The New York City Taxi Rank-and-File Coalition: 1971-1977

Abstract

ABSTRACT The New York City Taxi Rank and File Coalition was a movement active in the New York City taxi industry from 1971 through 1977. While the group had varying numbers of active members in its six-year history, primarily young white drivers in their twenties and thirties, it also included a number of middle-aged drivers who had previous union experience. Its many accomplishments included a monthly newspaper called The Hot Seat, weekly meetings in lower Manhattan, a statement of purpose called 10 Taxi at the Crossroads, and a vote tally of more than a third of the rank and file in the AFL-CIO Local 3036 union elections of 1971 and at least 20 percent in 1974. This study examines the question of what impact the rank and file coalition had on the overall evolution of the fleet driving industry in New York City as it developed from a commission-based system, in which drivers shared a percentage of their meter bookings with the fleet owners, to a leasing-based system by the early 1980s.