|
|
|
Change low graphic options | Change language | Skip content to navigation
Page context: Home > News online
Taxi drivers from the US and Canada take workplace issues to historic conference
29 March 2007
More than 100 taxi drivers and allies from 16 cities in the US and Canada converged in New York, US, for the first ever international conference of taxi workers.
The conference, which ran from 18 to 21 March, was a major step in the growing workers’ movement to demand respect on the job outside traditional forms of organising. Convened by the New York Taxi Workers’ Alliance and the Taxi Workers’ Alliance of Pennsylvania, the conference gave taxi drivers the opportunity to share ideas and compare working conditions.
John Sweeney, President of the AFL-CIO, stated that taxi drivers exemplified the true spirit of unionism. Those in the US had been denied the freedom to form unions under rulings by the US National Labor Relations Board, he explained. “Your organisations in every city have demonstrated that a union is more than a collective bargaining agreement and more than a legal status. You’ve discovered that solidarity transcends the law and power comes from unity,” said Sweeney.
Bhairavi Desai, Executive Director of the New York Taxi Workers’ Alliance, a co-convener of the conference, commented: “The drivers recognise the power in being part of an organisation. This is an amazing moment for our movement. The bosses and regulators have their own international organisations. Of course, the workers need ours. Taxi drivers are exploited in every city. If we can build solidarity from city to city, we can build better strategies and sharpen our skills.”
Back to current news online stories
Section home:
News online
Other pages for News online:
About News Online | What is RSS | ITF Headlines on your Website
RSS feeds
Download our free RSS news feeds:
English |Español |Français |Deutsch |Svenska
What is RSS?
Main Sections:
Home | About us | Solidarity | Flags of Convenience campaign | Seafarers | Dockers | Civil Aviation | Railways | Road Transport | Urban Transport | Fisheries | Tourism | Inland Navigation | Education | Young Workers | Women | ETF Home | Congress 2010
Transport International Magazine
accessibility | site help | site map
ITF House, 49-60 Borough Road, London SE1 1DR | +44 20 7403 2733 | mail@itf.org.uk
