New Cabbie Union To Work With PPA

The Unified Taxi Workers Alliance completed the process of merging the Unified Brotherhood of Taxi Drivers and Owner-Operators and the Taxi Workers Alliance of Pennsylania by electing Ronald Blount as its president.

Blount, who had been president of TWA, beat out UBD President Muhammad Chughtai with 64% of the votes. Chughtai came in second with 31% of the votes.

Blount commented, "This is a new era for cab drivers across the city. The UTWA will represent all cab drivers with the PPA.”

Blount says he is looking forward to working closely with the Philadelphia Parking Authority. “We were antagonists early on, but now that our decks have been cleared and we can speak with one voice for our drivers, we appreciate the role the PPA has to play in our service industry. There are some things we would like to air out, which I am sure can be done to satisfaction of both sides.”

Steve Chervenka, a driver and member of the election commission, explained, "This is a real victory for cab drivers across the city." He went on, "The UTWA is now the second-largest union of cab drivers in the country and we will speak with one unified voice to the PPA and medallion owners.”

Commenting on a pending court case in which he was charged with allegedly choking a women passenger for his refusal to accept her credit card for payment, Blount said “I’ve been a early target because of my union activity. When we go to trial, the court will will know she told several conflicting stories.”

The new union met last night to select the full executive board, too late for this edition.