Threat of Cabbie Strike Grows

Didn't the cabbies agree to this surcharge knoing very well that it was tied directly to the cost of gasonline, and it had the possibility of going away?

For God's sake cab drivers. You drive like an A-hole around the city all day almost killing people and you think you deserve the same amount of money even though the gas prices have fallen? Isn't that what a 'Fuel Surcharge' is?

This is how I see it: I used to do what you do everyday when I was age 16-25 (Okay you go me - I still drive like an A-hole). Anyways, basically picking up my idiot friends and driving them around aimlessly for hours each day/night in my beat up Chevy Celebrity. Meanwhile this is your job and you get paid to do it. Be happy you get paid anything at all! I am still waiting for gas money from all the ingrates that I used to cart around this planet.

Look, I am sorry life dealt you a bad hand and you can't afford to open your own 7-11, but don't take it out on the rest of us. Instead trying working hard everyday and kissing your boss's ass(the person in the back of your cab)and maybe they will give you a raise or promotion at the end or beginning of the year (a.k.a. a bigger tip because you were a safe and courteous driver!).

I do love when people who sit at computer screens all day are so vociferous in decrying the green of men and women who pull 12 hours shifts, hand over most of their earnings and are quite often stiffed, fined and forced to bear the costs of doing business while their office-bound supervisors reap the profits.

Any of you ever pull duty as a cabbie? Course not, cause then you might think before you complain about someone demanding a decent wage for their labor.

Fucking keyboard courage.

Fucking Keyboard Courage

Callin bullshit on that post too Albany. Nobody forced them to be cabbies. I haven't gotten a raise in 2 yrs but am happy to still have a job. I don't threaten to go on strike over it. Don't give me that shit about walking, or driving, as the case may be, in ones shoes. That is a weak argument.

Callin bullshit on that post too Albany. Nobody forced them to be cabbies. I haven't gotten a raise in 2 yrs but am happy to still have a job.

Say at your job you were hired on to required you to pay for your office supplies. You accept it as part of the job. Then paper doubles in price. Your boss gives you a small reimbursement, it's not enough to cover your costs, but it helps. Meanwhile your salary remains the same. After a few months paper is cheaper, but not as cheap as before. They take away your reimbursement. Your customers at this job are often drunk, rude and obnoxious. You're regularly insulted, your ethnic background mocked and quite often they simply neglect to pay you at all. If you try to complain you are reminded how replaceable you are at any time. The customer is always right, even when he's treating you like garbage.

Of course, you'd quit right? Because no one forced you to take this weirdo job right? And why can't you smile more and be nicer? Why can't you be grateful for the shitty hand you've been dealt and glad it's not worse?

Photoshop and Jimbo don't work in jobs without options. You two come from just enough privilage to assume everyone has had your chances and shared in your opportunities. You're wrong, ignorant and brave only when facing a screen. Go tell a cab driver his 12-16 hour shift isn't worth one dollar more a ride. Or that it's "too bad he's not working in a 7-11".

No, you'll just hide in your cubicle. At your keyboard. Where it's safe.

Now we're up to a 12-16 hour shift from just a 12 hour shift?

Your sob story/rant is good, it really is, but it's not near being relevant to the conversation. We're talking about a gas surcharge that was added when gas went up with the understanding that it would be subtracted once gas goes down below a certain price. It's pretty clear that since they seem to not be able to live without it, the gas surcharge was more than it needed to be in the first place. We're not discussing race, how many hours they work, etc. Try to stay on topic for once.

Maybe if you and a few others on here ask Marcus politely, he'll just open a thread for you to rant and rave based on race, sex, socioeconomic status, etc.

Couple of white guys whining about how much money those darn foreigners are taking from you. Well hypothetically you, because you're a couple of blue-collar guys who don't take cabs. You walk to work, uphill, both ways, in the sleet, and dark, on crutches, over glass. You're just a couple of joe six packs tired of being screwed over by some immigrants who want to make a decent wage. I completely understand.

Gingrich/Palin in 2012 boys.

I guess we found out what Albany does for a living.

It blows my mind that somebody, even in jest, could make an argument as poorly as Albany has tonight.

nothing is seldom ever "take it or leave it". including this case. Jobs are not plentiful and many of those drivers are trying to do other things. Many of them are higher educated than most on Chicagoist. And most have come to this country legally, which means they should be treated like Americans. Now with that said, I don't know what their wages are, but I know this, because they are considered by most as members of a lessor caste doesn't mean they are. So if they are not making a decent wage for the position, then they should get a raise. If you don't like it, then don't take a cab

I work in transportation and fuel surcharges are standard and change week by week. Problems occur after drivers that are used to getting a certain amount of surcharge added to the cost have that surcharge reduced. The drivers expect the surcharge to remain high although the cost of fuel has dropped. I have to explain to them “Sorry, but because fuel was once pricy but it is not as pricey does not allow me to pay you what you were getting before.”
This threat of a strike that will “paralyze the city” is laughable. 1) perhaps SOME drivers will strike but I’m willing to bet my house that the majority will still drive. They need the money. It’s that simple. 2) It’ll hurt some people but it’ll hardly paralyze. There are many other ways to get around.

Interesting that the great minds on here latch on to my off the cuff remark about keyboard courage and completely ignore the actual argument. Like John McCain and his hurt feelings over being called mean names, it's laughable. Aw, did someone take a shot at your rep? Please.

Believe me, I'm as irascible and strident in person. Obnoxious even.

What's running beneath these comments is an underlying dislike of cab drivers. People like telling "crazy cabbie" stories, they're a staple. And people in any service industry asking for more money to provide that service always rankles the more imperious among us, those who think that people should be grateful for whatever we give them.

Cab fares are regulated by the city. Cab drivers can't seek relief in the free market so they have to beg for these increases and surcharges. If you're so outraged by the concept, walk/bus/drive. It seems there is less sympathy for consumers, whose options are wide and varied, than for cab drivers, whose options are not.

You can complain about a bad cab ride with the city and the company. They do take them very seriously and will pull medallions or time-shares on medallions right quick. Of course if your complaint is "Driver did not bow in my presence" or "Driver did not hold me like mother did" you're better off sticking to whining on...um...hm...a website.

By the way, Jimbo, you might look down at working as a cab driver, but two of my uncles bought homes pulling long shifts back in the 70's and 80's. Of course that was before the city decided to regulate the hell out of cabs and drive many companies out of business.

Where have I looked down on cab drivers?

This is a discussion about a fuel surcharge that was agreed to and tied to the price of gasoline, and a strike that's looming due to the fuel surcharge being dropped.

You're debating with yourself, Albany. Nobody has taken up any of the points that you have, yet you keep furthering your hypothetical argument. This is poor form, even for you.

lol, do I need to go through this thread alone and point out the absurd generalizations that you've made that aren't rationally grounded?

Nobody with a shred of intelligence throws out a "white guys" comment btw

Meh...I thought Albany was just trolling the last time I read this thread but obviously there is more to it than meets the eye.

the privileged position your posts speak from.

wtf is that all about?

The cabbies are getting a fare increase already, in 2009.