Taxi!: Cabs and Capitalism in New York City [Paperback]

Biju Mathew (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2008

"Mathew, as a member of the Organizing Committee of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, has a unique perspective on the plight of immigrant taxi drivers. . . . Mathew explores the history of New York's taxicab industry, which has been in a cycle of corruption and reform since the Depression. The book culminates in an essay on globalization, immigration, racism, and the false veneer of multiculturalism in neoliberal society."--Booklist

"Mathews describes the grim economics of driving the ubiquitous yellow cabs-a job where most of the money goes to the cab company owners and where even minor problems, such as a few tickets or a short illness, can spell disaster for drivers."--Financial Times

"Jump aboard this fast-paced ride through the ins and outs of the taxi industry in New York City and sit up front with the 40,000 cabbies who are overworked, underpaid, and routinely harassed, but have come together to improve their lot. . . . Fasten your seatbelt, grip the dashboard, and enjoy the trip."--Morning Star (U.K.)

"Drivers' narratives in Taxi! can be riveting, inspiring, and upsetting all at the same time. . . . Their tales penetrate deep into the exploitive nature of the taxi industry. . . . In describing precisely how a group of seemingly powerless immigrant workers flexed their muscles, Taxi! critiques the labor movement and the broader movement for social justice."--Left Turn

Driving a cab has long attracted recent immigrants and others at the margins of the economy. In recent years, however, the working conditions and the nature of cab ownership have changed. As Biju Mathew reveals in this lively account of the benefits and hardships in the lives of today's taxi drivers, just about everything has changed dramatically except the yellow paint. At once a passionate declaration of worker solidarity and an ethnography of work, Taxi! is a compelling narrative of the lives of immigrant taxi drivers in New York City. This updated edition covers the formation of the International Taxi Workers Alliance, the unusual collaboration with the Central Labor Council, and 2007 taxi strikes protesting New York City's plan requiring taxicabs to install costly global positioning systems and credit-card machines.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Mathew, as a member of the Organizing Committee of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, has a unique perspective on the plight of immigrant taxi drivers. Cab drivers pay a leasing fee of $120 per day to fleet owners, and they make a living only if they can bring in more than that, which is often difficult even in a grueling 12-hour shift. They are thought of as second-class citizens, harassed by police and passengers, and are subject to stiff fines for minor offenses. The system is rigged so that the most vulnerable person, the driver, takes on all of the risk. Yet this diverse workforce that speaks over 80 different languages organized a strike in 1998 in the face of opposition from Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Mathew explores the history of New York's taxicab industry, which has been in a cycle of corruption, reform, and corruption since the Depression. The book culminates in an essay on globalization, immigration, racism, and the false veneer of multiculturalism in neoliberal society. David Siegfried
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From the Back Cover

"A stunning introduction to the lives of New York's taxi drivers. It is destined to become a classic."--Vijay Prashad

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 258 pages
• Publisher: Ilr Pr; Updated edition (May 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801474396
• ISBN-13: 978-0801474392
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 4.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #919,935 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #81 in Books > Professional & Technical > Transportation > Mass Transit

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A cheering story of labor organizing in difficult times, May 15, 2005

By 

J. Mage (Manhattan) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Taxi!: Cabs and Capitalism in New York City (Hardcover)

"Taxi!" tells the story of the organization in the last ten years of a successful labor union - though never recognized officially as such - by NYC cab drivers. There had been an official AFL-CIO union but its leadership had (in the 70s) sold out the drivers coming into the industry in return for pennies for oldtimers, and a dues check-off. The union gave in to the corrupt local Democratic politicians who helped taxi "brokers" legalize a "leasing" system in which drivers make a daily cash "lease" payment before they can start work.

Under the daily "lease" system drivers as they set out each day have to make over $100 before they earn anything for themselves. In bad weather and traffic they can work 12 hour days for nothing. But supposedly they are "independent contractors" and so labor laws don't apply. By the 90s almost all the drivers were working under this kind of peonage. Subject to ever increasing levels of harassment by Giuliani's police, the many drivers with Islamic names were then hit full on with the pogrom atmosphere that followed 9/11.

Biju Mathew tells how the drivers collectively organized strikes (the AFL-CIO taxi union being moribund actually helped - all the drivers had to do was not enter into a "lease" that day!), organized legal services to contest rip-offs from brokers and racist harassment from the Giuliani administration, and organized to get their voices heard in New York City local politics. These immigrant drivers come from Egypt, Haiti, India, and Pakistan, and in the process of struggle overcame the divisions that have been used to set one against another. For anyone sick at heart over the impotence of US labor unions, it's a great, and heartening, read.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Mixed Bag, November 2, 2006

By 

Douglas Aldridge (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Taxi!: Cabs and Capitalism in New York City (Hardcover)

In the end, this book wasn't what I hoped it would be, but was still worth the read. As a cabbie in Boston, I picked this up hoping to get a feel for the cab business in NY. And as a history buff, I was particularly interested in the promise of a good back-story. Unfortunately, there's very little history here. Despite the book's extensive footnotes section, most of the "history" comes from the memories of a few old-time drivers, and is generally concerned with settling grudges and exposing exploitation. In addition, this book reads like a doctoral thesis in hardcover. "White middle class suburbanites" get almost as much page time as the immigrant drivers. And there's barely a word about the interesting job these drivers have, instead the focus is on their place as it relates to globalization, exploitation of Third World labor, and "neoliberal economic practices." Not exactly what I thought I was getting into.

That being said, even though I'm in Boston and not New York, I can safely say that the subjects of Mr. Mathew's book are not exaggerating, and the tale he tells is true at its core - driving a cab is a tough job, and the driver has to dodge the brokers, the cops, the city and the frequently abusive passengers just to make a basic wage. If you're looking for some scholarly views on the function of immigrant labor in cities, strategies for labor organizing in a diverse workforce, or another reason to distrust Giuliani, this is a great read. If you're looking for a good history of cabs in NYC, or just an interesting peek into the lives of the people who risk life and limb to roam the streets, this isn't it. I'm still waiting for that book.

A final nit-pick: as you'd expect from an organizer for the Taxi Workers Alliance, there's not a single word about the possible role of the drivers in the heat brought down on them. In my view, it's simply irresponsible to ignore the significant number of rude, ignorant, criminal and even dangerous people who drive cabs. If I were given the choice between reforming the lease agreement (an odious situation, to be sure) and cleaning the Boston fleets of the worst drivers, I'd probably boot the drivers. There are issues in the industry that go beyond race, class and economics, and even those issues go much deeper than Mr. Mathews takes them.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Hoping for an ethnography, got a labor manifesto, December 13, 2010

By 

T. Godfrey (90027) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Taxi!: Cabs and Capitalism in New York City (Paperback)

Clearly a book that does not withstand the test of time. Full of horribly dated academic anti-globalization blather and not even a particularly good snapshot of the NYC taxi industry at the time.

I highly recommend you skip this one.