Support the Taxi Workers Alliance Workers Comp Campaign

Come out on March 19th to support taxi drivers and people with disabilities who are working together for their basic rights. Join the Unified Taxi Workers Alliance, and Liberty Resources, for a public hearing in City Hall on House Bill 1914, which would grant workers compensation to taxi drivers and create wheelchair accessible taxis.


Since the late 1970's when taxi drivers were forced into becoming Independent Contractors, they have been working one of the most dangereous jobs while being the least protected.  Most employees take for granted one basic protection-workers compensation, but taxi drivers can't. 
 
Without workers comp, when a taxi driver is injured on the job, mostly in robberies, he or she, or their family, is left with the medical bills and the pain and suffering caused by that injury, while a normal employee would not have to worry about the medical bills even if they do not have health insurance,. In the case of a long-term disability, they would have a chance to be compensated for the lost wages and the pain and suffering caused by that injury.
 
Enter the Taxi Workers Alliance and our partner the Media Mobilizing Project, who are empowering taxi drivers into the labor movement to improve their livelihoods through organizing in a vast array of struggles.  The Workers Comp Campaign is just one of many results of this coalition.
 
You should see the video produced by MMP filmmakers Chris Rogy and Chris Fillipone "Driving the American Dream".  They started working on this film at the same time we were talking about a Workers Comp campaign.  They finished around the same time that Todd Wolfson, also of MMP, got us an audience with Representative Mark Cohen to sponsor HB 1914, a bill that would mandate Workers Comp for taxi drivers paid for by the medallion owners, as well as providing wheelchair accesible taxicab medallions to our disabled passengers. These new medallions would not go to the big fleet owners, but to individual drivers.  We partnered with Liberty Resources to help us lobby for our mutual interests.
 
In the meantime, we have partnered with the Pennsyvania Federation of Injured Workers, Philaposh, labor leaders, and Workers Comp activists/attorneys.
 
The result of all of our efforts won't be known until this bill moves out of the Urban Affairs Committee, into the House for a vote, then to the Senate, and finally to the Govenor for his signature.  Each step requires a lot of time and strategy.  The first step is:
 
PUBLIC HEARING--HOUSE BILL 1914
MARCH 19, 2010
10 AM - 12 PM
PHILADELPHIA CITY HALL
ROOM 400
 

Drivers family seeking help for the death of their loved one posted at 30th street station cab stand