taxi drivers

The Unifed Taxi Workers Alliance invites you to stand with drivers to demand that the PPA stop criminalizing workers. Stand up for work with dignity. Come to a prayer vigil for the families who have been targeted and whose rights have been violated in the recent raids on Philadelphia Taxi Drivers. An attack against one of us is an attack against all people struggling to survive in this city.

Prayer Vigil

For Our Brothers & Sisters Victimized in PPA Immigration Raids

Wednesday, July 7th

12-2pm

PPA Headquarters, 3101 Market St.

Two weeks ago Philadelphia Parking Authority sent notices to approximately 100 taxi drivers, claiming that the drivers were owed money from past credit card transactions and should report to the PPA office on Wednesday, June 30th to receive their unclaimed check. As the drivers arrived at the Parking Authority, they were hand cuffed and arrested. In total, 27 drivers were arrested, 22 drivers were ultimately released and the whereabouts and identities of the other drivers is not known.

DAN GERINGER's article in today's Daily News is a case of bad journalism. Geringer doesn't explain the merits of HB 1914 and how in its entirety, the bill is connected and allied with a cause greater than one alone, that both communities (people with disabilities and taxi drivers) suffer because the few are making big bucks by exploiting the many.

Thanks to everyone who came out to the public hearing last Friday March 19th at City Hall.  MMP was there along with representation from every group in MMP.

On this show:

+Interviews with leaders of the Save the Libraries Coalition  

+A cab driver speaks about how the Philadelphia Parking Authority is mismanaging the taxi industry

+The Coalition of Immokolee Workers comes to Philadelphia to take on Aramark

+Immigrant worker's face the loss of driver licenses

+Music and other news

Terrence, a member of Unified Taxi Workers Alliance, has 25 years of experience driving a cab in Philadelphia. In this interview, he exposes some of the flaws in way that the Philadelphia Parking Authority is running the taxi system; from training to dispatching to managing. Terrence also exposes what some might call 'extortion under color of authority.'

This story was produced by Charles Clarke for Labor Justice Radio.

Driving the American Dream is an exploration into the role and effect lawmakers and state regulators play in the lives of Philadelphia’s taxi drivers. This short film reveals the very real and lived experiences of poor and working drivers that struggle each day to provide for their families. In the face of health risks without disability insurance, drivers are economically forced to work even when sick, preventing service  the riding public deserves.

Taxi drivers in Philadelphia do not have any workers' compensation benefits, despite the fact that they face dangerous working conditions and many suffer from job-related health problems. Maggie Von Vogt interviews members of the Unified Taxi Workers Alliance who have been driving cabs and organizing for many years, to learn more about the issue of workers' compensation for Philly cab divers.

Photos by Kathleen Foley. Video by Tim Moyer.

On Wednesday July 22, over 300 taxi drivers, along with allies from Media Mobilizing Project, Workers United, Philadelphia Student Union, Casino Free Philadelphia, Jobs with Justice and IWW rallied at 3101 Market Street outside the headquarters of the Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA).  The rally was focused on a list of demands taxi drivers have for the PPA:

• Fair parking ticket practices and an end to drive-by ticketing practices,
• A lowering of new PPA fees where, for instance, it now costs drivers $200 to put a new taxi on the road, and
• A return of all credit card money that has been misplaced from drivers' accounts through the PPA run credit card system.