Taxi workers in New York City have
launched a campaign to win health care benefits, which 52 percent of
drivers lack. The New York Taxi Workers Alliance is proposing a 15
percent fare increase which in addition to covering rising expenses
like the price of gas would include a fund to provide medical care
for workers.
Taxi drivers deal with severe
exploitation, especially since the shift to a leasing system
devastated their union in 1980. Taxi workers in NYC
make on average $8 an hour, have a high rate of workplace injury and
start every day indebted to garage owners or agents. A tax on cab
rides helps support public transportation in the city.
An ever increasing number of
workers find themselves in similar positions as cab drivers. Instead
of having stable, unionized employment, semi-formal and low-wage jobs
are becoming more and more common. The struggle of the New York taxi
drivers is an important example for the entire working class.
