Uber Drivers are going on Strike

Uber Drivers are Going on Strike

picture by media.cmgdigital.com

"UberX drivers turn in company phones, effectively going on strike

by Graham Johnson

SEATTLE — 
More than a hundred Seattle UberX drivers turned in their company cellphones on Wednesday, effectively going on strike because of a pay dispute with the company.
Drivers are upset about Uber's 20 percent fare cut earlier this month and say it is making it more difficult for them to earn a living.
Because they are independent contractors, Uber drivers cannot unionize. But they have formed the Seattle Ride-Share Drivers Association to collectively pressure the company.
City Councilmember Kshama Sawant spoke at a meeting in support of the drivers Wednesday.
The attorney representing the association told KIRO 7 Uber drivers are paid 80 percent of the fare, and when the company reduced the price, drivers have been forced to work longer hours for the same pay.
The company told KIRO 7 it has more than 1,000 in the Seattle area........"

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Tampa Bay Taxi Business History / part "Tampa"

How taxi companies Yellow Cab, United rose to dominance in Hillsborough

TAMPA — In 1967, the manager of the only cab company in town told the Tampa Taxicab Commission his drivers made about $112 per week. Adjusted for inflation, that's $742 in today's dollars.

Taxi drivers were employees then, with health insurance, vacations and bonuses, city records show. But in 1975, the Yellow Cab Co. jumped on a national trend and made its drivers independent contractors. The agreement cost cabbies their benefits but let them keep whatever they made.

At the time, Yellow Cab manager Nick Cambas told the Tampa Times: "This should be the answer to those squawking about the little man not having a chance to make it in business."

Thirty-six years later, the little man still awaits his chance.

Drivers today say the system leaves them poor and at risk. Their predicament is compounded by a lack of choices: Two companies control 87 percent of the county's permits..............

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