Disclaimer - The opinions of the author do not necessarily match those of the IWW.  The image pictured to the right did not appear in the original article, we have added it here to provide a visual perspective. This article is reposted in accordance to Fair Use guidelines.

By Dave - originally posted to anarkismo.net, January 27, 2008

(Dave interviewed Ottawa anarchist Andrew Nellis for Linchpin. Andrew is an organizer with the Ottawa Panhandlers Union.)

Q. What is the Ottawa Panhandlers Union and how was it started?

A. The Ottawa Panhandlers Union is a shop of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). It's a real union. What we do is run by the panhandlers themselves. The IWW has one paid member for the entire union. It's entirely member run. The idea is to empower people on the street to fight for themselves.

Ideally despite coming in as an outside organizer I'll be able to step out of the picture once the organization is up and running and there's a structure in place to ensure that the organization continues. I was on the street myself. I'm not on the street now. So I do know something about the milieu in which I'm working.