These unfortunate Checker Model Y’s produced by Checker Cab Manufacturing of Kalamazoo, Michigan between 1934 and 1939 have clearly suffered the wrath of striking Chicago taxicab drivers. The strike was against Checker and Yellow Cab of Chicago, both firms were subsidiaries of Checker Cab Manufacturing owned and operated by Morris Markin. This would not be the last time Markin had run in’s with unions.
That headline photo was captioned as follows: March 17, 1937 ONE MORE VICTIM OF BOLD MARCHERS –
One of the many taxicabs which were tipped over during the spectacular sweep of violence. This car was seized on Randolph near Clark street. ACME.
Chicago cab drivers challenged their poor working conditions in 1937, 85 percent of taxi drivers maintained a nineteen-day strike, seeking higher commissions on their fares. Midway through the strike, cab drivers rioted in the Loop, beating up the $7-a-day strikebreakers, ejecting passengers from scab cabs and pulling a mounted policeman off his horse and beating him. Thanks to Internet Checker Taxicab Archive members Bruce and Marjorie Uhrich for securing several great photos! The majority of photo are from the ACME photo syndicate.
March 10, 1937 DOOR HANDLES REMOVED TO AVERT TROUBLE – So that strikers could not jerk open doors of cabs driven by strikebreakers and shout “Your next” company officials ordered the handles removed. The circles indicate where door handles should be ACME
If you would like to see more dramatic photos of the strike, just click on that facebook icon above and join our free club or click on the link below. A full photo album has been set and includes about twenty photos. The only way to get access to the photos is to join the free club.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/145497838799022/?fref=nf
March 8, 1937 CABS AREN’T SCARCE ALONG THIS STREET – These cars remained idle today along the curb outside the Yellow Cab Company’s Belmont garage. The union claimed that more than 3,00 out of 5,500 drivers employed by the two companies, Checker and Yellow are on strike. ACME
