Biju Mathew
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Biju Mathew is a New York-based labor organizer and intellectual. An immigrant from India, he teaches Information Systems and American studies at Rider University (New Jersey). He co-founded the New York Taxi Workers Alliance in 1998, is a founding secretary of the National Taxi Workers Alliance, and president of the International Alliance of App-Based Transport Workers. As a writer, Mathew has published several academic articles as well as the 2005 book Taxi!: Cabs and Capitalism in New York City.
In 1998, Mathew co-founded the New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA), along with Bhairavi Desai, Javaid Tariq, and several others.[1] NYTWA is a labor union representing immigrant taxi drivers in the US with over 26,000 members in NYC. The union primarily organizes yellow medallion lease drivers and has conducted several successful campaigns. In 2004, 2006, and 2012, it conducted fair hike–lease cap campaigns. In 2013–14, it set up a health and wellness fund for NYC taxi drivers. Its best known campaign came in November 2021, when, after three years of direct action, including a 15-day Hunger Strike, NYTWA reached an agreement with the City of New York and Marblegate Asset Management to restructure medallion mortgages, thereby saving many workers from falling into irretrievable debt.[2] The campaign was widely covered in the media, including a cover story in The Nation.[3]
In 2011 the NYTWA and its sister organization, The Taxi Workers Alliance of Pennsylvania (TWAPA) became the founding affiliates of the National Taxi Workers Alliance (NTWA) of the AFL-CIO.[4] The NTWA is the 57th chartered union of the AFL-CIO and the first new charter in over 50 years. The creation of NTWA is described as historic given its status as the first national union of independent contractor-workers.[5] Mathew is presently the secretary of the NTWA.
In January 2020, Mathew co-founded the International Alliance of App Based Transport Workers (IIATW), along with delegates from 23 countries.[6] Initially a member of the steering committee, he became president of IAATW in 2021.
Political Education
Mathew has a long record of volunteer educational work. He is a co-founder and chair of the executive council of Lamakaan, an open cultural space in Hyderabad, India. He serves on the board of the Brecht Forum, NY. He is also the co-founder of Youth Solidarity Summer, a South Asian youth education summer camp.
