According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), cab drivers are over 20 times more likely to be murdered on the job than other workers.
That statistic became a reality in Chicago on January 8th, when Chicago cab driver Chinedu Madu was shot and killed after picking up one last fare on his way home to his wife and 5 year old son.
In the wake of the tragic murder, Cab Drivers United/AFSCME Council 31, held a brief memorial at O’Hare and Midway airports with Mr. Madu’s family members present.
Raising money to help with funeral costs as well as support Mr. Madu’s wife and young son, drivers from Cab Drivers United/AFSCME Council 31 called for further reforms to protect the wellbeing of Chicago’s 12,000 cab drivers.
“Every single day we head out onto the road, we provide millions of Chicagoans a vital service, but we’re also prime targets for violent crime. Today we come together to remember brother Chinedu Madu, a fellow driver tragically murdered on the job” said David Adenenkan, a Chicago cab driver with Cab Drivers United/AFSCME Council 31, at O’Hare Airport.
“We not only raised over $3,000 so far, but we talked about needed reforms to ensure each and every one of us make it home safely to our families at the end of a shift. Drivers have rights for compensation under Illinois’ workers’ compensation system, but we aren’t taught that in the training we go through to become cab drivers” said Cheryl Regina Miller, a longtime Chicago cab driver and member of Cab Drivers United/AFSCME Council 31, at Midway Airport.
“The City of Chicago needs to take a long look at what’s being done to protect the health and wellbeing of cab drivers, and take proactive steps to prevent another tragedy like the one that’s fallen on the Madu family. We are sitting ducks out there” continued Adenekan.
Cab Drivers United/AFSCME Council 31 is holding a safety training on February 11th with health and safety experts as well as workers’ compensation attorneys to educate cab drivers on their rights, and develop solutions to the epidemic plaguing cab drivers across the country.
