Ottawa Panhandlers' Union
Encyclopedia
The Ottawa Panhandlers' Union is a union for panhandlers formed in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 in early 2003. It is a shop of the Industrial Workers of the World
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...

 (IWW), Ottawa-Outaouis General Members Branch. The union purports to fight the systematic oppression which is faced by street people
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 bohemian lifestyle...

 in Ottawa; this includes the homeless, panhandlers, buskers, and people with a fixed income
Fixed income
Fixed income refers to any type of investment that is not equity, which obligates the borrower/issuer to make payments on a fixed schedule, even if the number of the payments may be variable....

 who are part of the street. Andrew Nellis had been the longtime spokesperson for the union, roughly from 2005, but resigned from the position in April 2011. The new spokesperson is Karen Crossman.

The union has adopted 'Working For Change' as its official motto.

Structure and character

The organization is largely a collaborative effort by lead organizer, IWW delegate and spokesperson Andrew Nellis, Jane Scharf, 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
Safe Streets Act
The Safe Streets Act, 1999 is a law in the province of Ontario, Canada. In 2004 the province of British Columbia passed its own version of the Safe Streets Act , substantially a word-for-word copy of the Ontario version. The SSA prohibits aggressive solicitation of persons in certain public places...

 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
Union dues are a regular payment of money made by members of unions. Dues are the cost of membership; they are used to fund the various activities which the union engages in...

 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
Collective bargaining
Collective bargaining is a process of negotiations between employers and the representatives of a unit of employees aimed at reaching agreements that regulate working conditions...

 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
Editorial
An opinion piece is an article, published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about the subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals.-Editorials:...

 piece, and their editorial, "Why Panhandlers Need a Union", appeared in the newspaper on March 20, 2006. In May 2007 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 meets once a month at a drop-in centre in the ByWard Market
Byward Market
ByWard Market is a district in Lower Town located east of the government & business district, surrounding the market buildings and open-air market on George, York, ByWard and William Streets.The district is bordered on the west by Sussex Drive, on the...

 area of Ottawa. The meetings are open to anyone who is interested in becoming a member of union. The standard IWW rules of membership are followed. Non-members can sign up on the spot to become card carrying members of the IWW. The meetings operate under Rusty's Rules of Order and voting is based on a consensus system.

History of union events

The union has meetings with panhandlers once a month. 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
May Day
May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....

 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 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
Canadian Tribute to Human Rights
The Canadian Tribute to Human Rights, also known as the Human Rights Monument, is a monumental sculpture located at the corner of Lisgar and Elgin streets in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada...

.

On May 1, 2006, the Panhandlers' Union organized a May Day protest to shut down Rideau Street
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...

, and succeeded for more than one hour. The action targeted the Rideau Centre
Rideau Centre
Rideau Centre is a three-level shopping centre on Rideau Street in Downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It borders on Rideau Street , the Rideau Canal, the Mackenzie King Bridge, and Nicholas Street....

 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. The direct action
Direct action
Direct action is activity undertaken by individuals, groups, or governments to achieve political, economic, or social goals outside of normal social/political channels. This can include nonviolent and violent activities which target persons, groups, or property deemed offensive to the direct action...

 also targeted the Safe Streets Act
Safe Streets Act
The Safe Streets Act, 1999 is a law in the province of Ontario, Canada. In 2004 the province of British Columbia passed its own version of the Safe Streets Act , substantially a word-for-word copy of the Ontario version. The SSA prohibits aggressive solicitation of persons in certain public places...

, which the Panhandlers' Union had criticized for being legislation 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
Larry O'Brien (Canadian politician)
Lawrence Robert O'Brien , was the 58th mayor of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He is also a current director of Calian Technologies Ltd. and its former CEO and chairman....

 comparing panhandlers to pigeons. 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.

Complaint against City of Ottawa

The union prepared a complaint to the Canadian Human Rights Commission
Canadian Human Rights Commission
The Canadian Human Rights Commission is a quasi-judicial body that was established in 1977 by the government of Canada. It is empowered under the Canadian Human Rights Act to investigate and try to settle complaints of discrimination in employment and in the provision of services within federal...

 against the City of Ottawa in January 2009 after the latter erected a wrought iron
Wrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...

 fence to prevent homeless people 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 homeless Ottawans 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

Nellis is one of the original organizers of the OPU. He 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 the Ottawa Police and Ottawa city councilors.

Andrew Nellis was arrested on April 30, 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
Rideau Centre
Rideau Centre is a three-level shopping centre on Rideau Street in Downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It borders on Rideau Street , the Rideau Canal, the Mackenzie King Bridge, and Nicholas Street....

. 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 Police Station but where he was offered a deal to be released on bail with certain conditions, but Nellis refused these conditions and stayed in jail. Days later he was transferred to the Innes Road Prison facility on the Friday after his arrest. During his time in jail, Nellis began organizing his fellow inmates because of what he felt were the poor conditions of the jail. This led to a front page article in the Ottawa Citizen about the Innes Road prison.

When Nellis appeared in court on Elgin Street on May 1, 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 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 by the Crown Attorney were later dropped.

Nellis ran in the 2010 Ottawa municipal election
Ottawa municipal election, 2010
The Ottawa municipal election was contested on October 25, 2010 to elect the mayor of Ottawa, Ottawa City Council and the Ottawa-Carleton Public and Catholic School Boards...

 for Ottawa City Council
Ottawa City Council
The Ottawa City Council is the governing body of the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is composed of 23 city councillors and the mayor. The mayor is elected at large, while each of the councillors represent wards throughout the city. Council members are elected to four year terms with the...

 in the Rideau-Vanier Ward
Rideau-Vanier Ward
Rideau-Vanier Ward is a ward in the city of Ottawa, Canada, designated as Ward 12 and represented on Ottawa City Council. It was originally created in 1994 as a Ward on Regional Council....

. Nellis finished in 3rd with 462 votes.

He is no longer spokesperson for the OPU and has retired from activism to pursue other interests.
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