Union Cab of Madison

In 2023, as part of the Public Humanities Exchange Scholarship, I conducted oral histories with long time members of Union Cab of Madison and organized a showcase of this history at the Union Cab garage. Union Cab is a worker collective run taxi company in Madison, Wisconsin. While gathering oral histories, I asked longstanding members what their hopes and dreams for Union Cab were. Without fail, people responded that they wanted to see Union Cab rebuild following the pandemic. However, in the wake of COVID-19, rebuilding the cooperative meant more than just rebuilding Union Cab’s business. It meant rebuilding the connections between workers, especially the spirit of cooperation and worker democracy at the root of Union Cab’s history and culture.