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Bhairavi Desai, founder of NEW YORK TAXI WORKERS' ALLIANCE

 

UPDATED 2 DAYS strike in New York

New York, Sep. 06, 2007
Anoop Singh

 

NRI Desai, organizer of 7,000 taxi drivers called 48-hour strike in New York

New York, Sep. 06, 2007
Anoop Singh

NRI (non-resident Indians) Bhairavi Desai, organizer for the Taxi Workers Alliance in New York, represent 7,000 taxi drivers (city's 13,000 cab drivers) called for a 48-hour strike starting at 5 a.m. Wednesday morning, dated Sep. 05.

Yesterday at a 10:15 a.m. news conference, she said that 80 percent of cabdrivers had stayed away from work.

The executive director of the New York City Central Labor Council, an A.F.L.-C.I.O. umbrella group for the city’s unions, Mr. Ed Ott,j oined her at a news conference and said the strike was effective.

Reasons for Strike:

  • The main issue and debate is driver's privacy- the TLC uses satellite GPS technology to track everywhere a taxi cab goes and keeps a log of that information. The dispute is over how that information will be used and just who will have access to it. The driver's location will be tracked no matter where he or she goes.
  • The taxi drivers opposed to plans to install credit card and video devices in cabs across the city’s fleet and staged a two-day stoppage. The hi-tech video screens, which the city authorities want to have installed in every yellow cab, will allow passengers to watch TV, make payments with credit cards and watch the progress of their cab journey via a global satellite link.
  • The GPS fears have nothing to do with privacy and everything to do with money. Many drivers fear the IRS will use the data to audit drivers and alert the INS about illegal immigrants driving cabs.
  • Mateo says it's understandable that the taxis are fitted with the technology and adds it's even advantageous to each driver. "It indicates where you're located, you can see where you're going

Michael R. Bloomberg, the Mayor of New York, at a 2 p.m. news conference said:

  • Counts taken by the city showed the vast majority of cabdrivers continued to work despite the strike.
  • Over all I think it is fair to say today’s strike is having a limited impact
  • Because small companies or individual owners operate many of the city’s cabs, an exact count of taxis on the street is difficult.
  • Large fleet owners, which represent 30 to 40 percent of the taxis, reported that 75 percent of their cars were on the street today, compared with 93 percent last Wednesday.
  • The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates Kennedy International Airport, reported that the number of taxis was 14 percent below normal at Kennedy
  • The city has not come to a stop and people are getting where they need to go
  • The city’s contingency plan for the strike has been working well. It include:
    • a zone-based fare structure, with four zones for Manhattan and one for each of the other four boroughs.
    • Drivers, who are allowed to pick up multiple passengers, will be allowed to charge each passenger $10 for a trip in a single zone and $5 more for each zone they travel through.
    • The fare between Kennedy Airport and Manhattan would be $30 per person and the same trip from La Guardia Airport would be $20 per person.

La Guardia Airport: At noon on Wednesday passengers reported waiting about 25- 30 minutes for a cab there were fewer cabs operating, although there seemed to be no major disruptions.

Kennedy Airport: The passengers outside Terminal, they might wait as long as a30-45 minutes for a cab.

Bhairavi Desai said:

  • The Taxi & Limousine Commission wants to spy on drivers and they want drivers to pay for it.
  • There is a different motive for the TLC to install the satellite and they will use this information to decide on drivers' incomes.
  • The action was a “resounding success,” adding that a vast majority of drivers stayed away from work.

In May 1998, Desai, labor activist went head-to-head with the city's combative mayor, organizing one of the biggest 24-hour taxi strikes in New York history to protest city policing of the industry. For one day, 40,000 drivers parked their taxis and refused to work in New York City.

"I wanted to organize around issues of labor and class," says Desai. "I wanted to organize the immigrants, and it was important for me to go beyond what the AFL-CIO was doing. It was important to focus on life issues and not just the labor."


 

 


In May 1998, Desai, labor activist went head-to-head with the city's combative mayor, organizing one of the biggest 24-hour taxi strikes in New York history to protest city policing of the industry. For one day, 40,000 drivers parked their taxis and refused to work in New York City.