New York City Taxi Drivers Union
The New York City Taxi Drivers Union, Local 3036 was formed on July 1, 1966 and advocated for the improved rights and working conditions for taxi drivers until the 1980s.
The New York City Taxi Drivers Union, Local 3036 was formed on July 1, 1966, and advocated for the improved rights and working conditions for taxi drivers until the 1980s. The Local 3036 grew from its predecessor, the Taxi Drivers Organizing Committee, which was established by Harry Van Arsdale Jr., and won elections conducted by the National Labor Relations in 82 garages throughout New York City.
The Local 3036 elected Harry Van Arsdale Jr., as their first President and came to represent almost 35,000 workers at its peak. In 1971, the Taxi Drivers Rank and File Coalition was organized by disillusioned union members who advocated for fairer contracts and more democratic practices in the Local 3036. Van Arsdale was reelected as President of the Local 3036 in 1974. In the 1980s, under Ben Goldberg's leadership, the Local 3036 dissolved and merged with SEIU Local 74.
Presidents
Harry Van Arsdale Jr.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “New York City Taxi Drivers Union” is the New York City Taxi Drivers Union, Local 3036 was formed on July 1, 1966 and advocated for the improved rights and working conditions for taxi drivers until the 1980s. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through York, City and Taxi, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “the New York City Taxi Drivers Union, Local 3036 was formed on July 1, 1966 and advocated for the improved rights and working conditions for taxi drivers until the 1980s” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q122853149. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1966, 1971 and 1974.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “New York City Taxi Drivers Union”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow New York City Taxi Drivers Union primary sources, New York City Taxi Drivers Union archive and York research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “New York City Taxi Drivers Union”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “New York City Taxi Drivers Union” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.