Bloomberg advises cabbies not to strike

(New York- WABC, October 2, 2007) (WABC) -- A cabbies' group said Tuesday that it finds the city's requirement for GPS and credit card technology in taxis insulting - and it has authorized another strike to protest their installation.

Taxi Workers Alliance Executive Director Bhairavi Desai said her group met for two hours early Tuesday and voted to repeat its strike of September. Details on when and where the drivers will strike are to be announced on Wednesday morning, she said.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the city is prepared if there is another taxi strike.

The walkout by the Taxi Workers Alliance in September failed to win concessions from the city.

About 500 drivers from the Alliance met from 1:30 a.m. to 3:30 a.m. Tuesday.

"There was an unanimous decision to go on strike," said Desai. "Details will be announced in the morning."

"We don't have a problem with the credit card in principal," said Desai. "It's the 5 percent surcharge that drivers have to pay on every transaction. There's no economic protection for the drivers if the card is declined or the signal fails."

Drivers object to the global positioning system, she said, because "basically, it is a tool of labor control in our industry. It gives garages an upper hand during negotiations over drivers' income. We find the tracking insulting."

All taxi owners must have global positioning and credit-card processing systems installed in their vehicles by Jan. 31, 2008.

Bloomberg's office says if there is a strike, the contingency plan used during Septembers two-day strike will take affect.

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