Taxi Driver Strike Planned for Wednesday
There seems to be some healthy skepticism about the planned taxicab driver strike on Wednesday, which is set to commence at 6 a.m. on Halloween morning and last for 24 hours. How many drivers will really strike? Could it actually change Mayor Adrian Fenty's mind about switching to time and distance meters? Is the fact that it's planned for Halloween going to impact the number of drunk drivers out on the road?
If D.C. taxi driver Tesfamariame Adhanom, 38, is right, it'll be bigger than you might think. Adhanom, who plans to participate in the work stoppage on Wednesday, says that he thinks at the very least, all of the city's Ethiopian drivers will observe the strike out of solidarity with each other.
"I have to respect my partners," Adhanom said. "There has been an announcement on the Ethiopian language radio, and there was a pamphlet, and 60 percent of the drivers are Ethiopian and will do it."
The D.C. Taxicab Commission doesn't keep ethnicity figures, but the Washington Post has estimated that anywhere from 20 to 50 percent of the city's cab drivers are in fact Ethiopian. Organizers of the strike are estimating that as many as half of the city's 7,500 drivers will not work on Wednesday.
Photo by p2wy
Adhanom, who lives in Arlington, said he doesn't believe the strike will change Mayor Fenty's mind, and even though he plans to participate in it, he also supports the change to meters.
"Most drivers are working honestly, but a lot of drivers cheat people," he said. "A few cheaters spoil the sentiment of the people."
A 12-hour strike in 2004 against Mayor Anthony Williams' proposal to dissolve the D.C. Taxicab Commission was effective in halting that change.