Taxi!: Cabs and Capitalism in New York City | 
 enlarge | Author: Biju Mathew
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Category: Book
List Price: $18.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 674167
Media: Paperback
Edition: Updated
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 258
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 4.9 x 0.7
ISBN: 0801474396
Dewey Decimal Number: 388.413214097471
EAN: 9780801474392
ASIN: 0801474396
Publication Date: May 2008
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Book Description
"Mathew, as a member of the Organizing Committee of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, has a unique perspective on the plight of immigrant taxi drivers. . . . Mathew explores the history of New York's taxicab industry, which has been in a cycle of corruption and reform since the Depression. The book culminates in an essay on globalization, immigration, racism, and the false veneer of multiculturalism in neoliberal society."--Booklist "Mathews describes the grim economics of driving the ubiquitous yellow cabs-a job where most of the money goes to the cab company owners and where even minor problems, such as a few tickets or a short illness, can spell disaster for drivers."--Financial Times "Jump aboard this fast-paced ride through the ins and outs of the taxi industry in New York City and sit up front with the 40,000 cabbies who are overworked, underpaid, and routinely harassed, but have come together to improve their lot. . . . Fasten your seatbelt, grip the dashboard, and enjoy the trip."--Morning Star (U.K.) "Drivers' narratives in Taxi! can be riveting, inspiring, and upsetting all at the same time. . . . Their tales penetrate deep into the exploitive nature of the taxi industry. . . . In describing precisely how a group of seemingly powerless immigrant workers flexed their muscles, Taxi! critiques the labor movement and the broader movement for social justice."--Left Turn Driving a cab has long attracted recent immigrants and others at the margins of the economy. In recent years, however, the working conditions and the nature of cab ownership have changed. As Biju Mathew reveals in this lively account of the benefits and hardships in the lives of today's taxi drivers, just about everything has changed dramatically except the yellow paint. At once a passionate declaration of worker solidarity and an ethnography of work, Taxi! is a compelling narrative of the lives of immigrant taxi drivers in New York City. This updated edition covers the formation of the International Taxi Workers Alliance, the unusual collaboration with the Central Labor Council, and 2007 taxi strikes protesting New York City's plan requiring taxicabs to install costly global positioning systems and credit-card machines.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 A Mixed Bag November 3, 2006
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
In the end, this book wasn't what I hoped it would be, but was still worth the read. As a cabbie in Boston, I picked this up hoping to get a feel for the cab business in NY. And as a history buff, I was particularly interested in the promise of a good back-story. Unfortunately, there's very little history here. Despite the book's extensive footnotes section, most of the "history" comes from the memories of a few old-time drivers, and is generally concerned with settling grudges and exposing exploitation. In addition, this book reads like a doctoral thesis in hardcover. "White middle class suburbanites" get almost as much page time as the immigrant drivers. And there's barely a word about the interesting job these drivers have, instead the focus is on their place as it relates to globalization, exploitation of Third World labor, and "neoliberal economic practices." Not exactly what I thought I was getting into.
That being said, even though I'm in Boston and not New York, I can safely say that the subjects of Mr. Mathew's book are not exaggerating, and the tale he tells is true at its core - driving a cab is a tough job, and the driver has to dodge the brokers, the cops, the city and the frequently abusive passengers just to make a basic wage. If you're looking for some scholarly views on the function of immigrant labor in cities, strategies for labor organizing in a diverse workforce, or another reason to distrust Giuliani, this is a great read. If you're looking for a good history of cabs in NYC, or just an interesting peek into the lives of the people who risk life and limb to roam the streets, this isn't it. I'm still waiting for that book.
A final nit-pick: as you'd expect from an organizer for the Taxi Workers Alliance, there's not a single word about the possible role of the drivers in the heat brought down on them. In my view, it's simply irresponsible to ignore the significant number of rude, ignorant, criminal and even dangerous people who drive cabs. If I were given the choice between reforming the lease agreement (an odious situation, to be sure) and cleaning the Boston fleets of the worst drivers, I'd probably boot the drivers. There are issues in the industry that go beyond race, class and economics, and even those issues go much deeper than Mr. Mathews takes them.
 Uses interactions from the drivers themselves to reveal the history of the taxi business December 3, 2005
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
New York City taxi drivers work long shifts, seven days a week: most are lease drivers on a daily or weekly contract and until the relatively recent Taxi Workers Alliance was formed, most bore the brunt of bad business. Taxi! comes from Biju Mathew, a long-time organizer of the Alliance, and uses interactions from the drivers themselves to reveal the history of the taxi business. Chapters focus on labor struggles and urban politics in New York as much as on immigrant history and influences on the taxi industry as a whole.
Uses interactions from the drivers themselves to reveal the history of the taxi business December 3, 2005
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
New York City taxi drivers work long shifts, seven days a week: most are lease drivers on a daily or weekly contract and until the relatively recent Taxi Workers Alliance was formed, most bore the brunt of bad business. Taxi! comes from Biju Mathew, a long-time organizer of the Alliance, and uses interactions from the drivers themselves to reveal the history of the taxi business. Chapters focus on labor struggles and urban politics in New York as much as on immigrant history and influences on the taxi industry as a whole.
Uses interactions from the drivers themselves to reveal the history of the taxi business December 3, 2005
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
New York City taxi drivers work long shifts, seven days a week: most are lease drivers on a daily or weekly contract and until the relatively recent Taxi Workers Alliance was formed, most bore the brunt of bad business. Taxi! comes from Biju Mathew, a long-time organizer of the Alliance, and uses interactions from the drivers themselves to reveal the history of the taxi business. Chapters focus on labor struggles and urban politics in New York as much as on immigrant history and influences on the taxi industry as a whole.
Uses interactions from the drivers themselves to reveal the history of the taxi business December 3, 2005
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
New York City taxi drivers work long shifts, seven days a week: most are lease drivers on a daily or weekly contract and until the relatively recent Taxi Workers Alliance was formed, most bore the brunt of bad business. Taxi! comes from Biju Mathew, a long-time organizer of the Alliance, and uses interactions from the drivers themselves to reveal the history of the taxi business. Chapters focus on labor struggles and urban politics in New York as much as on immigrant history and influences on the taxi industry as a whole.
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