Monday, September 16, 2013

About the New York taxi drivers' union: media reports notwithstanding there is none.

This guy Fernando Mateo gets on television sometimes talking  silly shit. If he has 20000 members I am the Sultan of Oman.

The New York Taxi Workers Alliance once organized a one day strike that did not shut down the taxi business. It is a service organization headed by a young lady who never drove a taxi. It tries to meld the disparate and often antagonistic interests of taxi drivers some of whom are wealthy medallion owners who exploit other taxi drivers all the way down to casual part time fleet drivers. The NYTWA is affiliated with the AFL CIO. The only actual taxi union in NYC was local 3036 which is defunct. It as never a powerhouse  and was plagued with violent factionalism and allegations of corruption.

The NYTWA recently sold out to support Mayor Bloomberg"s industry destruction program probably in hopes of getting to administer a long promised and still not existing benefit fund to be financed by taking six cents per trip away from the drivers.

I had brought to the attention of NYTWA what appears to be exposed asbestos in the mens' lavatory at the JFK airport taxi hold lot. They sent iut a tweet and nothing changed.