Call Sign July 2009 - Page 20 - TUBE STRIKE - Sam’s plans go down a rabbit hole!

The RMT, shared taxis – and the odd one from France! Bob Crow is the General Secretary of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT). He is said to be a communist and someone from the old school of union leaders and activists such as Arthur Scargill and British Leyland’s Derek ‘Red Robbo’ Robinson. What is an undoubted fact is that he has greatly increased the RMT membership from around 50,000 in 2002 to over 80,000 last year. That makes the RMT Britain’s fastest growing trade union by far. Now Mr Crow has taken the RMT into the London taxi trade and is said to have gained over 200 members in a few short months. If true, this puts it well	TUBE STRIKE *French taxi in London on the tube strike day.*
	above Unite and closing in on the LCDC for second place behind the untouchable LTDA. So how does that affect RMT taxi members? After all, if you are in a union, you are expected to follow that union’s code and avoid crossing picket lines – even if they aren’t actually visible to the naked eye. The recent tube strike caused havoc in London – although it failed to stop the capital from operating. Part of that continuation of London’s business was the use of more shared taxi ranks at train stations. So we had the situation where taxi drivers in the RMT were crossing that invisible picket line by allowing themselves to	counter the effect of their striking "brothers." The obvious question is what Bob Crow felt about that? The probable answer is that he doesn’t even know. After all, 200 as against the membership of their London underground workers. No doubt he will see this and Call Sign would be happy to publish any response. In a lighter vein, Dial-a-Cab driver Barry Spear (Y16) was working during tube strike day and snapped this photo of a French taxi in Londres. Whether as a member of the European Community, the PCO brought him over to assist the shared taxi scenario, we know not. But it made us smile and that can’t hurt! Alan Fisher

Sam’s plans go down a rabbit hole!

No boxing ring to pose in for Sam - just dad's DaC taxi!

Recent issues of Call Sign have detailed the progress of Sam Bezzina, son of Dial-a-Cab driver Dean Bezzina (M10), and his ambition to box for England. He climbed one step closer when winning a prestigious Golden Gloves Championship against Walsall boxer Liam Etheridge to claim the national title and a pair of Golden Gloves.
   His next step on the ladder was scheduled to be the Newham Amateur Boxing Club’s annual dinner show at the Circus Tavern in Essex. But fate had other plans for Sam.
   Dad Dean told Call Sign: "Sam was in training and using an athletics meet as part of that. Unfortunately he caught his foot in a rabbit hole and wrenched the ankle almost 90 degrees. I was never happy about him competing at the meeting, but he insisted - only to be defeated by a rabbit!"
   Sam was also preparing for his international debut in the Three Nation’s where Sam would have proudly represented his country for the first time and possibly win his first gold medal whilst wearing an England vest. The rabbit hole put paid to that as well.
   Dean continued: "Needless to say Sam was devastated after putting in so much effort over the past year and overcoming so many other problems against all the odds. He knows that without an impressive appearance at the Three Nations it is extremely unlikely that he will get his chance to box in Russia at the European Championships. I’m disappointed that more care was not taken by the school to ensure that the running surface the lads were training on was in good order, but having said that, at the end of the day it is all about staying healthy and fit. It could just as easily been flu that took him out of the competition. I’d love to keep Sam at home and wrap him up in cotton wool so I can keep an eye on him and keep him from harms way before a major championship, but in reality Sam is an adrenalin junky! As well as his boxing, he loves to race motocross and is very competitive; you just can’t get him to slow down for five minutes. No wonder I’ve lost most of my hair! But when all is said and done, Sam should be very proud of himself, just as we are. He is still unbeaten since joining Newham and let’s not forget as National Champion being ranked No 1 (Class3 48kgs). He can’t wait for the new season to start in September and if we can keep him away from athletic meetings, we will. But I don’t fancy our chances!"
   Good luck Sam. The Olympics are just 3 years away…!

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