"Travis Bickle",
Do you know what you're talking about?
You wrote: "One thing you're wrong about is the city. They pay millions upon millions each year to settle lawsuits."
When have I said otherwise?
You then write: "If one uses common sense one would come to the conclusion that the judge encouraged settlement in these payoffs."
This isn't "common sense", nor do you seem to have it here.
You finally write: "Why would you as a full time driver object to people trying to get us a raise?"
First of all, the lawsuit isn't going to get us a raise.
Second, you shouldn't refer to fare increases as "raises".
Third, I don't object to people trying to get us a fare increase (or get rid of the surcharge concept).
John Henry Assabill, the elected leader of the Ghanaian Cabdriver Association, and myself, the elected leader of the Chicago Cabdriver Organization were THE ONLY TWO TO CLEARLY TESTIFY TO THE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE THAT THEY SHOULD VOTE 'NO' TO THE SURCHARGE AS IT ISN'T AN ADEQUATE "FARE INCREASE".
I don't see the nature of our titles being granted by an open, democratic process as a coincidence.
The "UTCC", however, welcomed the surcharge and thought they could threaten the City Council into giving us a fare increase "in 60 days (or else!)".
That's the kind of political "victory" you get from the Quaker church (AFSC) employing a radical college-aged kid (Prateek Sampat) to prop up and puppet a handful of cabdrivers (UTCC) who couldn't get arrested for "organizing" if their life depended on it.
Can you imagine the headline if all of the cabdrivers who attended the "surcharge" hearing all told the Transportation Committee to take the suggestion that a 50 cents or 1 dollar surcharge and send it back to the Daley Adminstration marked "insufficient funds"?
Nope. Daley and Reyes played us. Thanks to Prateek Sampat and the AFSC, who brought their attention to and hailed this stupid concept of a "gas surcharge" or "temporary surcharge" in the first place.
And the UTCC let the City Council play Chicago cabdrivers for fools.
It's super-ironic that Wolf Weiss of the CPTDA supported the idea for a surcharge, even claiming to be the one(s) who suggested it to Reyes, and now is suing the City about it.
What a joke.
I have consistently tried to re-focus everyone's attention on a simple fare increase, and I get criticized for it.
Well, there you go. Thanks for the bumper sticker, guys.
-Mike Foulks
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Replying to:
This is a better response to someones questions Mike. Your response to Nathan was a poor one as I posted above. Why the change of character Mike? People want a leader with a steady hand, not a hot head.
One thing you're wrong about is the city. They pay millions upon millions each year to settle lawsuits. If one uses common sense one would come to the conclusion that the judge encouraged settlement in these payoffs.
Why would you as a full time driver object to people trying to get us a raise?
This is true half of the time. Again, all cabdrivers who were voted for by the small number of cabdrivers who participated in the CCO elections have been removed due to a lack of participation themselves. I have not appointed any replacements, though I could Mike Foulks.
Would this mean that there are no members of the CCO other than President Mike? George L. take note of the "group" you have supported in the past.
I could appoint Barack and John to my group as well.
"Big Fat Mouth",
It seems you don't want to get this concept:
CCO members aren't required to come to CCO meetings.
Most cabdrivers don't have time to sit around for hours.
They have, and will continue, to regularly elect their representaives to meet with others to discuss and decide what to do, if at all.
In fact, many CCO members and other Chicago cabdrivers have asked me about UTCC, the strike, and other relevant matters as long as I have been in office as the CCO President.
George Lutfallah and Jonathan Bullington are quite aware of just how many and in what fashion Chicago cabdrivers particpated in CCO elections and meetings.
UTCC and other groups involving Prateek Sampat and the American Friends Service Committee have alternately failed to inform or banned Mr. Lutfallah about activities or from meetings.
They then cry foul when Mr. Lutfallah doesn't suddenly agree to be their propaganda machine.
All the while, Mr. Lutfallah, myself, and others have been doing more to help Chicago cabdrivers either as individuals or as a group...independent of outsiders who insist on "helping".
"Big Fat Mouth", you wrote: "I could appoint Barack and John to my group..."
That only proves how baseless your group is. (Who is your group, anyway?)
I can't appoint Barack Obama or John McCain to the CCO as they aren't current Chicago cabdrivers.
A CCO member is a former client of Barack Obama's. Perhaps that might be a useful connection someday.
-Mike Foulks
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Replying to:
This is true half of the time. Again, all cabdrivers who were voted for by the small number of cabdrivers who participated in the CCO elections have been removed due to a lack of participation themselves. I have not appointed any replacements, though I could Mike Foulks.
Would this mean that there are no members of the CCO other than President Mike? George L. take note of the "group" you have supported in the past.
I could appoint Barack and John to my group as well.
I make an exception for special people. A cs# isn't needed from them.
mf,
how appropriate your initials are. what do you know about collective decision making? what do you base your opinions that the utcc shouldn't put their names on a placard they produced? the city does the same thing all the time. do you object to mayor daley posting his name on every piece of city crap produced cause he's 'advertising' himself? or norma reyes on the surcharge placard?
you're just jealous you havent got an org. that can accomplish anything. i wouldn't follow you or george into a bathroom, much less into some harebrained scheme to raise 20,000 from us poor ass drivers to hire a lawyer taht may or may not succeed in getting the right to form a union in 5 years or more and then having to pay more and more money to actually make a union. we need an org. NOW, mf-er!
Pauli, While you are right, please hold down the language. Lets let the low lifes use it, but not us. Mike still hasn't responded to my question if the actual CCO membership was in fact now one member, Prez MD Foulks himself. Mike mentions members yet says he has removed all of the people that were voted in. Does he still count the people that cast ballots as members although none of them come to the meetings? Was Mc Gee the other guy that made the two man march with Mike?
There isn't any twisting going on here. A guy that complains about the subject changing is a guy that might be scared. Perhaps really scared. I am just trying to establish what I believe to be true, that the CCO is just Mike or Mike and this Mc Gee, not scare somebody. If Mike has more members I would like to hear about it. We as concerned drivers have the right to know when a guy claims to represent us in the Tribune. I do have concern with his record as well. I hope the media doesn't get onto this.
Please note that I still haven't gotten any answers as to the actual CCO membership. We never got an actual accounting from the last election months ago. Besides the safety debate, perhaps someone will come forward to run against the Prez this week.
And still no answers While Mike just continues on some meaningless tirade, any thing of importance takes a back seat. For the CCo to be effective it needs a new board and new members. Who is willing to take the job this November?
"pauli" "johal" "mr. hernandez" and "hassan" seem to be the same person...Peter Enger?
Please see the new thread above....
-Mike Foulks
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Replying to:
mf,
how appropriate your initials are. what do you know about collective decision making? what do you base your opinions that the utcc shouldn't put their names on a placard they produced? the city does the same thing all the time. do you object to mayor daley posting his name on every piece of city crap produced cause he's 'advertising' himself? or norma reyes on the surcharge placard?
you're just jealous you havent got an org. that can accomplish anything. i wouldn't follow you or george into a bathroom, much less into some harebrained scheme to raise 20,000 from us poor ass drivers to hire a lawyer taht may or may not succeed in getting the right to form a union in 5 years or more and then having to pay more and more money to actually make a union. we need an org. NOW, mf-er!
Who cares if they are the same person? What's the difference? The criticism is warranted.
