Hunger Strike! How Immigrant Taxi Drivers Took on City Hall
05/18/22 • 29 min
When Augustine Tang’s father passed away, Augustine decided to inherit his taxi medallion – the license that had allowed his father to drive a yellow taxi cab in New York City for decades. But the medallion came with a $530,000 debt trap and years of struggling to escape it.
Augustine’s friend Kenny, a fellow taxi cab driver, committed suicide. So did several other drivers who were crushed under the weight of these impossible debts. In hopes of preventing another death, Tang joined a push by the local taxi drivers’ union, to campaign for debt relief. And eventually, city resistance to worker demands culminated in a 15-day hunger strike to convince City Hall that immigrant taxi drivers deserved a fair deal.
The drivers’ struggles for livable working conditions showed how political power doesn’t just come down to votes. It’s a reminder how strong collective will can be, especially for those often silenced and ignored by our imperfect democracy.
Resources and Reading
- After listening, please take our survey about this story — to help us fund more stories like this one!
- This show mentions instances of suicide. We understand this topic may be difficult for some listeners. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a hotline for individuals in crisis or for those looking to help someone else. To speak with a certified listener, call 1-800-273-8255
- WATCH: “Cheated, Desperate, Financially Ruined NYC Taxi Drivers Go on Hunger Strike” by Maximillian Alvarez of the Real News Network
- WATCH: “New York Taxi Drivers Hunger Strike for Debt Relief” by More Perfect Union
- READ: “‘They Were Conned’: How Reckless Loans Devastated a Generation of Taxi Drivers” by Brian Rosenthal for the New York Times
- READ: “How the Taxi Workers Won” by Molly Crabapple for the Economic Hardship Reporting Project
- READ: “Distressed DriverSP: Solving the the New York City Taxi Medallion Debt Crisis” by Aaron Jacobs for Columbia Human Rights Law Review
Credits
- Produced by Self Evident Media
- Reported by Sahil Nisha, with help from Alina Panek and Janrey Serapio
- Interview recordings by Sahil Nisha, Stacey Wong, and James Boo
- Edited by James Boo and Julia Shu
- Fact checked by Harsha Nahata and Tiffany Bui
- Sound mix by Timothy Lou Ly
- Music by Epidemic Sound
- At the Moment Theme by Satoru Ohno
- Cover Art by Susu Schwaber
- This episode was made with support from the Solutions Journalism Network's Advancing Democracy program
- Special thanks to: Cynthia Liu, Alice Liu, Sabeen Shalwani, Augustine Tang, John Duda, Kuber Sancho-Persad, Jaslin Kaur, Maria Santana, Maximillian Alvarez, Michelle Faust Raghavan and Alec Saleens, and the New York Taxi Workers Alliance Media Team
Support AZI Media
Support our work on Ko-Fi
Instagram (@azi.media)
Twitter (@azidotmedia)
When Augustine Tang’s father passed away, Augustine decided to inherit his taxi medallion – the license that had allowed his father to drive a yellow taxi cab in New York City for decades. But the medallion came with a $530,000 debt trap and years of struggling to escape it.
Augustine’s friend Kenny, a fellow taxi cab driver, committed suicide. So did several other drivers who were crushed under the weight of these impossible debts. In hopes of preventing another death, Tang joined a push by the local taxi drivers’ union, to campaign for debt relief. And eventually, city resistance to worker demands culminated in a 15-day hunger strike to convince City Hall that immigrant taxi drivers deserved a fair deal.
The drivers’ struggles for livable working conditions showed how political power doesn’t just come down to votes. It’s a reminder how strong collective will can be, especially for those often silenced and ignored by our imperfect democracy.
Resources and Reading
- After listening, please take our survey about this story — to help us fund more stories like this one!
- This show mentions instances of suicide. We understand this topic may be difficult for some listeners. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a hotline for individuals in crisis or for those looking to help someone else. To speak with a certified listener, call 1-800-273-8255
- WATCH: “Cheated, Desperate, Financially Ruined NYC Taxi Drivers Go on Hunger Strike” by Maximillian Alvarez of the Real News Network
- WATCH: “New York Taxi Drivers Hunger Strike for Debt Relief” by More Perfect Union
- READ: “‘They Were Conned’: How Reckless Loans Devastated a Generation of Taxi Drivers” by Brian Rosenthal for the New York Times
- READ: “How the Taxi Workers Won” by Molly Crabapple for the Economic Hardship Reporting Project
- READ: “Distressed DriverSP: Solving the the New York City Taxi Medallion Debt Crisis” by Aaron Jacobs for Columbia Human Rights Law Review
Credits
- Produced by Self Evident Media
- Reported by Sahil Nisha, with help from Alina Panek and Janrey Serapio
- Interview recordings by Sahil Nisha, Stacey Wong, and James Boo
- Edited by James Boo and Julia Shu
- Fact checked by Harsha Nahata and Tiffany Bui
- Sound mix by Timothy Lou Ly
- Music by Epidemic Sound
- At the Moment Theme by Satoru Ohno
- Cover Art by Susu Schwaber
- This episode was made with support from the Solutions Journalism Network's Advancing Democracy program
- Special thanks to: Cynthia Liu, Alice Liu, Sabeen Shalwani, Augustine Tang, John Duda, Kuber Sancho-Persad, Jaslin Kaur, Maria Santana, Maximillian Alvarez, Michelle Faust Raghavan and Alec Saleens, and the New York Taxi Workers Alliance Media Team
Support AZI Media
Support our work on Ko-Fi
Instagram (@azi.media)
Twitter (@azidotmedia)
Previous Episode
Asians Against Yang: A Movement in NYC
After gaining much attention and popularity during his presidential bid, Andrew Yang is running for mayor of New York City. We delve into the concerns brought up by Asians Against Yang, a coalition of community members, organizers, and activists who are opposing Yang’s bid to be New York’s next mayor. Then, our producer Cynthia, co-host Janrey, and guest James Boo discuss their reactions toward Andrew Yang, the mayoral election, and the current state of NYC politics.
Early voting began June 12th, and Election Day is next Tuesday, June 22nd. For more information, visit the NYC Board of Elections website.
Our guest this week was James Boo, member of the 52nd Assembly District of New York State, elected member of the Kings County Democratic County Committee, and resident of Brooklyn for the past 13 years. James is also the managing producer of Self Evident, a podcast that tells Asian America’s stories to explore what it really means to claim America today. If you enjoy listening to our podcast, definitely check out Self Evident too!
This is the last episode of our first ever season of ATM! We’ll be on a brief hiatus, so be sure to catch up on all of our old episodes in the meantime.
Mentioned in this episode:
- Petition by Asian and Pacific Islanders New Yorkers Against Yang
- Our past episode “What You Need to Know About Anti-Asian Violence” where we challenge calls for increased policing in response to anti-Asian hate
- Read Yang’s stance on affordable housing and other policies
- Coalition for Asian American Children’s APA Education Equity Campaign
Support our work on Ko-Fi
Instagram (@azi.media)
Twitter (@azidotmedia)
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