Permit Holder’s Measure Aimed at November Ballot Proposition Would Provide Lifetime Disability Income - But Only for Permit Holders Them that’s got shall get Them that’s not shall lose So the Bible says And it still is news “God Bless the Child” by Billie Holliday and Arthur Herzog A measure that appears headed for the November ballot would allow disabled permit holders to retire from driving while keeping their city-owned medallions and the income that goes with them for life, while making no provision for disabled drivers without medallions. The San Francisco Taxicab Permitholders and Drivers Association (PDA) is behind the measure. Its full text reads as follows: “Any taxicab permit holder who is unable to comply with a driving requirement due to disability shall not be subject to permit revocation or suspension for failure to comply with the driving requirement.” There are currently 900-plus permit holders who would be advantaged by this measure. On the other hand, the 4-5,000 drivers without medallions would get nothing from this proposition except a longer wait for a permit and the opportunity to pay for someone else’s retirement. click here to read this article

It Happened At the Hilton . . . Photo: Charles Rathbone Taxi Commissioner and UTW member Mary McGuire rallies cab drivers protesting the Hilton Hotel’s practice of steering guests into limousines and town cars. The two-day protest resulted in a ground-breaking agreement by the hotel to change its ways. click here to read this article By Barry Taranto

Airport Incentives Boost CNG Cabs
But Many Drivers Are Not Pleased By Barry Taranto
The downturn in the economy and the arrival of BART at the airport are not the only factors causing taxi drivers to wait even longer in the staging lots before picking up a fare.
Recent expansion of the city's CNG cab fleet also has made waiting for a passenger at San Francisco International Airport a losing proposition on most shifts. The wide range of incentives offered to CNG cabs and these other factors have sparked an outcry among taxi drivers who serve the airport.
According to SFIA officials, 60 vehicles have been added to the original fleet of 22 CNG (compressed natural gas) taxis since January. These 82 environmentally friendly cars represent 10 cab companies.
click here to read this article

Six Month Report: So When Does it Start to Improve?
Late last year, the Board of Supervisors raised meter rates and gates in an effort to boost income for both companies and drivers. The changes went into effect in early January. Many drivers at the time were skeptical, fearing that the meter increase would scare riders off at a time we badly need them, and hurt the driver in the end.
Six months have passed, long enough to tell if the changes have had the intended effect. .
click here to read this article

At the Taxi Commission
The Taxi Commission meets the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at 6:30 p.m., in room 400 of City Hall. Special meetings may be scheduled as needed. The following is a summary of significant commission proceedings at recent meetings:
click here to read this article

Appeals Board Overturns Revocations The Board of Appeals has unanimously overturned two decisions of the Taxi Commission revoking the permits of medallion holders who falsified way bills for years to cover up the fact that they were not driving. Querida Rivera is 80 years old. She and Mark Hollander have serious medical conditions that prevent them from driving a cab. They admitted to colluding with Mickey Kelly, the head of now-defunct Citywide Taxi, to produce the phony documents. The falsified paperwork was submitted from 1996 to 2000, when the scheme was uncovered. Kelly agreed to shut down his cab company and not run another for 10 years as part of an agreement with the Commission to drop potential charges against him. In overturning the revocations, the board suspended Rivera’s permit for two months and Hollander’s for four.

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UTW Appeals Welch Decision
United Taxicab Workers has appealed to the Board of Appeals a decision of the Taxi Commission transferring eight permits from deceased Yellow Cab permit holder Georgette Welch to two of her children. The decision became final after the commission approved “findings of fact” at its May 27 meeting.
The appeal is scheduled for Sept. 17. The board meets in room 416 of City Hall at 5 p.m.
UTW also has an appeal pending at the board over two permits awarded to Luxor President John Lazar. The permits were formerly in the names of his father and brother, both deceased.
The Board of Appeals claimed it lacked jurisdiction to hear the Lazar matter, but UTW got a court order requiring a hearing. No date has yet been set.
In a similar matter, the Board of Appeals narrowly rejected David Adams’ appeal of the Taxi Commission’s decision denying his claim to his mother Mary Adams Warner’s permit. The board voted 3-2 in Adams’ favor, but four votes are necessary to overturn the commission’s decision.
Adams has requested a rehearing before the board.

Taxi Drivers and Bicyclists: Allies on Our City’s Streets?
By Josh Hart SF Bicycle Coalition
The relationship between bicyclists and cab drivers on city streets has not historically been a warm one. We have all heard about conflicts between bike messengers and taxi drivers, with the worst incidents ending up with a u-lock through a window or an injured cyclist.
It is unfortunate that unpleasant interactions continue to occur on our city streets. It is especially unfortunate that such interactions are happening among modes that are all practical alternatives to the single-occupant vehicle.
click here to read this article

New Measures at PacBell Park
A number of measures have been implemented this summer to help preserve cab line integrity on Second Street during and after the San Francisco Giants’ baseball games at Pacific Bell Park.
Topping the list of traffic changes is the prohibition on making a right turn from Third Street to Townsend after the games. This unfortunate action was a result of too many taxi drivers jumping the cab line and failing to queue up on Second Street.
click here to read this article

One Taxi Driver Murdered,
Another Shot in City of Richmond
United Taxicab Workers extends its deepest sympathies to the Sikh community over two shootings, one fatal, of Sikh taxi drivers in the East Bay city of Richmond.
Gurpreet Singh, 23, was murdered the night of July 2 after picking up a fare on a dispatched order. Inderjit Singh, 29, survived after being shot in the jaw three days later.
Gurpreet Singh was to have been married in India in October. When his fiancée heard of his killing, she committed suicide.
Although a suspect was arrested after Gurpreet Singh’s murder, he was later released. No other arrests have been made in connection with either crime.
Three San Francisco taxi drivers from the Sikh community have been murdered since 1992.

Join UTW? What's in For ME?
By Thomas George-Williams
You’ve asked many times: What are the benefits for ME in becoming a UTW member?
My question for you is: Don't you want :
- fully paid health care for you and your families?
- how about paid sick time?
- a retirement plan for all drivers, not only for medallion holders?
- five weeks paid vacation (this way we may reach retirement age)?
- an 8-hour day/40-hour week?
- $20 an hour minimum pay?
- job security (companies can't fire you for some b.s. reason)?
- some respect for your hard and dangerous work?
You say: Whoa, you better keep it real.
Well, open your eyes and look around. This is why we the working people build unions. To make sure that we the workers get a decent share of the fruits of our work.
Yes, look around. You see workers in almost every industry organized into unions. Why? They all get benefits like the ones listed above. That's not new stuff.
Now what makes the taxicab industry so damn different? Do you feel special for being treated like a slave? Or free because nobody cares about you?
Come on, cabbies. I know us. We are right on the money when we search the streets. Let’s be right on the money and on top of our own future with the companies. Let’s get organized into a strong Union.
Become a UTW-member today, I mean every single San Francisco cabdriver a UTW member.
Together with you I can see the above UTW benefits coming through tomorrow.

How Can We Help You?
United Taxicab Workers has assisted hundreds of drivers with workplace problems. We can’t lower your gates or get you a better shift, but there are things we can do.
* Have you been burned by confiscation of a security deposit? (Most of them are illegal.)
* Have you gotten a ticket while picking up or dropping off a fare? (We’ve helped get lots of them dismissed.)
* Do you have a work-related injury or illness and want to apply for workers’ compensation? (The odds are you’re entitled to it.)
* Have you lost your job and want to collect unemployment? (There’s a good chance you’re eligible for it.)
* Do you need a lawyer, an accountant, or just some straight advice? Give us a call: 864-8294.

UNITED TO WIN is published quarterly by United Taxicab Workers.  We welcome the submission of letters, photos and articles to be considered for publication. Printer: Graffik Natwicks, 760 Bryant St., S.F. 94107.  Editor: Mark Gruberg.