The initial idea for the American Friends Service Committee’s (AFSC) Taxi Worker Organizing Project came about in 2006 when leaders from its partnering organization, the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago (CIOGC), urged AFSC to publically respond to the violent murder of cabdriver, Haroon Paryani. The Council has functioned as an advocacy group for the city’s roughly 60 percent of cabdrivers who are Muslim.
AFSC and CIOGC decided to jointly respond to the murder of Haroon Paryani and address other problems plaguing Chicago cabdrivers. These problems included crimes in the form of physical violence as well as poor working conditions, racial profiling, and anti-cabdriver media bias.