You looking at me?
by Suzanne
New York City cab drivers are getting ready to strike in less than two weeks. The issue? Driver privacy. The Taxi and Limousine Commission uses Global Positioning System (GPS). The New York Taxi Workers Alliance claims about 10,000 members and says it will start striking on September 5th. Their leader argues that the Commission will use GPS data to audit drivers' income and to report illegal immigrants who are driving cabs. The other union, New York Federation of Taxi Drivers, says its near 7,000 members will not strike. Their leader, Fernando Mateo, lauded the use of GPS citing its tracking benefits . Mateo went as far as saying, "We don't have to be radicals about privacy in a cab. If you want privacy, you don't drive a cab."
You might not even drive in a cab if you want privacy, New York cabs have transformed from driving billboards to mini-television commercials. Some of them have television screens built into the back of the driver's seat looping commercials.
Why does the Commission feel the need to track each taxi? This is part of the larger national trend to spy on employees in the name of "safety", security's little brother. This issue also brings the question of "Do employees check their right to privacy at the employers' door?" Unfortunately, it looks like the answer is increasingly, yes.
Posted on August 27, 2007
