January, 2020 is the start of a new decade...Is this not an ideal opportunity to realise the dream, or are we in danger of reliving an old nightmare???

With this the start of a brand new decade, we have the perfect opportunity to draw a line in the sand, leaving the past behind, by crossing over into the future and redesigning Cab Trade representation... making us a force, to be reckoned with that would actually strike fear and respect into the heart and minds of TfL, local councils and any future Mayor. 

So, where have we gone wrong over previous decades.... it’s not rocket science... it sticks out like a sore thumb.

In the last ten years our trade spent most of its time fighting amongst itself, rather than fighting against our real enemies. When one org cane up with an idea, the others would belittle it simply because it wasn’t their idea and they begrudged anyone other than themselves getting any kudos. 

But we now have the perfect opportunity we’ve all been waiting for, to stop the infighting, come together and fight as one.... on issues that affect the whole trade. 

You only have to ask yourself why, less than half the trade belong to an org or Union...most drivers look at what’s available and decide they’ve got more chance looking after their own interests, rather than financing a group of drivers who have personal vendettas and agendas (some of which actually go against what’s good for the rank and file driver). 

We now have the chance to put all the bitterness, the bad feelings, the football supporter mentality behind us and start afresh. 

In the last ten/twenty/thirty years, cab trade representation has stagnated, while our competition has escalated like a massive virus. 

Can you imagine the position the trade could have been in today, had an org with 20,000 militant members (who would turn up en masse on a moments notice) put forward OUR proposals for Bank Junction, Fitzrovia, Old Street, Tower Hamlets and Heathrow Airport???

Look at the mess that is Heathrow Airport... we’ve got reps who won’t sit in the same room as other reps.

Can you imagine having  a General secretary with the backing of the whole trade, who could stand up and truly fight for the whole trade.... why wouldn’t you want to join a trade org that ‘did what it said on the tin’???

Guaranteed we wouldn’t be in the position we find ourselves today. 

TAXI LEAKS EXTEA BIT:

Ever wondered why actual Unions like the RMT and Unite fight for their members on all fronts and issues except when it comes to the Taxi trade????

They do it because they are fighting for their members...against regulators and employers and not fighting amongst themselves. 

With the Taxi Trade, Unions not only have to fight the regulator, they also have to fight against other unions,  against associations, against representative groups. 

Their representation is reflected in the fact they have so few members.

A message to all Trade Orgs .

Get yourselves together, sort yourselves out. Get rid of the deadwood and the attitude. Form a coalition or better still, scrap the rubbish...we don’t need 5 committees. Use only the very best of what we have now and incorporate UTAG17,  to form a new United Trade Council. One council, one org, one representative group. 

Jettison the waste.  

We now have our very own Taxi Trade PR company, that would only be too pleased to be incorporated into a United front. 

Not your idea....

The drivers don’t care who’s idea this is/was, they just care that there’s a good idea....

It’s what the trade needs and it’s what the drivers want.... Don’t believe me, try asking your members without using loaded question!!!! 

What happened in the last decade was scandalous but it’s now history... And we must learn from history. Those who fail to learn, are in danger of repeating it.