Guide to the New York Taxi Workers Alliance Records, 1972-2011

ArchivalResource

Guide to the New York Taxi Workers Alliance Records, 1972-2011

Guide to the New York Taxi Workers Alliance Records, 1972-2011

1972-2011

http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/tamwag/wag_319/wag_319.html

The New York Taxi Workers’ Alliance was founded in 1998 by members of the Lease Drivers Coalition (LDC), an advocacy project of the Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence (CAAAV). The union, led by Executive Director Bhairavi Desai since its inception, fights for structural change in the taxi driving industry, regularly ranked by the Department of Labor as one of the most dangerous job in the country. The NYTWA supports drivers through legal advocacy, health benefits, and numerous campaigns fighting for safety and economic justice for taxi workers. Because taxi drivers are considered independent contractors, they cannot engage in collective bargaining. Despite this impediment, the NYTWA claims it has increased taxi drivers’ incomes by 35%-45%, including implementation of the first-ever Living Wage standard for US taxi drivers in 2004. The records of the New York Taxi Workers’ Alliance document the organization from its growth out of the Lease Driver Coalition (an initiative of the Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence) in 1998 to its 2012 status as a national union and a member of the AFL-CIO in 2010. The records illusrtate the growth of the union in membership, funding, and media coverage, and the specific challenges of 21st century labor organizing in a transient and ethnically diverse population. The collection primarily documents the two major activities of the union: campaigns and legal services.

13.0 linear feet; in 12 record cartons, 1 manuscript box and 1 oversized flat box

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urd, Arab

eng, Latn

Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives