美国国家公共电台 NPR Driver's Suicide Highlights 'Race To The Bottom' In Cab Industry, Union Director Says

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Early Monday morning, a longtime New York City livery driver named Douglas Schifter posted an emotional 1,700-word note on Facebook. He said, companies do not care how they abuse us just so the executives get their bonuses. Due to the huge numbers of cars available with desperate drivers trying to feed their families, they squeeze rates to below operating costs and force professionals like me out of business. They count their money, and we are driven down into the streets we drive, becoming homeless and hungry. I will not be a slave working for chump change. I would rather be dead.

Later that day, Douglas Schifter took his life outside of City Hall in Manhattan. His suicide has underscored the financial and emotional challenges for professional drivers, whose industry has been disrupted, as they put it, by companies like Uber and Lyft. The New York Taxi Workers Alliance represents yellow cab and app-based drivers. Its executive director is Bhairavi Desai. She joins us now from New York. Thanks so much for being with us.

BHAIRAVI DESAI: Thank you.

SIMON: Well, I must say Mr. Schifter was very eloquent¹. Help us understand some of the challenges that drivers face.

DESAI: You know, Doug really summed up the reality of a vicious race to the bottom. It's a business model that's specifically aimed at turning a full-time² profession into part-time poverty pay gigs. And no driver wins a race to the bottom.

SIMON: Are the days gone when a man or woman can drive a cab for 8 or 10 hours and make a living, support a family?

DESAI: Yes. I had a member tell me yesterday this is his typical day - he works, you know, he sleeps for 7 hours, says he has 2 hours for himself to take a shower, eat a meal at home, say hi to his wife and kids if they happen to be at home. And then he's out driving. He hasn't had a day off in three years - long shifts, increasingly isolating³. Sometimes, you take home 25, maybe 50 bucks⁴ at the end of your 12 hours. And the thing is it feels like there's no end in sight.

SIMON: What two or three things would you do if you could?

DESAI: Well, first and foremost, there really doesn't need to be a cap on the number of vehicles, you know? And I think it'll give, you know, workers a fighting chance at earning a decent living, and it won't clog⁵ the streets anymore, so others can get around. Also, we need to establish one metered rate. Imagine if across the economy, there is no minimum wage to protect the workers. It would be slave-like conditions. Third, we need to see an increase in the rate that we have today for drivers.

SIMON: The loss of Douglas Schifter is obviously a tragedy. Without getting hyperbolic, do you think his suffering and depression is symptomatic of what a lot of people are feeling?

DESAI: I've been organizing taxi drivers for - since 1996, and I've never seen the level of desperation. I started to receive so many calls from drivers seeking resources for suicide prevention and talking about homelessness and, you know, eviction⁶ notices. And so something has to be done here. You know, people - we don't - this is not accidental. Working people have a right to be protected. We have a right to work with dignity and justice, and that can be done through proper regulation.

SIMON: Bhairavi Desai is executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance. Thanks so much for being with us.

DESAI: Thank you.

1 eloquent   

adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的

参考例句：

• He was so eloquent that he cut down the finest orator.他能言善辩，胜过最好的演说家。
• These ruins are an eloquent reminder of the horrors of war.这些废墟形象地提醒人们不要忘记战争的恐怖。

2 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

3 isolating   

adj.孤立的，绝缘的v.使隔离( isolate的现在分词 )；将…剔出（以便看清和单独处理）；使（某物质、细胞等）分离；使离析

参考例句：

• Colour filters are not very effective in isolating narrow spectral bands. 一些滤色片不能很有效地分离狭窄的光谱带。 来自辞典例句
• This became known as the streak method for isolating bacteria. 这个方法以后就称为分离细菌的划线法。 来自辞典例句

4 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 clog   

vt.塞满，阻塞；n.[常pl.]木屐

参考例句：

• In cotton and wool processing,short length fibers may clog sewers.在棉毛生产中，短纤维可能堵塞下水管道。
• These streets often clog during the rush hour.这几条大街在交通高峰时间常常发生交通堵塞。

6 eviction   

n.租地等的收回

参考例句：

• The family have won a temporary reprieve from eviction.这个家庭暂时免于被逐出。
• He claimed damages for unlawful eviction.他要求对非法驱逐作出赔偿。