the annual May Day march by the IWW and Ottawa Panhandlers Union. He was allegedly caught by police trying to cut a lock on a gate in the pedestrian underpass close to the
Rideau Centre The Rideau Centre () (corporately styled as CF Rideau Centre) is a three-level shopping centre on Rideau Street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It borders on Rideau Street, the ByWard Market, the Rideau Canal, the Mackenzie King Bridge, and N ...
. The gate had been recently 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 Elgin may refer to: Places Canada * Elgin County, Ontario * Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Ontario * Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario * Elgin, Manit ...
police station, where he was offered a deal to be released on bail with certain conditions. He refused these conditions, and was transferred to
Innes Road Innes Road (List of numbered routes in Ottawa, Ottawa Road #30) is one of the most important corridors in the east end of the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, running through the former cities of Gloucester, Ontario, Gloucester and Cumberland, O ...
two days later. During his time in jail, he began organizing his fellow inmates because of the poor conditions of the jail. This led to a front page article in the ''
Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as the Bytown ''Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the ''Ci ...
'' about the
Innes Road Innes Road (List of numbered routes in Ottawa, Ottawa Road #30) is one of the most important corridors in the east end of the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, running through the former cities of Gloucester, Ontario, Gloucester and Cumberland, O ...
jail. When Nellis appeared in court on Elgin Street on May 1, 2008 a group of concerned citizens entered the court and chanted "Andrew Nellis under attack. What do we do? Stand up, fight back!" The group was made up of OPW Union members, the homeless, Wobblies, members of People's Global Action Bloc Ottawa, and other Ottawa anarchists and activists. Nellis was released from jail 5 days later. The charges against him were later dropped by the Crown Attorney. Nellis ran in the
2010 Ottawa municipal election The 2010 Ottawa municipal election was a municipal election that was held on October 25, 2010, to elect the mayor of Ottawa, Ottawa City Council and Boards of Trustees of Ottawa's English public, English Catholic, French public and French C ...
for
Ottawa City Council Ottawa City Council () is the governing body of the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is composed of 24 city councillors and the mayor. The mayor is elected at large, while each councillor represents wards throughout the city. Council member ...
in the
Rideau-Vanier Ward Rideau-Vanier Ward is a ward in the city of Ottawa, designated as Ward 12 and represented on Ottawa City Council. It was originally created in 1994 as a Ward for the Regional Council of the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton. The ward cover ...
. Nellis finished in 3rd with 462 votes. He is no longer spokesperson for the OPU and is pursuing a career as a tarot card reader. He has since started Street Labourers of Windsor (SLOW) which is an IWW-affiliated union including panhandlers, buskers, street people and the homeless in
Windsor, Ontario Windsor ( ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is situated on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from the U.S city of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Esse ...
.


References


External links

*{{Cite web, title=Ottawa Panhandlers Union - YouTube, url=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7OL9DzIFT_7WnjXjX3nnGA, access-date=2021-08-06, website=www.youtube.com Industrial Workers of the World in Canada Non-profit organizations based in Ottawa Defunct trade unions in Ontario Trade unions established in 2003 Trade unions disestablished in 2009