The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-08-25
BY ROBERT KENT

BY ROBERT KENT
Many time you and have jumped
mighty quick to get out of the way
ora. rushing taxi. And what we
murnered under our breath about
taxi drivers was hardly fit for the
ears of a. Daughter of the Revolu-
ton.
Reading the Taxi Worker" makes
one realize that behind the frantic
driving of the "hackie" is the same
speed-up system and exploitation
that victimizss workers in all capt.
tafist industry.
Intensely interesting and fnforma-
tive are the letters from "hackies. ="
They reveal the espionage system
used by" the large feet owners
against the workers. The Terminal
feet, one of the largest, is. a sub
sidiary of General Motors. The let
tiers tell OF working days as long as
10 hours, of drivers getting fired be-
cause the tenders of their taXis get
scratched while the cars were in the
company's garage; OF less than a
living wage desoite the hectic driv-
ing about. town to pick up custom
ers. That these letters increase with
eachs issue, and that the August is
tsue, although only the fourth to be
published, has attained circulation
of 5000, indicate that the Taxi
Worker" is gripping the interest OF
the drivers among whom revolt
against exploitation is running deep.
Demand S18 Minimum Wage
Behind the MIRA Ballyhoo,' in
the August issue, ably strips the
glamor around NRA, and is supple
mented by another article exposing
the effect the NRA will have on taxi
drivers. The unions own Code, pub
lished in this issue. includes "a de-
mand for a minimum wage OF SID
weekly for the drivers. Who said
( The "cabbies" make lot of dough?
An insurance racket which swim
died independent tsxi-owner- drivers
to the tune of si53,000 is the sub
stance of another extremely inter-
1 esting article in the last issue. The
need for white and Negro taxi driv-
ers to unite against the common
/
consistently pressed in practically
/ each. issue.
A salient shortening is that the
I writing is too much in article form,
| making for rather heavy reading.
rNewsy" writing, exemplified by the
story in the-cAugust issue under the
caption, sCuban Taxi Drivers Join
General Strike" will doubtless make
the Taxi Worker" more interesting
-tcr Suggested improvements
There should be more news of taxi
drivers struggles outside of New York
City and of struggles by workers
! in other industries, thereby bringing
forth the unity of interest of all
workers in the common class-strug-
Lyle - 80 .r
"A comic strip showing the life Of
a taxi driver from day to day would
help popularize the Taxi Workers.
Page. some talented brother taxi
driver! And where are you John
Reed Club artists? Give hand
There should be an article on the
taxi drivers in the Soviet Union
This is especially needed. since the
reactionary publication, THE Taxi,
supported by bosses ads, carried an
attack on the Soviet taxi-cab indus
| try,
/ The role of taxi drivers in the
I TRANSFORMATION department of the i'm
perfalist war machine is practically
and wrongly neglected
On the whole, this publication is
an achievement for which the Taxi
Drivers Union should be congratu-
Hated and which all workers should
support. 1t is another weapon in
the hands Of the working class for
emancipation~from the bosses chains