Pinched by Ride-Sharing Services, Cabbies Seek a National Union

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1. Guilds vs Apprentices

On the one hand, we all want a free market where innovation can bring us new and better services for less money. On the other hand, we recognize that the investments in livelihood made by Guilds or professions, represent the individual investments of real people who stand to lose from the creative destructions of the unconstrained market. Laws such as the Chicago Taxi regulations attempt to protect the professional drivers from apprentices with less training (and who therefore can offer lower rates) or who have a lower capital investment in their vehicle (and whose vehicle may therefore not meet some standard of taxi safety, spaciousness, or comfort - though I admit to ignorance of what such standards might exist). But government laws do not protect the mule-driver profession from the automobile (as an example). I think taxi-drivers are in trouble from Uber, but even more from automation of driving (google cars for example). A union might buy them time, but it will not save them.