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NEWS


Delivering despite the elements - BBC, January 11, 2010

Bicycle Couriers Better the Environment - M2M, January 08, 2010

Bike couriers grappling with enduring snow and ice - The Local, January 8, 2010

Bike Messengers Deliver Despite Weather -  WSMV TV Nashville, January 8, 2010

Cycling on Camera, in New York and Beyond - New York Times , January 5, 2010

10-9 Radio - Episode 2, January 1, 2010

Neil Bezdek has gone from bike messenger to a domestic pro in two seasons - Velonews, December 30, 2009

Igor Kenk pleads guilty to possession charges -  Toronto Star, December 15, 2009



From Biker Bill in Edmonton:

What it is! Ten Nine Radio, a concept I had put together in the late 90’s and also was a short run in live streaming earlier in this millennium and is now being renewed once again in a “podcast” style format.
 
Speaking of Format, (if it isn’t blatantly obvious), will all be Bike Messenger related: a large collection of music from all genres, as well as messenger news and information, comedy and commentary from myself and special guest’s.
 
This new creation of Ten Nine Radio has been designed to be able to enjoy the program on your own time, whether it is on the ride to or from or bit by bit through out the day on your Mp3 player. Or hell, even feet up at home through a decent system with a sparkly beverage. The request line will always be open at dispatch@109radio.com
 
As we hear from you, we hope it grows into something really diverse and into a product of our time, but most importantly a fun way our global community can all collectively gather around the radio and feel connected to one another.
 
Our Mission Statement (as Ten Nine Radio) is simply just that, “connecting messengers”.
 
We will be trying to post our program releases to as many lists and people as possible and hope you will not only join us, but help pass the message and programs along. Our thinking… The more people we reach, the more feedback we will get, and the better the shows will be.
 
There are instructions on how to be included on our show available on our website, so check into that and lets “hear” from you! If you’re quick, you could be on the “New Years Special” (Coming January 1st). So send us your “New Years Cheers” dedications as soon as possible!
 
If we choose your submission, you will win a prize and be entered into a draw for this summer’s grand slam Ten Nine Radio messenger prize package! Likely be a bag full of goodies… and if you would like to contribute to it, please contact us.
 
Scheduled for the 1st and 15th of each month. The launch of the “Voyager Episode” will be available December 15th from our site.




The facts of the Michael Bryant case so far - Bryant Watch, December 9, 2009

Ottawa Bike couriers cruising through changing times - Centretown News, December 11, 2009

Philadelphia Bike Couriers Speak Out - Philadelphia Weekly, December 8, 2009

Winter storm not enough to kickstand Minneapolis bike couriers - KARE11.com, December 9, 2009




Bryant Watch, December 7, 2009

Darcy Allan Sheppard

On August 31, 2009, former attorney general for Ontario, Michael Bryant, killed cyclist Darcy Allan Sheppard in one of the most violent and horrific cases of road rage in Toronto's history.

Neither Michael Bryant nor his wife, entertainment lawyer Susan Abramovitch, gave statements to police regarding the circumstances that led to Darcy Allan Sheppard’s death. They will have many months to tailor their testimonies to fit the known evidence and weave it seamlessly into a vigorous defense mounted by one of the most elite criminal lawyers in the country.

Bryant’s victim, Darcy Allan Sheppard, who was known as Al to his friends, will not have a voice at the trial. He will not have an opportunity to challenge Michael Bryant’s carefully scripted and rehearsed testimony. He will not have a chance to correct Bryant's devoted wife and an experienced lawyer when she unconditionally supports her husband of twelve years on the witness stand.

Al’s voice needs to be heard. It's important that people have an opportunity to understand his life's last moments. Al could have been any one of us. He just happened to be the cyclist who crossed paths with a driver on the verge of a road rage meltdown.

I have attempted to rebuild those last moments of Al's life from his point of view. All of the events are based on the factual evidence contained in security camera video, witness statements and news reports. Al's point of view is also primarily based on the factual evidence as well as my own experiences as a bike messenger and cyclist.


Michael Bryant quietly gets a new job - Bryant Watch, December 6, 2009



Toronto bike theft

Mess Media, December 6, 2009

Stolen bikes


Toronto like most cities has a massive problem with bike theft and many of its victims are bike messengers. The possibility of having my bike stolen is always in the back my mind whenever my bike is out of my sight and every time I walk out of a building I am relieved to see my bike still there.
 
For years most cyclists in Toronto suspected that Igor Kenk, owner of a notorious used bike store on Queen Street West, played a part in the stolen bike racket. Anyone that had their bike stolen was first advised to go and check out "Igor's bike shop" on Queen Street just east of Strachan. Despite what was common knowledge amongst Toronto’s cyclists, it appeared that Igor would never be held accountable for his sketchy dealings with stolen bikes.

I first met Igor in 1993 when his shop was located further west on Queen St between Shaw and Ossington, across from the Queen Street Mental Health Centre. At the time I was living on Shaw Street, a little south of Queen Street and I just started working as a bike messenger. I was happy to have a bike shop nearby, especially one that was often open as late as midnight.

more...

Province, accused bike thief settle case - Globe and Mail, December. 4, 2009

Bikes are mine 'unless you have a police report' - Globe and Mail, July. 28, 2008

Bike thefts 'really big problem' - Toronto Sun, July 13, 2008







Bicycle Coalition of Philadelphia, December 4, 2009

City Council received an overwhelming response to the proposed bicycle legislation and they are listening and responding to our concerns. We have been assured that there will be no action on the two bills for the time being and we do not believe the two bills can pass City Council in their present form.

In an opinion-editorial that should appear next week, Councilman DiCicco writes that he was surprised at the "passionate and emotional" response to his registration bill. Recognizing problems with enforcement and that the "fee structure may be onerous," Councilman DiCicco states that his proposal "is not the be-all and end-all in dealing with bicycle safety" and that the registration bill "may need to be abandoned altogether."  

All of the attention the bills have generated may actually result in a positive for bicyclists. We met this week with Police Commissioner Ramsey's staff to discuss how the city can better enforce existing traffic laws equitably on motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians to calm our city's streets and make them safer for everyone.



Bike Messenger Injured in hit and run speaks out - MyFox Philadelphia, December 1, 2009‎

Bike messengers protest city's anti-cycling mood - Philadelphia Inquirer, December 1, 2009

 Troubles in Philly, Lessons for New York? - New York Times, December 1, 2009








Members of the Philadelphia Bicycle Messengers Association gathered Monday night at Love Park to protest new proposals at City Council they say would make it more difficult for them to do their jobs.

The Philadelphia Bike Messenger Association (PBMA) would like to declare our stance on new cycling legislation proposed by councilmen DiCicco and Kenney and respond to the rise of an anti-cycling climate in our city.
 
We do not oppose the enforcement of existing laws regarding bicycle riding, but believe that equal and consistent enforcement amongst cyclists, pedestrians and motorists is key. Consistent enforcement of traffic violations would improve the lives of everyone in this city no matter what their mode of travel might be. It is our membership's consensus that the proposed laws put forth by Councilman DiCicco and Councilman Kenney would be specifically harmful to bicycle messengers. No working bike messenger in this city could afford a $1,000 fine or possible confiscation of a work bike deemed "brakeless" according to the proposed laws. The PBMA does not think that a registration program is feasible in a city under so much budget distress and would rather see resources allocated to better causes.

More video - Philly Couriers Rally Against Proposed Bills 


more...






Metro, November 29, 2009

Rachel Fletcher


A few days after one of their own suffered serious facial injuries in a hit-and-run crash, city bicycle messengers upset with what one courier describes as "rising anti-cycling sentiment" are rallying at LOVE Park this evening.

Rachel Fletcher, a 30-year-old experienced and well-known Center City courier, was struck at 23rd and Locusts Streets early Thanksgiving morning and remained at Hahnemann Hospital until Saturday after surgery to repair her face and jaw.

Despite the severity of the crash, police did not take a report until 12 hours later Thursday, which some in the bicycling community said yesterday is part of a culture in Philadelphia that treats cyclists as less important on streets than cars. A sergeant at the Ninth District declined to comment on the incident last night, citing an ongoing investigation.



Bike messengers to protest stiffer cycling regulations.- Philly.com, November 30, 2009



Road Rage at Philly Newspapers over coverage of cyclists - Philadelphia Weekly, November 29, 2009

Law backs cyclist's quest for safe roads - Toronto Star, November 25, 2009



CBC News, November 24, 2009



The number of bike couriers zipping around Ottawa has plummeted in the past two decades, and those hanging on to their two-wheeling careers are blaming technology for the demise of their kind.

"The first thing that affected our business was the fax," said veteran Ottawa courier Eric Moisan Tuesday as he paused for a break outside the World Exchange Plaza in downtown Ottawa, "Then the internet ate up a chunk of our business."

When Gary Watson first started working as a courier 20 years ago, there were around 100 couriers dashing through the city's streets. Now, local couriers estimate there are only around 20.

The nature of the deliveries made by couriers has also changed, he said, without pausing to take off his helmet and drybag backpack.


more...


Time to put the brakes on brakeless bikes - Philadelphia Daily News, November 24, 2009
 
The Crying of Lot 49 - London Review, November 24, 2009

An Outlaw Street Race, for a Good Cause - New York times, November 24, 2009

London gets Bike Courier Appreciation Day this Thursday - Road.cc, November 24, 2009



Cyclist takes city to labour board, claiming roads are unsafe workplace for those who bike for a living

Toronto Star, November 24, 2009

Wayne Scott

Ten years ago, bike courier Wayne Scott won an epic battle against Revenue Canada. His arguments persuaded the Federal Court of Appeal to rule that bike couriers could claim food as a fuel expense on their tax returns.

Now Scott is taking the city to the Ontario Labour Relations Board, claiming Toronto's streets constitute an unsafe workplace for those who cycle on the job. Three months after former Ontario attorney general Michael Bryant was charged in the death of bike courier Darcy Allan Sheppard, Scott is asking the board to force Toronto to make its streets safer.

He wants the city to study the dangers on its roads and address the problems with better street design, enforcement of traffic rules and more bike lanes, within two years.

Scott, a once and future federal Green Party candidate, says the city has failed to apply the provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, which says employers must take reasonable precautions to protect their workers. On Monday, city officials said they didn't know how many employees use bikes on the job, but police, EMS workers and bylaw officers are among those who cycle on duty.

They run the same risk as any cyclist or bike courier of having a car door opened suddenly in their path or being hit at an intersection. That's because the rules of the road are poorly enforced and the city is years behind on completing its own bike plan, contends Scott, who retired from the courier business about four years ago.

Toronto’s streets are an unsafe workplace for cyclists  - Press Release, November 24, 2009



 Rapha Condor pros turn London couriers for a day - Road.cc, November 23, 2009





The death of Toronto bike messenger Wesley McLean in 1934 has a lesson for the case against Michael Bryant

Bryant Watch

The tragic death of Toronto bike messenger, Darcy Allan Sheppard and the resulting charges faced by Michael Bryant highlights the risks cyclists endure on our roads and the challenge all road users cope with sharing our streets. But this is not an unfamiliar situation for Toronto. Cyclists and motorists have confronted these challenges for at least a hundred years with little progress.

Seventy-five years ago, in 1934, another Toronto bike messenger was the victim of a selfish and negligent driver whose only concern was himself. Similarly to Michael Bryant, the killer from long ago employed advocates to construct a narrative that blamed the dead victim.

Downtown Toronto streets in the 1930’s were not much different than today. The glory days of cars from the 1950’s through the 1970’s were yet to come. Cyclists, pedestrians, motorists and streetcars shared the roads and cyclists were well represented in the mix.

The streets were filled with hundreds of bicycle messengers too. They worked for telegraph companies, courier companies, department stores and drug stores. In 1937, the Tamblyn Drug Store chain boasted of employing over 300 Toronto bicycle messengers in their drug stores alone.

more...




A bicycle blitz in Center City - Philadelhpia Inquirer, November 21, 2009

The Philadelphia Bill to require hand brakes on fixed bikes


 


Odd Jobs: Bike couriers haul compost, mail and more - KTVZ.com, November 20, 2009




The death of Toronto bike messenger Darcy Allan Sheppard is similar to the 1999 murder of Chicago bike messenger Thomas McBride.

Bryant Watch, November 19, 2009


The case of the road rage killing of Toronto bike messenger, Darcy Allan Sheppard by former attorney general Michael Bryant has many similarities to the murder of another bike messenger, ten years earlier.

Sheppard was killed on August 31, 2009 after Bryant deliberately rammed his car into him knocking Sheppard to the ground. Before mowing Sheppard down, Bryant had threatened him twice by accelerating his car up close to Sheppard and then stopping without hitting him. After the initial attack Bryant attempted to flee the scene on the wrong side of the road with Sheppard holding on to Bryant’s vehicle. Bryant killed Sheppard by smashing him into trees, a mailbox and fire hydrant before driving away.

On the morning of April 26, 1999, Thomas McBride was riding eastbound on West Washington on his way to work as a bike messenger in the Chicago Loop. Witnesses reported a near miss or minor altercation between McBride and the driver of a green 1997 Chevy Tahoe.

The SUV, driven by Carnell Fitzpatrick, cut McBride off after running a stop sign. McBride slammed his hand against the SUV as a means of alerting the driver to his location and that Fitzpatrick was coming perilously close to hitting him. The two exchanged words and Fitzpatrick like Michael Bryant steered his vehicle up close behind the cyclist before accelerating forward to deliberately hit him.


more...



Michael Bryant case moves forward – Toronto Sun, November 16, 2009

Michael Bryant’s lawyers seek crown’s case in cyclist’s death – Toronto Star, November 16, 2009

Cranksgiving puts new spin on food drives - St. Louis Post-Dispatch,  November 15, 2009

Bike messenger action movie coming? - Bike Radar.com, November 13, 2009‎

2009 US Bicycling Hall of Fame Welcomes Nelson Vails - DC Examiner, November 6, 2009

 


Tokyo Fundraiser cup

The TKBMA is about 3'000'000Yen (roughly 34'000$) short after throwing an unforgettable CMWC for the world wide messenger community. It doesn't seem to be right to leave this huge dept to the organizers who spared no effort
in order to show the competitors a good time.

After the award ceremony couriers from various continents were bragging that the courier community in their hometown would donate more money than any other city to help the TKBMA. That's how the my city kicks your city's ass-fundraising competition" started. So lets stick to it and be really competitive.

Step forward and show the whole world what your community can pull off to support the TKBMA! Organize alleycats...throw parties...whatever it takes to raise money and win this competition.Whichever city respectively community has raised the most money for the Tokyo CMWC organizers by Christmas Eve wins a sweet trophy, 2 free registration spots for CMWC2010 and the respect of the worldwide bicycle messenger community.

The donations will be collected by the treasurer of the IFBMA.
  
More...



Michael Bryant’s privileged class and road rage – Bryant Watch, November 11, 2009




Bryant Watch, November 4, 2009

Lawyer Michael Cochrane wrote a piece in The Mark advocating the acquittal of Michael Bryant in the killing of Darcy Allan Sheppard. The problem with reading anything written by lawyers is that they sometimes cherry pick the facts and set up flimsy straw men to knock over.

After examining Cochrane’s facts, the public would be better served by listing all of  evidence and facts:

  1. Bryant was driving home with his wife from an anniversary celebration, through an area under construction on Bloor Street.  As he stopped at a red light Sheppard passed him and stopped his bicycle in front of Bryant’s car.
  2. While stopped, angry words were exchanged with Sheppard. Video evidence shows that Bryant deliberately rammed his car into Sheppard knocking him to the ground.
  3. It’s unknown if either Sheppard or Bryant were impaired. Police say Sheppard had been drinking that day but that he was not impaired. Bryant was celebrating his 12th wedding anniversary. We will find out if Sheppard was impaired as his body underwent toxicology tests. We will never know if Bryant was impaired as police never submitted him to a breathalyser test.
  4. After getting slammed by Bryant’s car Sheppard hit Bryant’s car with his backpack.
  5. After ramming into Sheppard Bryant reversed his car and tried to drive around Sheppard and flee the scene. Sheppard grabbed on to Bryant’s car in an attempt to prevent Bryant from leaving the scene of the accident.
  6. According to eyewitnesses, Bryant then sped away at about 90 km/hr on the wrong side of the road. He mounted the curb and intentionally drove into obstacles to knock Sheppard off his car.
  7. Bryant’s reckless driving caused Sheppard to smash into a mailbox, fire hydrant and other solid obstacles until he could no longer hold on and fell. Bryant ran over Sheppard with his rear wheels as Sheppard lay bleeding and battered on the ground. Bryant once again fled and Sheppard died.
What would a reasonable person in Bryant’s situation have done?  Would a reasonable person deliberately ram their car into a vulnerable cyclist? Did Bryant have control of his car? Even if Sheppard somehow could control the steering of the car while hanging on for dear life, Bryant still controlled the car. Bryant controlled the acceleration and brake pedals. He controlled the car’s speed.

Based on the facts currently available, a reasonable person would come to the conclusion beyond any reasonable doubt  that Michael Bryant is guilty.


more...





Project Green: Bike couriers are inexpensive, quick, and eco-friendly




WHAS11, Louisville, Kentucky

In many big cities, bike messengers are part of the street scenery dodging traffic to make deliveries from one company to another.

They serve a business purpose, but they're also part of the charge to 'go green' and in this week's Project Green, they want the rest of us to join in.

First thing in the morning the phones start ringing at the Bike Courier’s Bike Shop, Louisville businesses are calling with deliveries they need made.

Couriers at the Bike Shop on West Market get on their bikes and head out.

“The alternative is to put an 8 ounce letter in a car and send that car halfway across town to deliver an 8 ounce letter. It doesn't make sense,” said Jackie Green, co-owner of the Bike Couriers Bike Shop.

Green began the messenger service 8 years ago as an environmentally-friendly alternative to traditional business delivery.
“It reduces congestion, it calms traffic, it minimizes the, well, it practically eliminates fuel consumption,” said Green.

WHAS11 followed one of the couriers as he easily navigated his way down clogged streets on a morning run. 

“We like to use them because its environmentally friendly and they're so friendly,” said Katie Coulter of Coulter Reporting.
But being a bike courier can be dangerous. Bike courier Daniel Penrod said, “as long as you're careful about it and you just try to be, have some personal responsibility about the whole thing, it’s really not that bad. You've just got to be careful.”

Couriers say they're being used more in the downtown district and as increasing businesses and residents re-locate there, they see cycling as an easy way many of us can "go green."

“Green depending on the context and circumstances and this is an alternative we need to be exploring as a city,” said Green.
And bike deliveries are cheap, too.  The average delivery costs companies $6 and takes about 15 to 30 minutes.








Luk Keller from MovingTargetZine's Flickr
photo from movingtargetzine's flickr

The International Federation of Bike Messenger Associations (IFBMA) is pleased to announce that Zurich messenger Luk Keller has been awarded the 2009 "Markus Cook Memorial Award" (MCA) for Services to the International Messenger Community. The IFBMA has awarded the Markus Cook Award (MCA) since 1998 to the person who has inspired and empowered the wider messenger community, and who put all messengers before themselves.

For over ten years messengers around the world have benefited from Luk’s commitment to community. He was one of the organizers of one the most influential Cycle Messenger World Championships, CMWC 1999, the race that brought “Goldsprint” roller racing to the international messenger community. Luk has also been a driver behind many other major events such as the Swiss Messenger Championships and the X Days Side Show.

But Luk is much more than an ordinary race organizer. Human Powered Rollercoaster champion, Dirk Dijkhuis notes that Luk “organizes races to benefit other people.”

Nothing demonstrates that more than the annual Global Gutz benefit race which was created by Luk and others in 2000. Global Gutz is a race that occurs simultaneously around the world so that messengers can race against the each other without leaving their city. Funds raised from the race are used to send the winners to the current year’s CMWC. The base for Global Gutz organizing has passed around the world over the years, returning to Zurich this year as Luk took the reigns of organization once again in 2009.

After a very successful CMWC 2009 in Tokyo. The Tokyo Bike Messenger Association (TKBMA) found themselves about $34,000 in debt. Luk stepped forward to again to benefit others. He announced the “Tokyo Fundraiser Cup” which challenged messenger communities to organize local fundraisers to help erase the TKBMA’s debt. The city that raises the most money will receive a trophy as the most supportive city and two free registrations for the 2010 Cycle Messenger World Championships in Panajachel Guatemala.

As fellow 2009 Markus Cook Award nominee, Steve Froehlich said, this year has once again shown the world that, Luk "is the spirit of our community."



For more information see:
IFBMA
Markus "Fur" Cook Award


More...





Hermes on two wheels

Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, CSU Sacramento, Kevin Wehr's new book,  Hermes on Two Wheels : The Sociology of bike messengers is available at Amazon.com. Kevin is also a former bike messenger.






Cyclist's death highlights auto hazards - Straight Goods, October 19, 2009

New Breed of cycle courier firms get postal strike boost - road.cc, October 22, 2009

Royal Mail's one-man competitor -  BBC, October 21, 2009

Couriers in court for Bryant - Toronto Sun, October 20, 2009

Michael Bryant wants a quick trial, lawyer says - National Post, October 19, 2009







Province takes a pass on health and safety for bike couriers facing daily road risks

Now Magazine, October 14, 2009

By Wayne Scott

Toronto’s world renowned more than century old human-powered delivery industry is ailing.

Battered further by the horrific demise of much missed bike messenger Darcy Allan Sheppard, it seems now to have reached a new ebb in its storied history.

A dozen years after Canada began working in earnest on a Sustainable Transportation Strategy, the busiest streets of the nation’s most congested urban centre are still clogged with more and more huge, motorized (often illegally parked) courier and postal cube vans when the number of active transportation workers continues to dwindle.

The reasons as to why won’t soon be publicly addressed.

A complaint I filed over a year ago with the Health and Safety branch of the Ministry of Labour – that our streets are an unnecessarily unsafe workplace for occupational cyclists – has been dismissed.

more...

See Also:

Food as fuel

Yes, there is a tax free lunch - Toronto Star July 25, 1998

Bike Courier Sideswiped by Car-biased Tax Law - Now Magazine, August 7, 1997





Eagle to deliver - Capital (Ethiopia), October 12, 2009




.
Ryerson Free Press, October 8, 2009

It’s 10 a.m. and Ted Webb weaves through traffic in downtown Toronto. He jumps the green light, hugging the curb as he makes a tight right hand turn. A slow cyclist putters along in the bike lane. He quickly passes them. Webb has five minutes to deliver a bulky envelope to Bay and Queen Street, if late; he has an angry client and dispatcher to worry about. He races down University Avenue, overtaking taxis and family sedans.

Now on Queen Street, he brushes shoulders with a moving streetcar, nearly knocking him off his bicycle. Aware of perilous parked cars, Webb dodges a car door that flings open in front of him. With a minute to spare, he delivers the package to the receptionist.

All of this for $3.

As a bike courier, Webb’s weekly pay cheques would amount to around $200 for 50 hours worked. He lived on these wages for an entire year before he quit in October 2008.


more...


See Also:

Solidariity Forever? - Globe & Mail, September 17, 2005

Sweatshop on wheels - Now Magazine, August 25, 2005

This job could kill - NOW Magazine, July 21, 2005

Activists and action at bike courier meet  - eye weekly, June 10, 1999


Bike couriers courted by postal union - Eye Weekly, 08 Apr 99




Bicycle couriers pedal past risks to deliver niche service - New Orleans City Business, October 12, 2009

License to ride - Bicycling, October 12, 2009

Three cheers for the courier: Messenger Appreciation Day is October 9th - Examiner.com, October 7, 2009

An underappreciated tragedy – Now Magazine, October 5, 2009






October 9th is Messenger Appreciation Day!
(10-9 Day) Let's congratulate all bike couriers on the benefits they bring to our cities:
  • a solution to the problems of pollution, congestion and gridlock faced by large urban centres
  • reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the downtown core
  • take up less space on the road and do less damage to the roads than cars resulting in better conditions and streets for all road users
  • increase the safety of pedestrians compared to cars.
  • provide a value added service that continuously improving firms seek out as a means to reduce costs and improve efficiency
  • are ambassadors of goodwill for the city
  • year round cyclists who promote the bicycle as a viable form of transportation and economic development
Toronto's 2009 Proclamation and Portland's 2009 Proclamation
The mayor of  Toronto also proclaimed Messenger Appreciation Day every year from 1997 through 2007
Other Messenger Appreciation Day celebrations in New York City, Chicago (proclamation) and San Francisco.

More...



 



Markus Cook AwardIt’s time to call for nominations for this year’s Markus Cook Award for services to the international messenger community.

 This will be the 12th year that the award is presented. It was started by Buffalo Bill in 1998, to remember Markus and to draw attention to messengers whose work benefits all of us.

From the IFBMA’s Markus Cook Award page:
“The MCA for services to the International Messenger Community is not a prize for winning a race. At the time the Award was conceived, CMWC was beginning to be more about the racing than the happening. I [Buffalo Bill] wanted to re-establish the spirit of the championships, to restate the reason that we all come to this event every year. The MCA is a reflection of the axiom that everyone who comes to a CMWC is a winner, whether they race or not.

Markus himself was very much in love with the CMWC, and in many ways he was the unlikeliest bike racer imaginable. He was several other things, of course. Editor of Mercury Rising messenger zine, unofficial spokesperson of the SFBMA, leader of L Sid, and a friend to all. The enthusiasm of Markus brought CMWC and the international messenger community to San Francisco, and it saddens many people to this day that he did not live to see it.

This award is for people that inspire and empower the wider messenger community, that put all of us before themselves.


more...



Spin city: Alley-cat racing - Minneapolis Star Tribune, September 27, 2009
 
 Northern People: Have bikes, will deliver - Traverse City Record Eagle, September 26, 2009

 Getting a fix of the "fixeds" in happening Beijing - China Daily, September 24, 2009

 Darcy Allan Sheppard was a good man, bike couriers tell media - National Post, September 25, 2009

 Couriers launch their own PR blitz over handling of cyclist’s traffic death – Globe and Mail, September 25, 2009

 Après la rue, les cyclistes investissent Internet – L’Express, September 22, 2009





From Wiedman Communications


Toronto - 230909 // The Toronto Bike Messenger Association (TOBMA) has called a press conference for this Friday at 2:00 pm. They want to speak ahead of their Saturday, September 26 evening memorial celebration to raise money for the children of Darcy Allan Sheppard, and help his family pay for his burial.

Since the cyclist lost his life in a high-profile accident with Michael Bryant on August 31, TOBMA has chosen to remain silent, making no “official statements” until emotions had calmed. In that time, major media including Maclean’s, Globe & Mail and the Toronto Star have featured articles damning the life, personality and background of their co-worker Al Sheppard.

MORE: Read the letter - http://www.tinyurl.com/allans-family- (pdf) handed "To Allan's Family" by a stranger at his memorial service. It shares a touching story from a woman who had crossed paths with Al Sheppard many times before his death

More at Wiedman Communications...

Go to tobma.com to donate to the fund



 The Evidentiary Narrative – Bryant Watch, September 20, 2009

 The Navigator Narrative from Michael Bryant – Bryant Watch, September 19, 2009

 Bryant and bike courier a class issue - Toronto Star, September 18, 2009

 My life in sport: Ezra Phillips - New Zealand Herald, ‎September 17, 2009

 The life and hard times of a London courier - The Guardian, September 17, 2009




Bicycling, September 16, 2009

by Bob Mionske


The night of August 31, Darcy Allan Sheppard was on his bike on Bloor Street, riding home from his fiancee’s apartment. It was 9:45 p.m. As he approached a traffic light, he passed to the left of a Saab convertible that we now know was Michael Bryant’s. After passing Bryant, who was stopped at the light, Sheppard cut in front of his car and also came to a stop. Shortly thereafter, as the light turned green, Bryant drove forward, perhaps bumping Sheppard’s wheel. Sheppard turned his head back, in Bryant’s direction. Witnesses reported that when the light turned green, there was a toot of the horn from Bryant, and a shout to “get moving,” followed—perhaps—by a return shout from Sheppard. Then, incredibly, Bryant hit the gas, pushing Sheppard forward into the intersection, knocking him off his bike. As Sheppard struggled to get to his feet, Bryant backed up, stopped, turned his wheel and began to drive past Sheppard as he sped away.

Sheppard gave chase, grabbing onto Bryant’s car as it sped by. Witnesses reported hearing shouting, and noted that Bryant was “very, very angry.” They also reported that as Bryant sped down the street with Sheppard clinging to his car, he was driving on the wrong side of the street, at about 60 miles per hour, driving up onto the sidewalk, driving against the trees and posts and newspaper boxes lining the street in what they reported appeared to be an attempt to brush Sheppard off his car. Down the street 100 yards, Sheppard was slammed into a mail collection box, and crumpled into a heap in the street as Bryant’s rear wheels ran over him. Witnesses reported that Sheppard, who lay in the street bleeding heavily from his nose and mouth, attempted to get up, but was advised to remain still until an ambulance arrived. Bryant continued driving down the street to the end of the block, before turning in to the driveway of a luxury hotel, where he finally stopped his car.


more at bicycling.com



What if Navigator worked for Darcy Allan Sheppard instead of Michael Bryant? - Bryant Watch, September 16, 2009

In Washington, a Two-Tire Industry Goes Flat - Washington Post, September 15, 2009

Bike courier returns $20,000 he found sitting atop ATM - Winnipeg Free Press, September 14, 2009

Michael Bryant’s PR firm – Navigator Ltd - Bryant Watch, September 11, 2009

Navigator, changing your perceptions without you even knowing it - Bryant Watch, September 10, 2009





Mess Media has set up a special blog to cover the killing of Darcy Allan Sheppard and Michael Bryant's case as it flows through the legal system.

The blog is Bryant Watch and all of the articles surrounding this tragedy will be posted there until there is a final outcome.








Accused killer Michael Bryany in police custody


After killing Darcy Allan Sheppard, Michael Bryant immediately called his lawyer and then his PR firm Navigator Ltd. He held his first news conference as he stepped out of the police station the next morning.

Other than his resignation letter from Invest Toronto we haven’t heard from him, even though it sounded like the PR plan was for further statements.


Navigator Limited senior partner Robin Sears confirmed Mr. Bryant had retained the top-tier communications firm. He said Mr. Bryant will speak publicly again in the coming days.
-    Globe and Mail, September 3, 2009


Perhaps the exposure of Navigator as the source of speculation set them back or perhaps Bryant does have a side to the story.









To see it best watch it in high quality on full screen

From the video description:

This is security camera footage edited in the time sequence according to eyewitness accounts from August 31, 2009 9:45pm
Eyewitness accounts are avaible here There may be gaps of time between the available footage.

Security camera shows Bryant repeatedly charging Sheppard with his car and running the bike down, throwing Sheppard over the hood. (@ Bay and Bloor)

Car backs away from a bike and man getting up from the ground. The car accelerates away, driving past the man who runs down the street after/beside the car as it passes him. The bike is left behind.

Car drives speeds down the street on the wrong side.

Bryant leaves the scene of the killing and is apprehended, apparently 1hr 45 minutes later. Questions remain about the intervening time. His second phone call after the accident was to the PR firm Navigator: www.navltd.com

Update: Below is improved footage of Bryant deliberately ramming into Sheppard







More...




Memorial Fund set up to aid Sheppard burial costs

Darcy Allan Sheppard


The Toronto Bike Messenger Association (TOBMA) has opened an account at TD Canada Trust for donation to help pay for Darcy Allan Sheppard's burial arrangements and for his children. If you should wish to donate you can go into any TD branch and donate into account number 06906676860 for Darcy Allan Sheppard. Or you can go to tobma.com and donate via pay pal"

Sheppard will receive traditional Aboriginal burial rights before he is laid to rest in his home province of Alberta.

A ceremony for Darcy Allan Sheppard will be held on Monday at the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto, where an elder will lead a solemn service of prayers and drumming.

The service will only be open to close friends and family -- some of whom have made the trip eastward. On Wednesday, Darcy Sheppard Sr. arrived in Toronto to collect his son's remains.




Mess Media, September 4, 2009


Michaels Bryant’s killing of Allan Sheppard has garnered a vast amount of media attention but how much of the media coverage is generated by Bryant’s PR firm.
Rick Salutin of the Globe and Mail reports on the PR campaign to contoll the media message. 
 
Salutin reports that Bryant's second phone call in custody was to hire the PR firm. From that moment the facts of the story have been crafted by those employed by Bryant.


Remember Bryant is a skilled politician with ten years of experience in holding press conferences, public self-promotion and political campaigns. And that's what this story is turning into - political campaign by Bryant and his PR firm, only in this campaign the "opponent" is dead.

Another aspect of Bryant's campaign is to flood the media with speculation, rumour and in some cases outright lies. The Globe asks:

 

When a news story says, “We have new information from a source …” is that source Navigator? Or someone egged on by Navigator? We won't know because Navigator “prefers to be inconspicuous.”

Reporters talking to them have to agree that everything is off the record.







Mess Media, September 3, 2009

The Toronto media have given Al Sheppard's death vast coverage. The have investigated his background.They have reported speculation and rumour. But most of them have virtually ignored one critical aspect of this tragedy.

How did it begin?

The media have said that it began after a minor accident in which Sheppard's bike was damaged. What are they leaving out?

Michael Bryant

Christie Blatchford of the Globe and Mail is generally not a friend of cyclists but she has reported that it all began when Michael Bryant hit Sheppard's bike from behind.
 

Earlier eyewitness accounts describe an angry clash between Mr. Bryant and Mr. Sheppard - a toot of the horn and a shout to get moving from Mr. Bryant; a refusal and perhaps an answering shout from Mr. Sheppard; Mr. Bryant edging his convertible closer, and by one account, actually hitting Mr. Sheppard's bike
More...


Couriers Share their mutual hardship - Toronto Star, September 2, 2009
  


Mess Media, September 2, 2009

Darcy Allan Sheppard
Darcy Allan Sheppard


Former Ontario attorney-general Michael Bryant was charged Tuesday with criminal negligence causing death and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death in relation to the violent road rage death of bike messenger Darcy Allan (AL) Sheppard after a traffic altercation on August 31.

It was a senseless and tragic event that in a few short moments altered the lives of many, leaving one young man dead.

On August 31, around 9:45 pm Bryant was driving his sports car along Bloor Street. Finding himself behind a cyclist, Bryant reportedly grew impatient. Witnesses report an angry Bryant honked his horn and shouted at Sheppard to get moving.  Unsatisfied with Sheppard’s response, Bryant edged forward intentionally hitting Sheppard’s bike.  Sheppard then allegedly dismounted his bike and walked over to confront the shouting Bryant.

As the confrontation escalated, Sheppard grabbed hold of the door or mirror of Bryant’s car and Bryant sped off, tires squealing, with Sheppard holding on for his life as Bryant dragged him through the street.

Construction workers reported Bryant veering his car into oncoming traffic and mounting the sidewalk several times in an attempt to throw Sheppard off the car at high speeds. 

One of the workers said Bryant was “yelling pretty loud and he sounded very, very angry.” The other worker said, “He meant to knock him off.”

Another witness said, "The driver was going so fast that at one point the biker was holding on to his car and there were sparks coming from the bottom of his shoes."
 
Canadian Politician Charged in Death - New York Times, September 2, 2009


More



   Cycle style makes eyes roll in Philadelphia -  Philadelphia Inquirer, August. 09, 2009

   German Court Rules in Favor of Fixed-Gear Cyclist - Spiegel, August 7, 2009

   A wheely nice thing - Toronto Star, August  06, 2009

   For Reno's bike messengers, it's a special delivery - Reno Gazette-Journal, August 2, 2009

   Wheels wobble on the courier industry - Irish Times, August 01, 2009

   Polo's young punk cousin - BBC Radio 1 , July 31, 2009

   Robot Delivers Packages Through Sewers - Wired, July 29, 2009 

   To Save the Planet and Money, More Businesses are Delivering by Bicycle - Streetsblog San Francisco, July 29, 2009

    New Bike Trend Could Be Deadly - Spiegel, July 23, 2009
   
    Road to Progress - Houston Chronicle, July 22, 2009
  




 ottawa bike polo

 
The Ottawa Citizen, July 18, 2009

Three players sit tall in their saddles at each end of the tennis court, staring down their opponents. An orange ball rests on a yellow line at centre court. “Three, two, one — go!”

A lead player from each team charges toward the ball, swinging a mallet fashioned out of an old ski pole and plastic tubing. It is a Sunday afternoon in an Ottawa park and the six riders are playing polo — on bikes.

It’s not uncommon to spot polo players on bicycles at the court at Ev Tremblay Park, just west of Preston Street.

Three days a week, members of the Ottawa bike polo club, Mallets of Mayhem, many of whom work as bicycle messengers, gather to practise skills and play a pick-up game.




    Do-gooders can earn a good living - Financial Post, July 07, 2009
 
   Of spokes and the 'Stupor Bowl' - Minneapolis Star-Tribune, July 7, 2009

   Wheel cool - Philadelphia Inquirer, July 2, 2009

   Berlin Bans Brakeless Bikes – New York Times, July 2, 2009

   Cycle couriers swap the pen for the pedal and enjoy a job outdoors - Wales Online, June 30 2009



Global Gutz 2009

Congratulations to the 2009 Global Gutz Winners: Irek Gruszczynski from Warsaw Poland and Anette Michel from Zurich Switzerland.

See the Global Gutz site for all the results

Brisbane needed 12 cops to harass Global Gutz racers there. Watch as the police task force inspects bikes for bells.








  Loving life on two wheels - Denver Post, June 23, 2009

  Upside: Owns the Street. Downside: Car Doors. - New York Times, June 15, 2009




Photos by Beryl Fine

SF Messenger Photo Book

Beryl Fine is a photographer based in San Francisco, who strives to find beauty in the unconventional; her photos are bold, yet they expose a frailty that is so inherent in human nature. For this project, she photographed 23 bike messengers, men and women, who are all represented in the book.

Known as urban street messengers, today the modern bike messenger stands synonymous with their predecessors, the pony express, but rather than a horse or pony their trusted steed rides between their legs on two wheels. They’re gritty. Foul mouthed, rough and tough street couriers.

Glamour aside, these men and women have an unforgiving job keeping them outside in sun and sleet, rain or shine, riding for good or bad. They remain lurkers of the urban streets wheeling between buses, semi trucks, taxis and oblivious street pedestrians, delivering the valuable documents that keep the wheels of progress turning.








Here isTristan Verboven's film from the 2001 Cycle Messenger World Championships in Budapest. There are four parts.










 Bike couriers rolling into Berlin for championship - The Local, May 27, 2009

 Bike polo: Carnage and poetry - Toronto Star, May 25, 2009

  Dangerous  Bike Riders Run Wild With Impunity in NYC - New York Post – May 23, 2009


  


This is a trailer for an independent documentary film. This documentary shows the process of designing a bicycle for and with Ugandan bicycle couriers, known as Boda-boda. Filmed primarily in Uganda, it shows the realities of current day East Africa, from the chaotic streets of Kampala to the inside of gritty mud-thatched homes in rural Hoima. In Uganda many residents use cheap, clunky bicycles for their primary means of transportation. Through a unique collaboration between an American designer and Ugandan couriers, a new bicycle design was conceived and a prototype was
made. I then traveled to Uganda to meet the couriers and to have the bike tested and critiqued. The completed doc was awarded best documentary short at the Northwest Projections Film Festival 2009.







    Nutrition on wheels with the Pickle - Toronto Star, April 30, 2009  

    That's My Job: Rain or inversion, he delivers  - Idaho Statesman, April 29, 2009

    Can we talk about your, ahem, 'saddle-nosed' bike seat? - The Oregonian April 27, 2009

    Courier duo get on their bikes - Sunday Business Post, April 19, 2009

    Shoestring approach has some messengers pedaling to success - New York Daily News, April 20th 2009
 
    Green couriers in Cebu - Cebu Daily News, April 20, 2009

    Israel's only bike messenger firm overwhelmed with orders - Haaretz, April 13, 2009

    Local Bike Courier Company Riding to Success - KTVN Reno, April 13, 2009

    Library loan system uses bicycle delivery - Ames Tribune, April 12, 2009

    These bike couriers save fossil fuels and help galvanize the local business economy - Somerville News, April 09, 2009

    Pedaling to Profit: The Upswing of Bike Powered Business  - Wend Magazine, March 2, 2009

    The Paper Chase - New York Times, April 3, 2009

    Racing Requires Patience - DC Examiner, March 22, 2009






Bank of Ireland Business Banking announces, today, Tuesday 24 March 2009, the four finalists selected to the take part in the Dublin final of its 'Bright Ideas Challenge' which takes place on Wednesday 25 March from 4.00-9.30pm in the Stillorgan Park Hotel in Dublin. The four selected companies for the Dublin final of the competition are ASimil8, which is based at NovaUCD, iFoods, Trezur and Velocity Couriers who will present to a panel of judges and a public audience on the day. The final will form part of the Bank's first Business Advice Show during the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Enterprise Week.

Held in conjunction with the City & County Enterprise Boards the 'Bright Ideas Challenge' aims to encourage and support both innovation and enterprise in business start-ups, SMEs and individuals who are in the beginning of early stages of development. The chosen winner will receive a cash prize of €5,000, along with a mentoring and training package from the associated County Enterprise Board valued at €5,000. They will also go forward to the national final of the Bright Ideas Challenge in early 2010 with the opportunity to win another attractive investment package.


more..
 



     Cycle couriers saddled with drop in custom - Financial Times, March 21 2009

     Young invincibles' OK with risk of no insurance - CNN - ‎March 20, 2009‎





Ten years ago Toronto bike messengers warned of the dangers of smog to our health in “Choking us to death: The Air Pollution Crisis and Its Effects on Bicycle Couriers.”

Couriers pointed to a unique vulnerability due to exposure to both the ground-level ozone and  particulate matter present in smog and to exposure to peek levels of pollution together with long-term exposure to non peak levels.

“Bicycle couriers work all day, year round in the midst of smog. Our lungs have minimal opportunity to recover from the effects of polluted air. We are chronically exposed to high doses of dangerously polluted air for long term, extended periods of time.”

The athletic nature of the profession requires messengers to “spend more time outdoors, breathe faster and engage in vigorous physical activity.”

This danger to couriers is exacerbated by the location of the athletic activity which means that a bike courier’s “lungs are not more than about 10 feet from an exhaust pipe for most of the day.”

Since the release of “Choking us to death,” many studies have confirmed couriers’ concerns.


more...



For more information read "Choking us to death:the air pollution crisis and its effects on bicycle couriers (1999)"

Long-Term Ozone Exposure and Mortality – New England Journal of Medicine , March 12, 2009

Study links smog exposure to premature death – New York Times, March 12, 2009

Ozone causes 20% of lung deaths, study suggests -  Toronto Star, March 11, 2009


For Athletes, an Invisible Traffic Hazard - New York Times, July 12, 2007


This job could kill - NOW Magazine, July 21, 2005





    Robber nabbed with help of bike messenger - Chicago Sun-Times, March 3, 2009

    Roller Racing Sizzles in Chilly Climates - Bicycle Retailer, February 2, 2009

    Pedal pushers - Winnipeg Free Press, February 28, 2009

    Chic’-powered courier service runs on pedal power - Grand Junction Free Press, February 25, 2009

    Fashion Week, like many other things, impossible without bike messengers - NY Bicycle Transportation Examiner, February 22, 2009

    Speeding Fire Truck Took Michael Young's Leg - News 7, Belize City, Belize, February 17, 2009

    Shop and drop-off via bicycle courier - World Radio Switzerland, February 12, 2009

    Bend's First Bike Courier Braves Snow, Terrain - OPB News,  February 9, 2009

    Gear Test With Hugo Giron, Bike Courier  - New York Times, January 28, 2009




This is a video by Luke Stiles for Alex Farioletti's audition for a Gatorade sponsored web reality show










February 21, 2009 9:00 pm at Dufferin Grove Park, presented by The Bike Joint

Icycle 09 Ice bike race is ready to roll again. Come for the action, stay for the rubber race. thrills, spills and definitely Chills. After party at the Bike Pirates @ 1292 Bloor West






New York City's best messenger service Cycle Hawk Messengers is presenting its fourth annual Velo City Tour where the fastest track racing messengers and city bikers compete for prizes including RETURN AIRFARE TO TOKYO for the 17th annual  Cycle Messenger World Championships.

Past winners include Peter Bradshaw of Boston who went on to win the 2007 Cycle Messenger World Championships in Dublin, Ireland.

More information at the Velo City page on CycleHawk.com


Velo City 2008





Bike Portland's three-part story on Portland's bike messengers



As Portland’s reputation as a green business boomtown gains momentum, bike-centric ventures emerge as quickly and viably as organic brewpubs and cafes. While a new era of entrepreneurs seeks to capitalize on this evolving economy, one of the oldest bike-based businesses, bicycle messenger services, faces challenges that impact workers and business owners alike.

The danger-to-compensation ratio of bike messenger work starkly contrasts with that of other jobs that require constant exposure to hazardous elements. For example, construction workers typically receive relatively higher pay rates and are protected by workman’s compensation laws, if employed by law-abiding companies. Food and beverage service workers in Oregon are granted an hourly wage by law, plus workman’s compensation protection and - in some cases - options to purchase into group health plans. Despite the injury-rich nature of their work, bike messengers typically do not.

More....

Part Two...

Part Three ...



    Peddling Passion - WUSA, January 19, 2009

    Top guns outclassed - The Age, January 12, 2009
    
    Helping youth cycle away from poverty - Toronto Star, January 01, 2009

    Madison Bike Polo challenges NYC in New Year's Championships - Isthmus Daily Page, January 1, 2009



If you believe the FedEx spin doctors, the only reason their employer decided to fork over $27 million - after nearly 10 years of litigation and in the worst economy since the Depression - to settle the Estrada case is that it just wanted to "put the matter behind us." They claim that their decision to call it a decade in the biggest FedEx labor and employment case ever had nothing to do with the merits of the driver-misclassification case.

What's more, FedEx said that the agreement in the landmark case "has no bearing" on any other pending legal case, such as the huge Federal misclassification litigation on behalf of 27,000 drivers working its way through U.S. District Court in Indiana.

Is FedEx to be believed in its post-judgment rhetoric? No! As anyone who has been following the FedEx follies knows, the company has long lived in a state of fantasy and denial when it comes to trying to defend in court and then publicly rationalize its sham, independent contractor model. Even in the face of a $27 million, final stipulated judgment in California, it continues to misrepresent what has occurred. Free of any sugar-coating or spinning, here are the facts behind the Estrada judgment:

  • The 203 drivers will receive a total of more than $14 million in documented damages, which comes out to about $70,000 on average per plaintiff. The minimum reimbursement is $2,000 and the maximum is about $280,000.   Part of the drivers' recovery is pre-judgment interest from the date the drivers paid for FedEx's operating expenses.
  • Those reimbursement amounts were determined after the Court-appointed retired judge painstakingly reviewed thousands of pages of records, including expense receipts for everything from the purchase of insurance, fuel for trucks, tires and oil. These were all business expenses that the drivers should not have had to pay, and would not have paid for if they had been properly classified as employees.
  • The legal fees that FedEx likes to focus on are being paid by FedEx, not the drivers, for work by counsel during nearly ten years of litigation. The company conveniently fails to mention that no driver ever paid out-of-pocket for their legal services, and that all attorneys fees were reviewed and preliminarily approved by the Court, who commended the Plaintiffs' lawyers for ensuring the drivers got the full measure of their damages without reduction for legal fees.
  • The relevance of Estrada to the Federal class action will not be determined by the FedEx PR department but by the U.S. District Court Judge overseeing the huge, multi-district case in his Indiana court, where single work area and multiple work area drivers are included in the certified class and are challenging - right now - FedEx's business model.
  • The Plaintiffs have asked the Court to rely on the Estrada judgment in determining the drivers' employment status, so FedEx's claim that the California case is irrelevant is wishful thinking.  Ultimately, FedEx faces an exposure in the billions - not millions - for its misclassification practices across America.
FedEx has once again tried to sidestep the real issue -- how it treats its drivers like employees, refused to pay taxes and provide benefits that all employers are required to provide. Clearly, this strategy failed in Estrada and we believe it will fail at the Federal level, as well as before the IRS when that agency completes its full tax audit for the years under scrutiny.

http://www.fedexdriverslawsuit.com

FedEx Watch


FedEx agrees to pay $27 million independent contractor judgement - Alameda Sun, 18 December 2008

Independent Contractor Case Is Cautionary Tale - Business Finance Magazine, December 9, 2008

IRS Says FedEx May Owe $319M - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News - December. 27, 2007

FedEx Ground: Bah humbug to workers - Daily News Tribune - December 21, 2007

Coakley fines FedEx Ground for saying drivers were contractors - Boston Herald, December 20, 2008

Massachusetts Attorney General Cites FedEx Ground - Fedex Watch, December 19, 2007

FedEx Ground Gives Up Contractor Model in California - Fedex Watch, September 21, 2007

Delivery Companies Pressured - Los Angeles Times, December 5, 2005

Drivers Deliver Trouble to FedEx By Seeking Employee Benefits - Wall Street Journal, January 7, 2005

Independent Contractors - Disguised Employees

8 Arrested in Alleged Insurance Fraud - Los Angeles Times, May 5, 2006






Obama Introduces Independent Contractor Legislation

In September 2007 then-Senator Barack Obama introduced legislation that would close the safe harbor loophole that the messenger industry relies upon to exploit labour laws. The messenger courier industry was a pioneer in misusing independent contractor status to exploit child labour in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Now that Obama will be president on January 20th there will be a renewed focus on the misclassificaltion of employees as independent contractors.

Here is the information once again on Obama's bill:

Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) introduced the "Independent Contractor Proper Classification Act of 2007 (S. 2044)," which addresses the issue of classifying employees v. independent contractors.
 
Behind the introduction of the legislation is Obama's belief that employers misclassify workers as independent contractors rather than as employees to avoid compensating for minimum wage, overtime pay and benefits.
 
His legislation closes a perceived loophole in the tax code that occurs if an employer has been consistently reporting workers as independent contractors to the IRS and if the employer can verify its decision-making based on reasonableness in that the employer relied on the advice of an attorney or accountant's interpretation of the statute.
 
Sponors include Senators Durbin, Kennedy, and Murray. The bill introduced on September 12, 2007 addresses what the sponsors view as weaknesses in the current laws regarding independent contractors. The bill would:
  • allow the IRS to require employers to reclassify workers misclassified as independent contractors;
  • authorize the IRS to issue regulations and revenue rulings establishing standards for properly classifying workers as independent contractors;
  •  eliminate the ability of employers to rely on industry practices as a reasonable basis for classifying workers as independent contractors;
  •  require the IRS to develop a procedure by which employees could challenge their classification as independent contractors;
  •  provide protections against retaliation for workers who take advantage of the challenge procedure;
  •  require IRS audit of employers that have misclassified workers and require misclassifications to be reported to the Department of Labor;
  •  require DOL to investigate industries that are revealed by IRS data to have high rates of misclassifications;
  •  require the DOL's FLSA poster to inform workers of their right to challenge their classification as independent contractors;
  • require employers to notify independent contractors of their federal tax obligations, of their right to obtain a determination of their independent contractor status from the IRS, and of the labor and employment law protections that apply only to employees; and
  •  require employers to keep certain records relating to independent contractors for three years.
 Text of the bill: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:S.2044:


  

Gang of Mets

Japanese Messenger Commercial for Mets from 1988









Strong, brave, fast and free. No wonder we admire messengers and their style

For years civilians have watched and immitated the functional fashion of bike messengers. From bags to clothing to accessories the bike messenger's influence on urban lifestyle continues to grow. Why?

Jeffrey Kidder's paper in the Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, "Style and Action: A Decoding of Bike Messenger Symbols" concludes that "messenger style is intertwined with messenger practice." The marriage of style of and function lends an authenticity to messenger style. And it's a piece of this authenticity that civilians seek in their immitation of messengers.

In the introduction to the photography book, "Messengers Style", Valerie Steele, Chief Curator of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, notes that "when high fashion draws on street style, it’s not only because there is something special about the clothes. It is the lifestyle and attitude associated with subcultural clothing styles which attracts attention. Sometimes straight people want to live the life."

Introduction  to Messengers Style  - Assouline Books, 2000
Style and Action: A Decoding of Bike Messenger Symbols -  Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, June 2005
Media Stalking the Messengers? - Messmedia, October 9, 2007




  Media Stalking the Messengers?

Mess Media, October 9, 2007

What’s going on with messengers and the media?

Everywhere you look the media is hyping some new aspect of messenger culture as the next big thing. And they may be right. Messenger culture and its youth oriented styles, street edge and outlaw image has been making inroads into the mainstream since the first Cycle Messenger World Championships (CMWC) in 1993 in Berlin Germany. Since then messenger bags have become the accessory of choice for office workers and students.

And now recently many urban cyclists have started trading in their city mountain bikes for the fixed gear bikes associated with bike messengers. They even refer to messenger events as part of their “fixed gear culture.”



Stylist John Steinberg describes messengers as being “ahead of their time.” He says “They’ve got that edge. You see something on a courier. Maybe in a year later it will hit the mainstream. They’re slick. They’re cool. For want of a better word, they’re cool. The real world for them is cool.”


More....



The original - ALLEYCAT SCRAMBLE

The original Alleycats now have a site up with information and flyers from the historic first Alleycat Scrambles in Toronto.

Original alleycats

 


Child Labour - Messenger Boys


Messenger boys (and girls) were the poster children for child labor in North America. Western Union alone was the single largest employer of child labour in America. Messenger companies shamefully exerted a tremendous level of control over these young boys and girls yet they still were able to claim them as independent contractors.

In response to the exploitation of children by messenger companies and others, the National Child Labor Committee was organized in 1904 and was chartered by Congress in 1907. Photographer Louis Hine documented many violations of child labour laws in the messenger industry. As a result of his pictures the many states passed laws banning the employment of under age children culminating in the Fair Labor Standards Act, (aka the Federal Wage and Hour Law). Companies fought the law all the way to the Supreme Court, which upheld the law and declared the Act constitutional in 1941.
 



Child Labour in the messenger industry: Toronto Messenger Boys’ Association Plan to Petition Hepburn for Protection - Toronto Star, October 13, 1937
Plea For Boys in Large Cities - Toronto Star, August 13, 1904


 

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Send comments or suggestions, to: mima@messmedia.org