Taxi Rank and File Coalition Oral History Collection 1972 - circa 1980

ArchivalResource

Taxi Rank and File Coalition Oral History Collection, 1972 - circa 1980

Taxi Rank and File Coalition Oral History Collection 1972 - circa 1980

http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/tamwag/oh_013/oh_013.html

The Taxi Driver's Rank and File Coalition was organized on April 15, 1971 to advocate for fairer contracts and more democratic practices within the New York City Taxi Drivers Union, Local 3036. The union, led by Harry Van Arsdale, had a top-down structure, and proved unable to control the daily shape-ups that allowed company dispatchers to extort payoffs from drivers and discriminate against activists. Dissatisfaction with Van Arsdale's leadership style and the contracts that union leadership had negotiated led to electoral challenges from the Rank and File Coalition and wildcat strikes during the 1970s, with varying effectiveness. In July of 1977, the Rank and File Coalition failed to run a slate of candidates in the election and ceased publication of the rank and file paper, . Van Arsdale had removed himself from the union in 1973, and his successor Ben Goldberg presided over the merger of the Taxi Drivers and Allied Workers Union and the SEIU in 1978. The collection consists of thirty-six access compact disks, derived from twenty-three cassettes. Interviewees discuss working conditions, contract issues, racism, and what they perceived were the undemocratic practices of the Harry Van Arsdale leadership. Hot Seat

1.0 linear feet; in 1 compact disk box and 1 card catalog drawer

Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives