Ottawa Panhandlers Union

The Ottawa Panhandlers Union was formed in early 2003. It is a shop of the Industrial Workers of the World, Ottawa-Outaouis General Members Board. Andrew Nellis is the lead organizer of the union and its current IWW delegate and spokesperson.

The 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 has led to a great deal of ridicule including an attack against the group by the Ottawa Citizen which asked what the panhanders were fighting for -- "wider sidewalks?" The union had a chance to respond to these accusations with their own op-ed piece, Why Panhandlers Need a Union" which appeared in the newspaper on March 20th 2006. The editorial was a collaborative piece written by several members of the IWW. It was credited to panhandler Proshanto Smith.