BREAKING NEWS: Cab Rate Rollback Denied!
PSC spokesperson, LaWanda Edwards hangs up phone on live radio,
Video: Governor O'Malley Does Not Like Me!
In this raw video, you get more of a feel of what the protest was really like, compared to the footage aired by the networks. Notice the traffic is not moving. Hear the loudness of the cars honking together.
Baltimore Taxi Protest -- What The Media Didn't Show You! from MacArthur Media
UPDATE: Several Cab Drivers Arrested at protest . . .developing
WBAL TV Coverage
WJZ TV Coverage -- REMOVED FROM THEIR SITE
Cab Drivers Protest 25% Pay Cut
Downtown Baltimore was shutdown during morning rush hour on 25 February. Over 1000 cab drivers united in protest against a Maryland state mandated 25% taxi meter rate reduction. To the cab drivers who are already struggling, this could literally mean bankruptcy and severe and undue suffering and hardship at the hands of the Maryland Public Service Commission.
This protest was a major disruptive event, the largest protest of it's kind in recent city history, yet strangely, the media hardly spoke about it. The organizers were interviewed by the networks, but the footage was never aired.
Could it be they don't want you to see how powerful organized labor can be? Since the PSC seems to be unwilling to relent on this massive pay cut, the cab drivers are already planing a second, much larger event.
A.F. James MacArthur reporting
In a massive protest staged by over 1000 taxi cabs, downtown Baltimore saw all traffic come to a grinding halt. A horde of angry drivers protested the state mandated 25% reduction in the taxi meter rate. St. Paul street, a main artery into downtown Baltimore was totally shutdown for several hours this morning as motorists tempers flared.
Several drivers were threatened with arrest, at which point, the drivers en mass, put their cars in park in the middle of the street and walked away, adding to the gridlock. Police units were called in , including the helicopter as traffic backed up causing a ripple effect throughout downtown.
Radio talk show host and cab driver Larry Wallace said; "If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything." Wallace also added "I just want to thank all the drivers who came out, I think we really made an impact."
The event drew the attention of local mainstream media, with several reporters and camera men on scene.
developing...
-- Larry Wallace aka Larry "The Celebrity" Cab Driver hosts a daily talk radio show, "Taxi Talk" at 3:00 AM on news talker WOLB 1010 AM
RELATED:
Baltimore Sun coverage
2 comments:
When did the state mandate the 25% rate decrease? Who did it? The legislature? The governor? Why wasn't it protested before it went into effect, or was it?
The decision was made by the Maryland State Public Service Commission, a while back, in a meeting drivers were not notified of.
Public Service Commissioners are appointed by the Governor. The same one that said he would go after BGE. They're the same agency that has allowed your utility bills to go through the roof. Yet they want to cut out the pay of the working man.
As soon as word began to get out to driver, they became irate and the protesting began.
Wake up people, your government does not care about you.
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