On Wednesday, Oct. 20, a group of taxi drivers in New York City with the New York Taxi Workers’ Alliance began a hunger strike to demand that the city enact life-saving debt relief to workers who have been taken advantage of and squeezed to the breaking point. The infiltration of app-based rideshare services like Uber and Lyft has been disastrous for taxi workers and their industry, undercutting rates and creating a perpetual race to the bottom for everyone. On top of that, taxi drivers in New York City, many of whom are immigrants and people of color, have found themselves crushed under the weight of massive debt and are facing financial ruin. This debt stems from the artificially inflated cost of taxi medallions, the city-issued permits drivers are required to have to own a cab and pick up street hails in the city.
In this urgent interview, TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez speaks with Mouhamadou Aliyu and Bhairavi Desai about the dire situation taxi drivers are facing and their life-or-death struggle to get City Hall to take action. Mouhamadou Aliyu is a longtime taxi owner-driver in New York City and a member of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance; Bhairavi Desai is the executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance.
Read the transcript of this interview: https://therealnews.com/cheated-desperate-financially-ruined-nyc-taxi-drivers-go-on-hunger-strike
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This is a government created problem. NYC made a choice to inflate this cost of a medallion to $1,000,000 and limit the number taxis. The taxi industry was also highly regulated which means additional costs on top of the medallions. It is estimated the city collected $855,000,000 from taxi medallion purchasers.
When Uber and Lyft came to town they were free of the need to have a medallion and could charge less because they didn't have to pay that $1,000,000 fee.
No Sympathy … a medallion is a business investment, which like any carries high risk. He gambled, and is losing. Consider those how had Travel Agencies and went bankrupt when that business went online .. shit changes, a person in business needs to roll with the changes. I am sure the dudes who sold their 30 yr old Medallions for over a $500,000 profit aren't crying.
These comments are truly baffling. I guess I wrongly assumed those who watch The Real News cared about workers. This man said he thinks about suicide daily and folks are mad that a taxi driver didn’t pick them up once? So fuck all of them?? Yikes.
It's the cab driver's fault for allowing the evil powers that shouldn't be of New York City (government) to own and control them…. When people start standing up and saying no more and stop complying this nonsense will end …
The cab drivers could do a lot of things they could build their own Rideshare app they could do all sorts of things
Cab drivers do not have a right to have a monopoly on the taxi business neither does New York City have the right to have a monopoly on who gets a fancy little Medallion and has the right to drive people around we live in a constitutional republic it's time people start living that way….. we shouldn't have to continue to bail people out every time something fails because a bunch of Rich Elites found a way to sucker people into working the industry should just fail and be done the people's fault for allowing themselves to buy a million-dollar medallion what kind of moron does that you got to be stupid to think you're going to make money that way….
That's what the people get four depending on government to take care of their every problem the government messes things up they don't fix it and they don't care about people …We don't need communism either the taxi Medallion scam should just go bankrupt if it can't sustain itself either that or the cabdrivers stand up and say enough is enough throw their Medallion away and go to work no permits no fees no nothing and stand together and not allow each other to be arrested or anything of the sort by public officials…..
This is what you get when you ask for big government and tons of Regulation people are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves
Siding with dems and progressives can only mean lonely times ahead.
Virginia has it figured out (knocking the left out of power) nov. 2..with more states to follow.
Uber and Lyft prices are now as much as taxis used to charge and their employees make less money.
Maybe one day the US Citizens will have the same rights as Illegal Aliens!
We want to be in a Special Class too! Permits & Taxes are Government THEFT!
God bless you cab drivers
Dirty f**** politicians
Ultimately…
I believe this is pointless.
Especially as self driving vehicles are on the horizon. Taxi drivers are the new factory workers. Especially as their jobs will be phased out completely as technology takes over.
It's Unlawful for any state to issue a license and charge a fee converting a right into a privilege
This report is accurate it's a dog eat dog industry . Welcome to government regulation and medallions. Taxi drivers perform a public service. theyre out there at all hours trying to squeeze out a living.
No one is forcing these taxi drivers to stay. Do something else!
Going on a hunger strike won't do anything when the people in charge literally don't care if you live or die.
The strike needs to get a lot bigger. #generalstrike
Too darn bad…no sympathy from us'um black folks!!!!!!..really.. hold your own nuts!! NOT AN ALLY TO BLACK FOLKS!!
That's one way to save money ðŸ¤
Uber has never made a profit it called disrupter for nothing but what's Google end game . I'd this part of the plot?
CONSIDER this : Cerebral Flatulent Idea ??? ( a.k.a. Brain. Fart ! ) __. WHY. Doesn't he begin a GROUP of NYC / Cab – VICTIMZ – 2021 CLASS – ACTION SUIT . __ with lots of PUBLIC and , lots of DAILY BRIEFINGS too ! __ UNTIL RESOLVED ! . __ ( Lawyers cost , PROBONO Eh ! ) +. LOT$$$ and lots OF FREE ADVERTING for those FIRMS that are involved and do a CLASS ACTION against. ___. CITY & STATE BIMBOS neck deep In this CASH -COW IN NEED OF "CHIPPING ". ___ CHIPPING just for posterity , maybe SOME HONESTY too ! ( a TWO – FER ! ) _____ SAYYYYY in the $ BILLION $ / GOLD BULLION ONLY range / PLUS FEES / NOT in FIAT U.S. Dollars. ( PUBLICLY STATED PROBONO AGREEMENT. FOR BOTH PARTIES , CLIENT & COUNCIL ) they're JUST deep state PRINTED MONOPOLY PAPERS Eh ! ( That's where , SOME of THE " FREE ADVERTISING "COMES IN again Eh ! ) ___ ABOUT . Uber &. Syft. ___. those SWEETIE$ ____ ADD THEM as 2 external RECIPIENT$ OF $PECIAL FAVOR$ in this "Kabuki Theatre" NYC Style MOMENT too , THOSE other ,…also GUILTY. PARTIES involved HERE . ……… in " The C/V " Lawsuit of ……… INTENDED DECEIT via PONZI – STYLE – SCAM with the SO CALLED …. LOTTERY WINNING DRIVERS ___ and their CAR METALS ….. included MANIPULATION OF. Public MONETARY VALUE …. CRIMINAL MIS-REPRESENTATION as a SAFE INVESTMENT __ while they were MANIPULATING IT'$ PUBLIC. VALUE ….. BLATANT OMISSION OF SIGNED legally binding AGREEMENTS …. Those NIBBLET$ …..MIGHT WORK AS A STARTING POINT to AWAKENED. ONES _ yeah a fresh NEEDED breath & moment in THEIR now CREATED act of SELF – EMPOWERMENT in ACTION ___ and AS some have been heard to SPEAK , __ IT FEELS Soooooo GOOD TOO , NICE for a change ! _ YUP ! for all those SEEKING JUSTICE & SOME self EMPOWERED moments …. Yeah! …. that THINGY too ! ____ from. Canada. J.
p.s. ". KAPLAH. ! "
headline should reed LAZY LIBERALS WHINE & CRY
I'm pretty sure these were the same people who were saying as they saw others struggling to survive "pull yourself up by your own bootstraps" and "you're just lazy" now you're struggling and everyone supposed to be empathetic……. and I'm not wishing any ill-will on these people but hopefully the takeaway from this is anybody can end up in poverty and a desire to work does not guarantee you a job at least one that will cover your financial needs, don't wait till you're the one in need to recognize that