Executive Q&A: Union Cab GM deals with a challenging landscape

John McNamara's business decisions as general manager for Union Cab in Madison generally have effects that reach well outside Wisconsin. Union Cab is one of the largest worker cooperatives in the country, and its history here is colorful and political.

But growing up in a Toledo suburb, McNamara had his eye on a different future. "I was slated on either becoming a medical doctor or a veterinarian," McNamara said.

But that's not what happened.

Q: I've read the history of Union Cab on your website. Where do you fit in to this history?

A: I joined the co-op as a driver in the fall of 1988, after graduating from UW-Madison with a degree in history and English literature. I was basically taking a year off before deciding on graduate school. I did go to New York University for a semester but decided that my heart was really in the cooperative business model, not English lit. I served on the board for eight years — four as president — and eventually worked my way into the organization. For most of the last decade, it has been my job to tell our story to the public.

Q: Do you think Union Cab is unique?

A: Among cab companies, Union Cab is very unique. We are one of the only taxi cooperatives that include all of the organization's workers as members. We are one of the only cab companies that provide health care to its drivers. In Madison, we are the only full-service cab company. We have hybrid electric vehicles for the environmentally conscious, minivans for families and parties of five and six, and the only on-demand wheelchair accessible taxis for people with challenged mobility. As a worker-owned business, we used to be very unique, and we're still one of the largest worker cooperatives in the country, but I am quite happy to see more worker-owned businesses show up every day.

Q: How is running a cooperative business different from running a traditionally structured business?

A: It is a lot harder. Managers in a worker cooperative need to do everything other managers do, but we also need to answer to the membership, which doubles as the workforce. You could say that we are the Ginger Rogers of the business world — she did everything Fred Astaire did only backwards and in heels. As a democratic organization, and one in which the members are also the workers, buy-in becomes more important than ever. This means that some decisions take a little bit longer to make than in an investor-owned business.

Q: What's your most interesting fare?

A: I drove taxi for 16 years in Madison. My most interesting fares were always the ones in which people decided to tell me their story, but the best was a call that took me from the old Midway Motor Lodge to Oxford's federal prison. The young woman in my cab had a French accent and announced that she was going to visit her father, whom she declared a political prisoner. It turns out that, according to her, he was one of the fall guys for Iran-Contra and had done the dirty work for Oliver North.

Q: How has the taxi transport business changed since you started?

A: One of the key demographics of passengers has disappeared. When I started, the city was full of elderly women who had never received their driver's license. It was not uncommon to spend an entire afternoon shuttling between Sheboygan Avenue and the Hilldale Mall. I figured out that World War II was the breakpoint for this group. Women who came of age, like my 85-year-old mother, learned to drive and continue to drive. Another major change is that people have come to devalue transportation and the importance of transportation to people in terms of education, health care and employment. The final change has been the spread of the city and the connecting communities.

Q: How has the sluggish economy affected your business?

A: The collapse of the economy in 2008 put a big dent in our business. But Madison has always been somewhat recession-proof due to the University of Wisconsin and the student population. The real difficulties for our industry result from gasoline prices and health care costs. Of course, the recent decision by the state to switch to a broker for medical rides and by the city to switch partners with its Metro Plus service combined with the startup of Madison's fourth taxi company has upset the apple cart quite a bit in Madison. It has created one of the most challenging years for the cooperative since 2000.

Q: Why did you get a Prius for Union Cab, and how has that been working out?

A: We started the Prius project for two reasons. First, our membership believes that we should be good environmental stewards. Second, the continuing climb of gas prices combined with stagnant wages requires us to find a way to remain affordable to the community. The transition has been incredible. We have seen a dramatic reduction in fuel usage. This is allowing us to absorb other costs without raising rates — and we have not raised rates since August of 2008, the second longest period in our history. Most people are surprised at how much room is in a Prius, and people with mobility difficulties find them much easier to navigate.

Q: What do you do for fun?

A: Well, these days, I am working towards a Ph.D. in business administration, so my time is quite limited. When I do get free time, I enjoy bicycling out into the county. I particularly like the loops on the eastern part of Dane County — Cambridge, Deerfield, York, Marshall. I also can think of few better afternoons than listening to the Grateful Dead or watching a baseball game.