|
Have you seen this poster? You will.
|  |
Beginning Monday, February 13th, Driver's Bill of Rights posters should be:- Visible at all meter shops, garages, and brokerages
- 2 x 3 feet in size
- Laminated or framed
Contact NYTWA at 212-627-5248 if your garage or broker is in violation of this rule.
|
|
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube
|
|
|
New York Taxi Workers Alliance
Dec '11 - Jan '12 / No. 9
|
February All Driver General Meetings!
Day Shift:
Saturday, February 11th 10:00 a.m. NYTWA Office 250 Fifth Ave. Suite 310 Night Shift: Monday night shift, February 13th 1:00 a.m. (after midnight) 25 West 43rd St., 18th Fl.
Agenda
- F-A-I-R Raise Campaign Next Action Plans
- Announcement on Campaign to Stop 5%!
- Open Microphone for Public Comments
- Illegal Street Hails Enforcement
- Livery Bill & New Medallions Update
- NYTWA Proposal on Wheel-Chair Accessible Taxis
|
NYTWA Kicks Off All-Out Multi-Front Attack On High Leases and Overcharges!
"Stop the Greed! Lower the Lease!" "Drivers Unite! Stand Up for Your Rights!" "Leases Too High! Garages Bye-Bye!" Those have been the rallying calls during NYTWA pickets of greedy garages to stop lease cap overcharges and the pass-along of the vehicle sales tax of $4.77. Since the end of December, we've protested outside Midtown Garage, Checker Management, SLS Jet, Tunnel Management, Stan 55, Ronart, United Taxi, and Gotham. Bull-horn and posters in hand, we show up unannounced, handing out flyers to drivers and shaming the garages. We've also had two announced demonstrations which were covered in the media.
 | "Whose Labor? Our Labor! Whose Money? Our Money!"
"All Taxi Management -- We're Not Your ATM!" |
During our announced demonstration against Midtown, owned by the President of the garages' association, Ron Sherman, NY1 interviewed a protestor who shared his end of shift and payment receipts. "I booked $138, and after my expenses, I walked away with $4.50 after nine hours," said cab driver Stephen Benesoczky. Stephen's expenses included a $4.77 vehicle sales tax which the garages reinstituted in mid-December following a New York State Court of Appeals ruling. In 2009, the TLC passed a rule banning garages from charging any fee, fine or tax above the lease cap. Greedy garages sued, claiming that not charging the extra tax would bankrupt them. In the same lawsuit, the garages also wanted to break the TLC's authority to set maximum lease caps and other lease-related rules against them. NYTWA provided affidavits to the court opposing the garages. They lost the first decision as well as the appeal. That's why, for over two years, they stopped charging the extra tax (which in 2009 was $3 per shift).
 | |
A popular chant for Midtown Garage: "Leases Too High! Sherman, Bye-Bye!" "Open the BOOKS, You CROOKS!"
|
The Court of Appeals reversed the earlier decisions, stating that a sales tax has to be charged separate from the lease. In a defeat to the garages' main position, however, the same judges panel ruled that the city has a right to regulate them and, in fact, advised that the TLC could lower the lease cap to adjust for the sales tax; so drivers would not be hit with $4.77 more. NYTWA is calling on the TLC to make this rule change and, at the same time, we are confronting garage greed directly. Garages did not even wait 24 hours. They started charging immediately, even to day drivers who were mid-shift when the ruling came out. On January 23rd, drivers and supporters weathered the rain to demonstrate outside of All Taxi Management, the biggest taxi broker in the city, calling for an end to lease overcharges and criminal financing rates on the vehicle purchase. "Shame on you!" shouted Mohammad Tipu Sultan. "The whole world is changing. Soon, you will have to follow. You cannot keep cheating us, overcharging us, putting your greed before our needs." Brother Sultan also spoke in Bangla, calling on driver unity to both All Taxi Management drivers and the drivers leasing from a garage across the street. Drivers also gave speeches in Arabic, Urdu, Punjabi, Spanish and French. "Stop exploiting the poor people," said speaker Abdul Moustafa, a driver who had his medallion removed by the broker after he paid off the car, but before the car retired. "I was left overnight without a job. My partner and I spent over $50,000 on paying off the car. Then they took the medallion off - no warning, just a message on the meter for me to bring in the car the next day. They get rich off us, we just get poorer. We need justice."
 | | On the evening of NYTWA's first major "Stop the Greed!" campaign action, NY1 had the chance to meet a driver who made less money that day than the state made on him, off a small tax on his lease. He took home $4.50, while one of his expenses was $4.77 for a vehicle tax that garages voluntarily pass down. |
Some brokers are charging over $7,000 downpayment for the car and requiring the payments to be finished in two years (it used to be up to three years). Drivers added that brokers are charging them vehicle payments totaling $60,000 for cars sold by the dealer for $25,000 - $30,0000. The Alliance says the brokers are in violation of NYS laws. "Anything above 25% interest is criminal by state law. We believe the brokers are breaking state law on interest and breaking the TLC's medallion lease cap rules by charging more than $800 a week for standard cars and $842 a week for hybrid cars. We are seeing overcharges that amount to as much as $200 a week - that's $10,000 in overcharges within a year, plus the illegal interest," said our Executive Director Bhairavi Desai. NYTWA members have also filed a case in NYS civil court. The union is further pressuring state agencies to investigate the violations. Additionally, NYTWA has filed complaints with the "Lease Caps Enforcement Unit" of the TLC, a first-ever department established as a result of NYTWA's pressures on the city. To encourage driver complaints, the TLC passed a "Drivers Bill of Rights" championed by NYTWA that will have to be posted on the wall of every garage and broker by February 13th. So far, NYTWA's complaints have lead to one broker being summonsed $80,000 and a garage owner being summonsed $150,000. Several are also under investigation, including SLS Jet, which has been charging drivers a phony "late payment fee." When drivers go to pay, the garage won't accept the money. Then hours later, drivers are told they owe a fee for paying "late." During our demonstrations, some of the garages turned the radio up to a high volume or sent out their managers to take our photograph and videotape us. Some also called the police. When two "security guards" posted in front of All Taxi called the police three times, the protesters ... (to read more, download the full issue PDF)
|
|
Driver Complaints Stop Overcharges at Zeb Cab
NYTWA members who overcame their fear, organized and fought for justice have reason to celebrate. Zeb Cab Corp. has stopped their outrageous overcharges after complaints from NYTWA members lead to action by the TLC's Lease Caps Enforcement Unit. Drivers were being illegally charged up to $159 on Friday and Saturday night shifts and $127 daily on day shifts. The egregious overcharges totaled $114 per week for day drivers and $168 per week for night drivers. The garage owner was fined by the TLC but not arrested or revoked.
|
|
NYTWA Calls On Drivers to Reject Settlements for Training Program
NYTWA is calling on all drivers and owner-operators to fight the TLC's Settlement Offer on violations of not completing a training on how to operate a wheel-chair accessible taxi. A Settlement Offer is not a summons. The driver is offered a lower fine per violation if they agree to settle. If the driver doesn't accept the settlement offer, the TLC will then issue a summons and schedule a hearing.
Even though the TLC's accessible dispatch program associated with the trainings shut down in June 2010, The TLC went through GPS-generated trip sheets from January through October 2011 to write up the violations. Drivers reported not being told about the requirement. Owner-operators were not even informed when they completed the lengthy medallion purchase process.
After NYTWA filed a complaint about this enforcement action, the TLC capped the fines at $500 for drivers and $1,000 for owners. NYTWA believes strongly that these summonses should be dismissed outright. All are encouraged to call the office or stop by and join fellow drivers and owner-operators who are standing up against this unfairness.
|
|
The Driver's Bill of Rights is Here!
Click on the images below to see the TLC's Driver's Rights posters that garages, meter shops, and brokers are required to post in a visible location by February 13th. Why is this important? Consider the following:
1. For the first time in 40 years, garages and brokers will know that a higher authority is watching over their actions and they are accountable to the law in the same way that drivers are.
2. Drivers are informed of what their rights are! Reading through the legal language of the ultra-lengthy TLC Rulebook is not a realistic option. This is, and it is especially important for the drivers who are ready and willing to come forward when they see that the rules are being violated. We hope that is all of you who are reading this.
3. The pressure that NYTWA has put on the TLC to begin Enforcement against lease overcharges will work to help you. In some cases, a prosecutor from the TLC's Enforcement Unit will represent a driver and the driver can file his complaint without ever having to go to court. While the TLC may allow a garage or broker to receive a reduction in violation fines, there is no compromise made on the money that is rightfully due back to the driver. There are also undercover officers now who act to prevent the violation of these rules.
It should be clear and undeniable to all in the industry that, among other protections, drivers have:
- the right to not be overcharged
- the right to a receipt and a contract
- the right to not be punished if you file a complaint against the garage or broker (and remember that NYTWA is always willing to file a complaint on your behalf, either anonymously or by name)
4. On August 30th, 2011, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a rule that requires companies to notify employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act simply by hanging a poster. It is a very basic right in and of itself. Taxi drivers may not yet be considered "employees" officially, but they are workers just the same.
|
|
TLC Wheels Out New Access Plan
Having learned some painful lessons from the wheelchair access program fiasco of 2009-2010, the Taxi and Limousine Commission will introduce a permanent, new and improved version. The expected starting date is this March.
NYTWA scored a victory for drivers when our long-standing demand for proper driver compensation was approved by the 9-member TLC board. Drivers will be paid for the time required to travel to the pick-up site and for no-shows. The rates will be $6.00 for 1/2 a mile, $10.00 for 1 mile, and $15.00 for 1.5 miles or more. If the passenger does not show up within 10 minutes of the cab's arrival, it is considered that they won't show up and the driver receives $5.00 in addition to the dispatch fee.
All dispatched wheelchair rides originating in Manhattan will be exclusively limited to yellow cabs. Outside of Manhattan, the rides will be handled by livery vehicles. Who will do airport pick-ups is still undecided. However, the NYTWA has demanded that wheelchair accessible yellow cabs at LaGuardia and JFK lots be given priority.
The system employs the front seat text box. No Blackberry device is involved. Training is minimal and free. The medallion taxi dispatch program will be funded by an annual fee on medallion owners. The Alliance has insisted that the cost not be allowed to be passed on to the driver.
The TLC's contract with the dispatching provider is for two years, after which the program will be re-evaluated.
|
Want to Read More?
Click here to download a PDF of the Dec/Jan issue of Shift Change in full. Additional articles include:
Receipt Ads Don't Add Up for TLC Panel
NYTWA Kicks Off All-Out Multi-Front Attack On High Leases and Overcharges! (Continued) GPS and Tickets Driver Unity Can Defeat TLC Settlements Drivers Bill of Rights Posters (Full Text of Each) Top 10 Reasons Why Garage Owners Need A Lease Hike (Humor)
NYC Department of Health Bulletin: Quit Smoking to Save Money
E-Z Pass Rules and Penalties
Council Bill to Make Illegal Pick-Ups a Misdemeanor
Illegal Street Hails Enforcement Stats (also viewable here)
Prior newspaper issues can be found on our website, under the Media section. You can also catch up on past e-Newsletters by clicking on our archive homepage. |
|
|
|
In Solidarity, Bhairavi Desai
New York Taxi Workers Alliance |
|
|
