[ad_1]
New York City, U.S.—— When Richard and Kenny Chow moved with their family from Taiwan to the United States in 1987, the iconic yellow taxi transported New Yorkers from one place to another. It was a symbol of the city and a better life in their new home. Symbol of life’s opportunity.
City officials also continued this commitment. They promote the medal—the certification necessary to drive a yellow taxi—as a reliable investment that, combined with hard work, can open the door to prosperity. This is a propaganda that resonates with many immigrant workers.
According to New York City data, 40% of medal holders are from South Asia.
Over the years, drivers have said that the deal has been valid. After buying a medal for $410,000 in 2006, Richard said he was “realizing the American dream, making money for my family, and supporting the family”, including two children at the time.
He said his brother Kenny was so encouraged by this success that he saved enough money to buy a medal, which he paid more than $700,000 in 2009.
“He thinks this is a very safe investment,” Richard told Al Jazeera. “He trusts this city.”
But this trust was shattered with the advent of app-based carpooling.
With the rise of Uber, Lyft, and other ride-hailing services among consumers, jobs for taxi drivers in New York City have become increasingly scarce.
Like other medal holders, Kenny and Richard are burdened with debts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars due to certifications that have plummeted in value-and are engaged in a job where the driver told Al Jazeera that the current salary is only slightly higher than the minimum wage .
Hunger forward Richard Chow said that he bought his medal for $410,000 in 2006 and currently pays $2,766 in outstanding monthly debts. [Courtesy of Brian Osgood]According to data from the New York Taxi Workers’ Union (NYTWA), medal owners and drivers owe an average of $550,000 in medals, each worth slightly more than $100,000.
Richard said he bought his medal in 2006 for $410,000. His monthly outstanding debt of approximately US$400,000 is US$2,766.
This is why Richard and other taxi drivers gathered outside New York City Hall for more than a month, calling for debt relief, which they said was vital to their survival.
Their core appeal is a proposal from NYTWA. The union has 21,000 members and sets an outstanding medal loan debt ceiling of US$145,000 and a monthly repayment ceiling of US$800.
The city does have a $65 million debt relief plan for medal owners. But NYTWA criticized the plan as “just a bailout for bankers” and “will provide $65 million directly to banks and hedge funds that own medal bonds in exchange for a negligible reduction in the principal they owe.”
City officials did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.
Forced to commit suicide
The plight of debt-laden drivers has attracted the attention of politicians such as Congresswoman Alexander Ocasio-Cortez, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and New York City Auditor Scott Stringer. They called on Mayor Bill de Blasio (Bill de Blasio) to accept NYTWA’s proposal for a relief plan. But the drivers said the mayor did not respond. In the tactical upgrade, at noon on October 20, several drivers started a hunger strike.
Richard Chow, 63, is one of them. Sitting in a chair with drivers from India, South Korea, Romania and Poland, Zhou said one driver was clearly absent: his brother Kenny.
“When the medal lost its value, he was destroyed. He lost everything,” Richard said.
Kenny Chow, who struggled with hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, ended his life in 2018. He was one of nine drivers who committed suicide in recent years.
“I lost my brother. My heart is broken,” Zhou said.
Although the medal once provided immigrants with a path to the American dream, it also brought considerable income to the city. According to a series of investigations conducted by the New York Times in 2019, industry leaders have artificially inflated prices, causing taxi drivers to work with Bill di Blasio and former mayor Michael Bloomberg. Michael Bloomberg loan.
Chime Gyatso is a taxi driver who immigrated from India in the late 1990s and is currently on a hunger strike. He said the city advertised the medal as a good investment.
“They sell medals for a million dollars,” he said. “This city deceived us. I bought a medallion for $850,000 in 2014. Uber and Lyft have no business. How do I pay for this money? I still owe more than $600,000.”
New York City Medal Owner Commemorating Suicide [Courtesy of Brian Osgood]The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the number of passengers has also made the lives of yellow taxi drivers increasingly difficult.
Wain Chin, a 54-year-old driver from Myanmar, is on a hunger strike and owes more than US$570,000. “Some nights I can’t sleep because I’m thinking about how to pay off the money,” he said. “We have to compete with Uber and Lyft. They have a lot of cars on the street. We almost don’t do the minimum wage anymore. Even in my lifetime, I can’t pay off the loan.”
‘Put our bodies in danger’
New York City officials did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.
Although the Deuxian government has not issued a statement since the hunger strike began, a press release on October 16 expressed appreciation for the city’s $65 million plan, stating that the plan has so far reduced more than $16 million in debt for medal owners.
But Kuber Sancho Persad, a 26-year-old yellow taxi driver who was on a hunger strike, told Al Jazeera that the city’s current plans were insufficient. “According to the mayor’s plan, I am not eligible. Now I have more than $600,000 in debt, which was left by my father when he died four years ago. He was a driver. My mother was sick and unable to work, so I started from 2016 Start driving full-time.”
Although the stakes are high, the drivers said that the feeling of fighting together is exhilarating.
“We put our bodies in danger. If we don’t let go, the pressure on the driver will be even greater,” Wain Chin said. “I hope the mayor will listen to our opinions. Even with his plans, there are too many debts.”
If the hunger strike fails to pass the New York Times plan, Mohamed Tipsultan, a former yellow cab driver and the current organizer of the New York Times, said that the drivers will continue to fight. “We will continue to maintain momentum,” he said. “The mayor must see how old we are and how strong we are. We are the ones who manage this city.”
[ad_2]
Source link