The yellow cab dream had become the nightmare

BY SAHIL NISHA

The City of New York restricted the yellow cab supply through taxi medallions. Today, that system suffocates independent medallion owners, whose livelihoods depend on it.

Driver-owners signed predatory loans to purchase inflated medallions. In an industry maintained by immigrants — and for a small group of less than 13,000 — electoral agency is limited. With average debt of $600,000 and nine suicides since 2018, they took action.

I spoke with Augustine Tang, who inherited his father’s medallion and debt:

“We really tried to make sure that people understood that this is a life and death situation for all of us.”

Organized by the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, driver-owners launched a campaign imploring then-Mayor de Blasio for debt forgiveness. They engaged elected officials, political candidates, and activists to amplify demands. After two years of direct action and no effective response, they staged a hunger strike. Within 15 days, the Mayor’s Office caved:

• Independent medallion debt capped: $170,000/loan;

• Monthly payments capped: $1,122 and;

• Loans backed by the City.

“It's beautiful what organizing can do. I'm just so proud to be a part of this.” — Augustine Tang

They were partially inspired by the 23-day hunger strike that the Fund Excluded Workers Coalition (FEW) directed at the State Legislature for undocumented workers. Success for the Alliance (and the FEW Coalition!) shows that working class immigrants can influence policy without voting—albeit tumultuously.

To learn more about the driver-owners, check out our latest episode of At the Moment below. Thanks for reading! Please visit tinyurl.com/AZItaxi to take a short, anonymous survey about the story.