Bike Messengers

You don’t have to be crazy… but it helps

BY-LAW MADNESS

Bike Messengers, more than any segment of the courier industry, are affected most by city by-laws. From where a bike can be parked (in Calgary there are buildings it is against the law to lean your bike against) to what streets a messenger can use, it seems there is a by-law officer just waiting to spring from a doorway and write a ticket. In many cities there have been attempts to start Bike Messenger Associations (BMA) to protect Bikers rights. These attempts have found usually limited degrees of success. The difficulty is that for any organization to operate properly it requires people devoted to running it. Which means someone needs to get paid and some mechanism must be in place to assure Bikers they are getting what they paid for.

Unionizing addresses this problem. The organization is already in place, with people already experienced at negotiating not only with employers but government red tape as well. If the solution to by-law difficulties is an association it only makes sense to pay your dues to an organization that has the expertise to address the problems.

The race to the bottom for messenger rates is an everyday reality. Too many companies undervaluing the environmentally friendly and incredibly tough work done by messengers. This is why BMA’s seem like such an attractive option. The need for messengers to at least earn a living wage is vital. It is only a matter of what vehicle will best get them there.

“After navigating through ice, wind, rain, snow and triple-digit temperatures, there is little the bike messenger cannot quickly adapt to. It is rare that a messenger will complain about the weather. The messenger often has to struggle to keep his or her mouth shut in the company of businessmen and women riding elevators, who complain about the conditions outside while sipping lattes in their warm, dry suits.”

- Julian Root

The Montreal Gazette

“Montreal's daredevil bike couriers and independent messengers are trying to unionize in a campaign that threatens to change forever the local rush delivery business.”

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