United Taxi Workers San Diego
MISSION
The mission of UTWSD is to unify taxicab workers, to improve working conditions through direct advocacy and empowerment, to increase education and civic participation by taxi drivers and their families, and to improve professional transportation services for the San Diego community and visitors.
Who We Are
UTWSD Staff and Executive Board
While UTWSD’s union members are the heart and the soul of the organization, UTWSD’s Staff and Executive Board are the backbone that keeps our organization going on a day-to-day basis. UTWSD’s Staff and Executive Board are a diverse group of union activists, college professors, PHDs, immigration & labor lawyers, and current & former taxi drivers, with over 140 years of combined experience working for social justice, labor causes, and bringing dignity and respect to drivers in the taxi industry.
Where We Work
While we work and drive all over San Diego County, our members primarily live in Mid City, College Area, Mission Valley, Southeast San Diego, and The South Bay.
BASE DEMOGRAPHICS
Our union drivers are primarily East African men, hailing from Somalia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea, however our members also hail from Iran, Uganda, Mexico, Sudan, Peru, Kenya, and Nigeria.
ISSUES WE CARE ABOUT
We talk about workers rights, immigrant rights, human rights, local control and regulation of the livery industry, and channeling community and neighborhood power to make the changes we want to see in our communities and the region.y and strengthens decision making on the questions that matter most to our communities.
ASD has an engagement model not traditional organizing or single issue. We base build with voters, coalitions, supporters, donors, communications and all of this in turn is community power building.
PAST CAMPAIGN SUCCESS
United Taxi Workers has been active since December 2009, and some of our successful driver-led campaigns include opening up the permitting process both in the City (our “Lift the Cap” campaign) and at the Airport, ending the black market for cabs in San Diego County, and creating the first certified all-digital taximeter in California. As Part of Engage San Diego we have successfully reached out to thousands of voters during regular and special elections, and organized within the East African community to complete the 2020 Census.
