[news] Squeegee Organizers Jailed

[Gordon Flett]

Note: The squeegee workers are now out of jail, after the shitty lawyer
assigned to them agreed to outrageous bail conditions such as not
associating with their fellow union members (squeegeeing partners),
while they tried to protest. They'll be talking to an I.W.W. lawyer
tomorrow.

                  Squeegee Organizers Jailed 
           INDUSTRIAL WORKERS OF THE WORLD VANCOUVER 
                     SQUEEGEE COUNCIL 
                       October 22nd 

1.IWW Goes to City Hall 
2.Squeegee Council Under Attack 
3.Letter to City Council 

1. IWW GOES TO CITY HALL (3:35PM) Members from the IWW Squeegee Council
and Buskers Union visited City Council (Tues Oct.21) to challenge the
police harassment of street youth. A delegation walked into the Council
Chamber during a Translink presentation. All eyes quickly turned when
two buskers began to play the Wobbly classic ‘Power in a Union’ on the
guitar and banjo. Security tried to intervene somewhat passively as most
Councillors were smiling during the disruptive song.  Distracted by the
musicians security couldn’t stop the delegation from handing out a
letter (attached at bottom of story) while others waved the Wobbly flag
and the black and red Squeegee Council banner.  When the song ended the
delegation left promptly saying “end the war on the poor.” 

In the lobby about two dozen people clapped.  A Wobbly briefly spoke out
that the police were attacking and targeting street youth and it must
stop.  A bystander said ‘I’ll vote for that.”  As the delegation went
down the stairs they passed by several security guards who were late to
get up to the action. 

2. SQUEEGEE COUNCIL UNDER ATTACK (7:45PM) Three IWW squeegee kids ran
into problems at the same liquor store that was confronted last month
for refusing to sell to squeegee kids. Although ‘X’ had paid for her
beer another liquor store employee tried to stop the transaction. 
Having paid already, with receipt in hand, X left the store unwilling to
put up with the discriminatory behavior of an employee who was supposed
to have been reprimanded (said the Store Manager to the Squeegee
Council). 

The VPD arrived in force, confronting them at the Skytrain station that
they went to after the liquor store, then stole X’s beer and squeegee. 
At that point two more Squeegee Council members arrived, ‘Belle’ and
‘Blay’, bringing the total to five. Belle produced a receipt for the
squeegees and their union cards. The IWW paid for squeegees precisely
so the cops would not steal them, this had been previously successful
with the VPD. This time officer 1918 ripped up the receipt and union
card. When Blay tried to take his union membership back he was punched
in the face then put in one of two paddy wagons. 

Officer 2055 threatened to charge Belle with resisting arrest.  Despite
the fact the Belle is pregnant the police were being rough with her
putting her in the other paddy wagon.  Belle returned the favor by
spitting in the undercover’s face.  The VPD drove Belle to the police
station than let her go free uncharged.  They did not let Blay and X go
free, nearly 24 hours later they are still in jail.  The police had been
heard taunting X about belonging to the union. 

During the altercation another squeegee kid pushed a police officer in
self defence, then was immediately jumped on by three more cops throwing
him to the ground.  During that fray the VPD pepper sprayed his dog as
well as someone else’s for daring to growl when their human friend was
being assaulted.  A VPD officer warned that squeegee youth that they
would arrest him whenever they saw him downtown. 

The VPD felt that they needed two paddy wagons, 2 undercover cops, 3
women officers and about 6 male to deal with the problem of squeegee
kids acquiring beer through perfectly legitimate ways.  Currently two
comrades remain in jail, while another was given a ticket for jaywalking
by officer 1918. The VPD instigated this event to further the climate of
fear youth who are organizing are living under. 

The Squeegee Council calls out for allies in the community to support
our struggle.  Add officers 2055, 1918, and 1200 to your list of
dangerous and violent offenders against street youth, along with 1507
‘Anderson’ who heads up the ‘Anti-Squeegee Project’.   Be aware the
paddy wagon 7191 BT has been used to terrorize homeless youth.  Was this
retaliation because the IWW dared to go to City Hall and sing a nice
song for the Mayor? Perhaps next time the Squeegee Council will do more
than sing. 


3. LETTER TO CITY COUNCIL 

OCTOBER 21st 2003 VANCOUVER CITY COUNCIL re: aggressive panhandling
bylaws 

In 1999 the Ontario Provincial Tory government passed the ‘SAFE STREETS
ACT’ which promised to deal with the epidemic of what was called
aggressive panhandling. The 21.6% cut to welfare and other social
program slashes led to an epidemic in poverty.  The media claimed that
the Safe Streets Act would deal only with panhandlers/squeegee workers
who were aggressive, but that was clearly not the case.  The Metro
Toronto Police gave out thousands of Safe Streets Act tickets. Before
any major event the cops would sweep the streets throwing anyone with
unpaid fines in jail.  The Safe Streets Act was a vicious attempt to
drive the poor out of the public eye in Toronto, and had little to do
with ending ‘aggression’. 

The IWW Squeegee Council is very concerned at the striking similarity
between the Ontario situation and what is unfolding in BC.  Ie. Mass
poverty, welfare cuts, institutionalized homelessness.  Like in Toronto
the corporate media claims that a law needs to be made to crackdown on
aggressive panhandlers.  However the Vancouver Police Department needs
no new laws to attack street youth, they are doing this already as
previously mandated by ticketing squeegee kids for jaywalking and
soliciting business on the road etc..  The VPD have not been able to
clearly identify which panhandlers are aggressive and which are not. 
The VPD are already giving all squeegee kids $86 tickets and many of
them have ended up in jail. Squeegee’s are routinely stolen.  Officer
1507 Anderson has a personal crusade that’s called ‘the Anti-Squeegee
Project’ which includes court dates, tickets, brutal release conditions
and driving his motorcycle on the sidewalk to chase kids. The
Anti-Squeegee Project consists of identifying, targeting and arresting
squeegee ‘offenders’.  The VPD have physically beaten an unidentifiable
number of squeegee kids, and now taken to harassing buskers.  A law
regarding aggressive panhandling gives the VPD the choice of determining
who is ‘aggressive’ and who is not based on their own hatred and
bigotry. 

Does the City of Vancouver will to deal with the impending poverty
crisis created at the provincial level by jailing homeless and poor
people?  If people cannot access welfare or housing they will have only
two choices for survival.  They will either make money on the street by
squeegeeing, panhandling, busking, by sex trade and flea marketing, or
their other option is to get into criminal offences which are much more
dangerous. 

WE DEMAND: -That no law be passed against ‘aggressive panhandling’
including panhandlers, buskers, squeegee kids and flea marketers.  We
know that such laws will equally harass polite panhandlers, the
intention of this law is not to target people who are truly aggressive
at all. -That the VPD end the ‘Anti-Squeegee Project’ immediately. 


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