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Justice delayed will not be justice denied.
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We want the physical assaults against drivers to stop. It is a crime and it will be punished. To start with, we are asking the city for a sticker in every taxicab.
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New York Taxi Workers Alliance
June 2011 / No. 4
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Greetings!
As another session closes in Albany, history has been made for NYC taxi drivers. |
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NYTWA Announces Landmark Agreement with TLC and Mayor's Office
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First-ever economic protections secured for all NYC Taxi Drivers
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Historic Agreement: What We Won
Agreement reached between NYTWA and the Mayor's Office and TLC:
- Comprehensive Enforcement against illegal pick-ups! The TLC will form an "anti-illegal street hails enforcement unit" just to protect Manhattan and the Airports for yellow cab drivers! By January 2012, the unit will have 90 officers. Up to now, there have been none. The unit will be double enforcement at the Airports along with Port Authority. The comprehensive enforcement includes unlimited tow pound space, increased fines for FHV operators and vehicle owners, and the use of GPS and other technologies to block the new livery taxis from picking up in areas reserved exclusively for us. NYTWA will meet regularly with TLC and receive real-time reports. NYTWA will also use information from our hotline to monitor the enforcement.
- Turn rights! NYTWA will work with the TLC and Department of Transportation on turn rights for taxis (the same as buses).
- Protection against lease cap overcharges! TLC will form first-ever "lease cap violations enforcement unit" to police garages and brokers who overcharge drivers, and pass new rules to protect our incomes from high leases.
- Gradual introduction of new medallions! TLC agrees to slowly phase in new vehicles: new medallions will be issued 500 at a time over three years - not all at once! For the first time, TLC will also conduct a study on the impact of the new vehicles on drivers' incomes, before issuing more medallions.
- Health fund! TLC and NYTWA will create a Task Force to create the first-ever Taxi Driver Health and Wellness Fund.
- Lower Credit Card fees! TLC will reduce credit card transaction fees from 5% down to 4% and will explore reducing debit card fees even lower.
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Mayor's Livery Cab Bill to Increase Street Hail Service In Outer Boroughs; Manhattan and Airports Protected for Yellow Cabs
The New York State Senate passed bill S-5825 on Friday, June 24th, in a 40-21 vote. The Assembly had voted in favor the week before, 110-28. The bill now goes to the Governor for signing.
The new law calls for sales starting in January for permits ($1,500 each) for livery cabs to legally pick-up north of East 96th Street and north of West 110th Street in upper Manhattan and in parts of the outer boroughs. Yellow cabs will remain the only private transportation in NYC with exclusive right to street pick-ups in all five boroughs and the airports. A Task Force will conduct hearings and decide on five neighborhoods in every outer borough where yellow cabs already provide sufficient service. The liveries will not be allowed to pick up in those outer borough neighborhoods. The new cars will have a metered fare, credit card machine, GPS, insurance against accidents for driver and passenger, and will be subject to the 50 cent MTA surcharge. They will also be painted a different color. This measure is intended to improve service outside of Manhattan, where 80% of the city's population resides.
GPS will be used to stop any illegal pick-ups by the liveries. Among existing livery and black car drivers, the permits will be issued only to vehicle owners. Bases who own the car and want to remain strictly on dispatched calls will be able to do so. The new permits - authorized to be a maximum of 30,000 - will not increase the number of working drivers. Instead, it will give a new option to current livery, black car and taxi drivers.
So we have secured Manhattan and the Airports for ourselves for the first time since the city was carved out in 1970 with the start of the livery industry and again in 1980 with the start of the black car industry. When those transitions happened, affecting the livelihood of taxi drivers, the city made no agreement to protect drivers. We are the first generation of drivers to win protections for ourselves. And what do we give up? Virtually Nothing! The areas where we work over 95% of the time will now finally be secured and the demands of the riding public will have been met.
The bill also authorizes the TLC to auction 1,500 new medallions. In an agreement reached with the NYTWA, the city has already agreed to sell only 500 at a time over three years and to conduct a study on the impact on driver incomes after every auction. NYTWA will also work on assisting members interested in the auction.
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New Owner-Must-Drive Rules
In June, the TLC passed new rules to lower the driving requirement for owner-must-drive medallions to 180 shifts per year (150 if the owner-op is both 62 years or older and has been driving for 10 years); allow the driving requirement to be shared between up to 4 owners with at least 10% ownership of the medallion; and allow owner-ops to stop driving completely by paying a $5,000 annual fee ($2,500 if 62 years or older) to the TLC and lease the medallion to an individual driver who owns the car.
These options are for every calendar year, so this begins January 1, 2012.
This rule:
1. Reduces the existing driving requirement for all owner-must-drive medallions from 210 nine-hour shifts per year to 180.
2. Allows individual owners who are at least 62 years old and have driven for at least 10 years to reduce their work schedule to 150 seven-hour shifts per year.
3. Ends the requirement that one owner must satisfy the entire driving requirement and allows driving duties to be divided among up to four owner-drivers, provided that each owns at least 10 percent of the medallion. 4. Creates an alternative service option for many owners. This option permits an owner to stop driving completely, while providing that the medallion is driven by a driver with a stake in the vehicle and a commitment to the industry. An owner must meet all of the following to take this option:
- Current owners must have owned for at least two years.
- Future owners must own and drive for at least ten years.
- An owner must lease the medallion to a driver who either owns the taxicab vehicle or leases it with a conditional purchase agreement.
- The driver must drive the vehicle an average of at least 120 hours per month.
- The driver must drive at least 180 nine-hour shifts every calendar year.
- The owner must sign up for the option for a calendar year before that calendar year begins.
- The owner must pay a $5,000 penalty for each calendar year (or $2,500 for owners 62 and over).
5. As noted above, TLC records show that many owners have not complied with the owner-must-drive requirement under the current rule. Because of this, the rule:
- Substantially increases the penalties to ensure compliance with the more relaxed requirements by establishing a range of fines from $1,000 to $10,000 based on shifts missed, and,
- Adds penalties for agents who do not comply with owner-must-drive requirements for medallions that they manage by establishing a range of fines from $1,000 to $10,000 per medallion and/or suspension until compliance.
6. Finally, this rule permits an owner who buys an independent medallion together with a vehicle previously hacked-up with that medallion to continue to use that vehicle until its scheduled retirement date.
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Taxi Driver Protection Act: Until the Next Legislative Session
The 2011 legislative session in Albany has now ended, but this bill is still first and foremost on our agenda for 2012. The legal language is being worked on to determine the conditions by which an assault against a driver can be considered a misdemeanor or felony. Right now, we want a sticker in every taxicab that reads: "Warning: Assaulting A Taxi Driver Is Punishable By Up to Twenty-five Years In Prison."
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(Click to view our 6-13-11 trip to Albany)
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This will help educate the public and lessen the frequency of physical attacks -- which are considerably more than on other U.S. workers. The bill will require all for-hire vehicles to display the sign, reminding passengers that assaulting a taxi driver is a serious crime. Public bus and train employees already have this protection. Meanwhile, it's New York City's taxi drivers that are frequently the victims of vicious, unprovoked assault.
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Membership Recruitment Drive: Spread the Word!
Campaigns for a Fare Raise, Health and Wellness Fund, and greater collective bargaining rights are high underway and have never been so close within our reach. Now, we need to build driver power by getting more drivers involved and becoming members! If you have friends who you think would be interested in learning more about NYTWA, please let us know and we will reach out to them. All drivers should feel free to come by our office at any time during open office hours (Monday-Thursday, 2-10 pm, Friday 2-8 pm) or call for more information (212-627-5248). We are located at 250 Fifth Avenue, Suite 310, New York, NY 10001.
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In Solidarity, Bhairavi Desai
New York Taxi Workers Alliance |
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