Taxi Drivers Strike in Nashville
Posted On Tuesday, July 29, 2008 at at 6:55 PM by Dan
Workers with the Nashville Metro Taxi Drivers Alliance (NMTDA) went on strike against Allied Cab, the largest taxi company in Nashville, Tennessee. Allied Cab has somewhere between 130 and 150 drivers, but more than 100 turned in their equipment yesterday to the company. The drivers are claiming unfair labor practices by the company. The NMTDA sent a letter to the company demanding a meeting, but Allied refused. Allied also fired one of the drivers. The drivers main demand is that weekly fees by the company be reduced.
Cab drivers in Nashville pay as much as $175 per week to taxi companies to use their company name. After paying weekly fees, inflated gas prices, airport entrance fees, insurance, and other expenses drivers barely break even. The NMTDA has done more than 300 surveys and determined that after paying expenses, drivers make about $2.07 per hour and often work 15+ hours per day.NMTDA, a member of Mid-Tennessee Jobs with Justice and The Nashville Movement, is a membership-based organization of cab drivers in Nashville. About 350 of the 700 drivers are members of NMTDA, however, it's hard to tell exactly how many total taxi drivers are actually driving every day in the city and not just on the books of the Taxi Licensing Commission.
The NMTDA has said the conditions of drivers are equivalent to indentured servitude. "Drivers are making an average of $2.07 per hour. Can you imagine?” says Abdinasir Ismail, a Board member of the NMTDA. “How can we feed our families on that?"
According to Megan Macaraeg, Director of Mid TN Jobs with Justice, taxi companies make guaranteed super-profits regardless of how much drives struggle. “Cab companies are guaranteed to make a profit of almost $9000 a year from each employee,” says Macaraeg, “Surely this is not what we stand for as Nashvillians who believe everyone should have a fair chance to realize the American Dream."
On Wednesday, July 30 drivers from all cab companies will hold a press conference in front of the mayor's office demanding he hold public hearings investigating the conditions of cab drivers. To punctuate their demand, the NMTDA has called for a general strike of cab drivers for tomorrow.Links to other news stories:
Nashville City Paper
Tennessean
