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United
Taxicab Workers |
ITWA
International Taxi Worker Alliance MEMBER |
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Fall 2009
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United To Win ================================================================================= MTA Approves
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Agency needs $11.2 million by June 30; |
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Under the thumb of the mayor, and badly strapped for cash, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA) has approved a so-called “pilot program” that would allow the sale of hundreds of taxi medallions to cab drivers for a fixed price to be determined.
The proposal was approved by the agency's Board of Directors on Feb. 26, despite huge holes in the plan:
- The price for medallions has not been set;
- No lenders have signed on;
- No loan terms, including interest rates, monthly payments, etc., have been established.
The MTA’s haste in approving the plan can be attributed to the agency’s budget woes. It is trying to erase a $16.9 million shortfall with controversial fee increases and cuts to public...
click here to read this article
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Medallion Sales Plan
Note: The medallion sales provisions approved on Feb. 26 are incomplete. Still missing from the plan are procedures for sales, the structure of a Driver Fund and the composition of an industry advisory group. Also missing is a medallion sales price and any information about financing: who will be lending, what will it take to qualify for a loan, what the terms of payment will be, how much of a down payment will be needed, etc. The agency plans to approve additional provisions and provide information on financing at its Mar. 30 meeting.
Here are the main points of the plan:
- The MTA intends to sell up to 60 medallions directly to drivers. It currently has about 40 medallions available owing to deaths and revocations. These should have been reissued to drivers on the list, but were not. Some of them are being operated by cab companies; others are sitting in a drawer.
- Pre- and post-K medallion holders 70 and over, and those who cannot drive on account of disability, will be allowed to sell. (At least 300 medallion holders, and probably many more, will qualify.)
- Drivers on the waiting list will get the first chance to buy medallions, according to their position on the list. Once the list is exhausted, a seniority system based on the driver’s original A-card will replace it. (The list was closed without notice in mid-December.)
- The MTA will establish a sales price for medallions of up to $400,000. The price will be adjusted for inflation, and could be revised up or down.
- The medallion holder will get 80 percent of the proceeds of medallion sales. Fifteen percent will go to the MTA and five percent to a Driver Fund. The agency will get all the proceeds of direct sales, except for five percent that will go to the Driver Fund.
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Who's at the top of the waiting list? Fact 1: The MTA has failed to reissue more than 40 medallions that have been returned to it over the past year. Fact 2: The MTA plans to sell up to 60 medallions directly to drivers. Fact 3: The MTA says it isn’t hoarding medallions. Well, then, give us another name for it. The agency claims it doesn't have the staff to get those medallions into drivers hands But you can bet it will find staff to process the dozens of medallions it plans to sell in the next few months. So who's kidding whom? Can't afford a medallion? Lotsa luck. Don't have the credit to borrow $250,000 or so? Can't come up with a $50,000 down payment? No problem. Just wait your turn on the list. Only, got a lifetime? Or two? Here's the deal: medallion holders 70 or older get to sell. That's probably about 300 medallions. So do those with disabilities. That number is anybody's guess, but you can bet its pretty big. Once those folks finish selling, what will be left for the poor soul stuck on the list? Not much. ============================== How to Contact UTW: Call: 415-864-8294 All information will be kept |
‘Drivers Fund’ a bone The one piece of the taxi sales plan that seems like it might provide significant help to the driver without a medallion is the provision for a Driver Fund. Until you look at it closely, that is. The fund gets five percent of medallion sales. Compare that to the 80 percent that goes to current medallion holders, most of whom paid only an application fee for their permits. Let's say 100 medallions are sold each year. (That's probably on the high side after the first round of sales.) If the sales price were $250,000, the fund would realize about $1.2 million a year — less than $250 for each of the more than 5,000 drivers without medallions. In contrast, just six medallion holders who sold would net about the same $1.2 million. If 50 medallions were sold in a year (a more likely number), the average for each driver without a medallion would be a little over $100. Just three medallion holders would walk away with about the same amount as would be available for all the drivers without medallions combined. Talk about token measures. Dogs love to chew on bones, but cab drivers deserve better. =============================== And where's the public in this? Answer: nowhere to be found. The MTA isn't thinking about the public. It certainly isn't thinking about the loss of experienced drivers, who will leave the industry when they see they're in a dead-end job. And it isn’t thinking about the pressure that will be brought to bear on gates and meter rates once buyers of medallions have gone deeply into debt. It's only thinking about one thing: its bottom line, and how cab drivers can be exploited to improve it.
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Health care? Retirement? Other benefits?
Forget them.
Cab companies will never provide the benefits we need as drivers. They'll continue to call you an independent contractor and tell you you're on your own.
The city could make the industry pay for benefits, but some share of medallion lease fees would be needed to help finance them. Meaningful benefits simply aren't feasible without those fees.
But what happens when medallion purchasers go deeply into debt? They'll need every penny of lease income to pay off their loans. And you can kiss the possibility of benefits good-bye.
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SFPD Takes On Bandit Limos and Cabs;
Will They Also Stop Company Extortion?
By Bud Hazelkorn
UTW Chair
In December, San Francisco Police Department taxi enforcement duties were shifted from the Taxi Detail to the Traffic Division, as directed by Deputy Chief John Murphy. With greater manpower and budget, the office has already reported a surge in actions against bandit limousines and “out-of-town cabs” (OTC).
In addition, United Taxicab Workers is working with DC Murphy to stop hotel collusion with limousines, as well as company extortion of money from drivers. These are important and exciting developments for San Francisco cab drivers, that we hope will directly improve our incomes and working conditions.
While we do not applaud the arrest of working people who are presumably struggling....
click here to read this article
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Make Some Editor’s note: Dave Schneider is a long-time San Francisco cab driver and a founding member of United Taxicab Workers. This is the first installment of his Tour Tips for drivers. Because taxi labor conditions are so poor, please help yourself and use this San Francisco tour info to earn some extra bucks -- granted, union benefits would be better. How Big Is It?
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=============================== Sherry Gendelman Specializing in 421 Grand Avenue, Suite A E-mail: sherrygendelman@aol.com =============================== SFMTA meetings can be viewed live in SF on SFGTV, Channel 26. To view current or previous meetings online, go to
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SFO Taxi Pick-ups, 2000-2009
Year |
Pick-ups |
% Change from Previous Year |
% Change from 2000 |
2000 |
1,698,444 |
— |
— |
2001 |
1,364,998 |
-19.6 |
-19.6 |
2002 |
1,154,578 |
-15.4 |
-32.0 |
2003 |
995,491 |
-13.8 |
-41.4 |
2004 |
1,075,261 |
+ 8.0 |
-36.7 |
2005 |
1,148,760 |
+ 6.8 |
-32.4 |
2006 |
1,214,146 |
+ 5.7 |
-28.5 |
2007 |
1,332,054 |
+ 9.7 |
-21.6 |
2008 |
1,400,716 |
+ 5.2 |
-17.5 |
2009 |
1,333,950 |
- 4.8 |
-21.5 |
Source: San Francisco International Airport Landside Operations
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SFO Taxi Pickups Are The bad economy is having its effect on SFO taxi pickups. Pickups were off 4.8% from 2008 to 2009. The worst month of 2009 was February. The busiest, as usual, was October. Pickups are 21.5% below their high in 2000. As there are about 200 more taxis on the streets since then, the drop per cab is even more pronounced. Need Help with a Workplace Problem? UTW has helped hundreds of drivers with job problems. Have you:
UTW can provide counseling, referrals and, in some instances, representation for these and other work-related problems. Call us at 864-8294. |
2009 Monthly Totals Month Total January . . . . . . . . . . . 101,673 February . . . . . . . . . . . 85,531 March . . . . . . . . . . . . 106,606 April . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107,724 May . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108,524 June . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110,799 July . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116,253 August . . . . . . . . . . . 120,701 September . . . . . . . . 123,172 October . . . . . . . . . . . 137,224 November . . . . . . . . . 116,165 December . . . . . . . . . . 99,578 Total 2009 . . . . . . . 1,400,716 =================================== UNITED TO WIN is published quarterly by United Taxicab Workers. UTW is sponsored by Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO. Mailing address: 2940 16th Street #314, San Francisco, CA 94103. Phone: (415) 864-8294. Fax: 864-8295. E-mail: utw8294@energy-net.org. Website: www.utw.us. We welcome the submission of letters, photos and articles to be considered for publication. Printer: Accurate Printing, 760 Bryant St., S.F. 94107. Editor: Mark Gruberg. |
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WITH FIREFOX
