Windsor street people form their own union

Panhandlers, performers trying to fight negative public perceptions

A group of Windsor panhandlers and street performers have joined a union and identified themselves as Street Labourers Of Windsor — or SLOW — in an effort to gain public respect.

“We are a real union,” organizer Andrew Nellis said. “There is no hierarchy, but we have come together to watch each other’s back on the street. We protect each other. We are members of the public just like anybody else. We don’t want extra rights. We just want the same rights that everybody else has.”

Their main beef is with the Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Association. It paid for iron- spiked railings on cement planters, where many panhandlers sit and ask for change, to prevent anyone from using them as seats.

“The spikes are clearly designed to discriminate against a certain class of people, which is the problem,” said Nellis, a tarot card reader.

“The average person can buy a doughnut or coffee and sit at a table. The person on the street has to sit on a dusty piece of concrete.”

Another union leader — panhandler Richard Dalkeith — said attempts to restrict seating downtown and put time limits on panhandling are unconstitutional and part of the reason he helped get International Workers of the World ( IWW) in place.

The IWW is a radical labour union formed in 1905 that promotes grassroots democracy and does not require members to be employed.

The panhandlers are well aware they are often perceived by the public as drug addicts, drunks or slackers, he said. “Some can’t work with the disabilities they have — whether it’s mental, emotional or physical. There are reasons why people are out there and you should not just pick on them because it’s something you don’t like.”

Nellis said the union is trying to develop a voluntary code of conduct for panhandlers to fight negative public perceptions.

The street people are being asked to sign membership cards with the IWW. Union dues are geared to income, but IWW requires a minimum of $ 5 a month, Nellis said. He would not reveal how many panhandlers, buskers and street vendors have signed up. “We have been in consultation with police. We want our membership to sign agreements to govern their behaviour on the streets,” he said.

Mayor Drew Dilkens said Wednesday he’s glad buskers and vendors who provide a service in exchange for money are part of the group.

“If it helps get them all on the same page where they agree to something reasonable to behave accordingly and make the downtown better, then this could be a positive,” he said.

Larry Horwitz, chairman of the Downtown Windsor BIA, called it “a brilliant concept.”

“In terms of the street performers, we welcome the need to be regulated in some way. They can be a strong addition to the city core with some regulation in place," said Horwitz, who invited the union members to present their concerns about the spiked planter railings to the BIA board.

“We all have to do a better job to take care of them. But we can’t just sit back and hope ( panhandlers) go away, because they won’t. We have to be creative.”