How to Organize a Flying Squad
What is a flying squad? It is a group of people, large or small who will mobilize on short notice to defend those whose health or life is in jeopardy because their rights are being denied from welfare, landlords, immigration officials or bosses.
How to Organize a Flying Squad
What is a flying squad? It is a group of people, large or small who
will mobilize on short notice to defend those whose health or life is
in jeopardy because their rights are being denied from welfare,
landlords, immigration officials or bosses. This kind of advocacy is
called direct action casework.
SWAG has been using this form of action to defend women facing
severe crisis because of being denied benefits from welfare. We have
not done casework in areas other than welfare. We learned the methods
of direct action advocacy by talking with organizers from the
Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) who
have successfully mobilized flying squads for over ten years. This
method of organizing to defending poor people was also used in the
1930s in Vancouver as well as in the 1960s in the US.
Direct action case has been an important way for OCAPto build both
solidarity and their organization. Flying squads made up of
antipoverty activists, student, and union activists have been
successfully used to confront not only welfare, but errant bosses,
immigration and landlords as well.
Anew book called "The Poors" also vividly describes how poor
communities in South Africa band together to defend themselves from
evictions and life-threatening water and electricity disconnections.
CASEWORK METHOD
First develop your Flying Squad list: Get people's numbers and ask
if they would be willing to help people whose lives are in jeopardy
because of injustice. Our list is made up of regular poor folks,
activists, students, union activists, and seniors. We have found
people eager to participate on a flying squad as it puts solidarity
in action wins something immediate and tangible.
1) First explain what direct action casework is and see if this is
the kind of help they want. Also ask them if they are willing to
speak to the media (as the media may show up while you are doing your
action, or the person may want to invite the media there specifically
because they want the public to know what is happening).
Then get the persons story and take point form notes (usually in
chronological order).Try to get the full story and be sure to be
clear on what you can say to welfare and what you can't. (For
example, you don't want to give welfare the impression that the
person's children are not being fed which could lead to social
workers apprending the children.) Also watch out for getting
blindsided if they give welfare more information than they gave you.
People sometimes treat welfare workers like counsellors and tell then
much more information than is necessary. Ask all the questions that
welfare will ask.
2) Research about the relevant welfare legislation that applies to
their situation and then determine if what they want, or what they
have been denied, is something that is within the legislation. It is
important at this point, if talk to or email other advocates to ask
them about legislation if you don't have experience with the issue.
3) Have the person you are helping to sign a release form (see
below) that you can send to welfare. It tells welfare that the person
who you are helping has agreed that you can speak and act on their
behalf and that they allow welfare to release information to you.
4) Write a letter that outlines the case and the relevant
legislation. Emphasize the urgency of the situation and that
"community members" will be alarmed if this situation is not
rectified. While describing the person's situation and how they are
in peril, be careful to not write things that may lead to having the
person's children apprehended.
5) Fax the letter and the release form to their worker. If you
cannot get through to the worker, and the situation is urgent, then
phone and fax the office supervisor, then the regional supervisor,
and so on. Also you may want to fax all the higher levels of welfare
bureaucracy (communications and policy branches) including the
minister. Keep a list of all the welfare bureaucrats phone numbers
and keep them updated. We have successfully resolved most problems at
the level of the office supervisor or the regional office.
6) Whenever you talk to anyone from welfare, make sure you get the
person's name, title and take good notes, and write the time and date
of the call.
7) If you fail to win the issue at this point, then discuss the
next step with the person you are helping and other activists and
come up with a plan of action. This can vary from person to person
depending on the situation and the urgency.
8) Make sure you have all the paper work together, supporting
documents and letters, relevant legislation and case history. Find
out of there are any extra extenuating circumstances - does the
person have any health problems, did they leave an abusive situation
etc.
9) Send another letter to welfare emphasising that their
interpretation of the legislation is incorrect and that their
response to the urgent situation is simply unacceptable. Then give
them a clear deadline. State that if they do not get back to you by a
specific day and time then you will assume they are refusing to
favourably resolve the situation and that you will notify your
community partners and will take appropriate action.
10) Decide where and when the flying squad will take place. It
could be to the local welfare office or to the regional office. OCAP
has also organized Home Visits to particularly vicious welfare
bureaucrats and had sidewalk pickets outside their home.
The person you are helping does not even have to come with you if
they are stressed and worn out. You do not need a lot of people. We
have had squads as small as 6 and as big as 30. With a few days
planning it would be easy to get over 50-100 people. In some cases
you don't tell people where they are going but just the time and
meeting place. In other cases you can organize a spontaneous flying
squad by just gathering together who ever is immediately available
and head down to the welfare or regional office.
11) When your flying squad convenes, introduce them to the person
being helped and both of you can explain the situation, where you are
going, what you want from welfare and what the next step will be if
welfare still refuses.
12) Collect all your paperwork in a file, make sure you have
copies of anything you need to give to welfare. Go into the welfare
office. If possible, it should a surprise so they don't try to lock
you out, so go in unobtrusively. Bring a notepad to take notes of
anything that any welfare worker says to you. Document time, date and
location and get each workers name. Have the main two advocates and
the person being helped (if they are there) state the case and what
you want (strongly and firmly) to a worker. The supervisor will then
most likely come out to speak with you. If they still refuse to
address the situation, then be insistent and state the urgency of the
situation.
It is at this point that we usually win what we are asking for.
The bureaucracy does not like to be disturbed, so it is easier for
them to grant what they legally are able to grant than to have to put
up with a bunch of pissed off poor people in the office. As long as
what you are asking for is in the legislation or there is some kind
of legal loop-hole that allows them to say yes (some of these
loop-holes you may not even be aware of) then they suddenly find that
there was a misunderstanding (they were all the time going to grant
what was requested) or the legal department had erred, or some other
thing.
13) If this does not work, organize a bigger action with more
people. Every time we have organized a flying squad we have won, as
long as there is a legal way for them to give you what you are asking
for, they are only too happy to have you out of their office.
14) After the action is over, ask the person if they could join
the flying squad list and invite them to get involved with your
organization.
After a few flying squads you will find that most welfare crises
can be resolved over the phone by talking to office supervisors.
Sometimes you just need to ask them if they want 100 people in their
office.
CASE WORK EXAMPLES
Case 1) Upon turning 19, a young woman was bumped, with no notice,
off of Child in Home of a Relative (her grandmother received $400 for
her care) and had to do a three week wait before she could get her
own income assistance file. She had some medical problems which were
made worse by a tragic family crisis. We found out there was no
category for her to skip the three week wait even though she was not
'new' to welfare. We decided we would try to get her an emergency
needs assessment. We went down to the welfare office with her and
spoke to the front desk worker. He was a total jerk, barely looked at
her doctor's note, then sneered back at us saying her situation was
not life-threatening. After having a verbal skirmish with him, we
told him we would return and it wouldn't just be two of us.
Back at the office we fired off a 3 page letter describing her
circumstances and the worker's abusive behavior and sent it to the
supervisor and the Regional Office. The letter stated that we needed
to hear back by the next working day or community support would be
called. Welfare called before the deadline and the situation was
favourably resolved. Case
2) Asingle mom was being denied benefits even though she was
eligible. The single mom had fully compiled with the verification
officer but the VO was dragging her feet hoping, no doubt, the woman
would give up and go away. Since the situation was absolutely urgent
and we were getting no where with letters and phone calls, and the
mom could not wait any longer, we did not send welfare a deadline. We
just called people together who were immediately available and headed
down to the office. She had a cheque less than 2 hours later. If this
small group action had not solved the matter, we would have organized
a bigger flying squad for the next day.
CHANGING RULES, CHANGING TACTICS, CHANGING DEMANDS
As the rules change, so must tactics and demands. Obviously we
need an emergency guaranteed livable income to avert disaster in
thousands of peoples lives. Direct action casework is a way to win
things right now for people while we organize for longer term
demands. The case work victories build solidarity and people get the
chance exercise their collective muscle often for the first time. It
gives people opportunity to take direct action for themselves and
others and is a lot more empowering than doing a traditional rally or
march.
However, the sad truth of the matter is that while there are lots
of people who want to go on flying squads, there are few volunteer
advocates who will do the initial casework. Often since the issue
gets resolved with a letter, some activists find it too much
paperwork, too much work to learn the legislation and too much of a
commitment.
There is an urgent need for the 'social justice' community to fund
organizing centres (since there would never be a chance of getting
any 'official' funding) that has a meeting space, a fax, a
photocopier, a phone and the internet. This would be a dynamic way
for people to address immediate needs while also organizing for
systemic change. Unfortunately, those with the will don't have the
money, and those with the money don't have the will and don't seem to
want to make donations so poor people can organize to defend
themselves. Too many people prefer to give to feel-good charities,
but don't want to provide the funds to help people affected by
poverty to organize to defend themselves.
C. L'Hirondelle 2003
Ontatio Coalition Against Poverty
OCAPis a direct-action anti-poverty organization based in Toronto,
Ontario, Canada. We mount campaigns against regressive government
policies as they affect poor and working people. In addition, we
provide directaction advocacy for individuals against eviction,
termination of welfare benefits, and deportation. We believe in the
power of people to organize themselves. We believe in the power of
resistance.
From Firebrand No 3
Firebrand is a newspaper for rank and file workers in Portland.
It's aims are building the power of rank and file workers and
fighting the bureaucrats, bosses, and politicians who are our
enemies.
To view the paper online, go to
www.nafederation.org or
download the PDF version from
http://www.nafederation.org/issuethree.pdf
To submit an article for the next issue of the Firebrand, send an
email to Firebrand@nafederation.org
Firebrand is a publication of the Firebrand Collective, a member
collective of the Northwest Anarchist Federation.