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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 6, 2015)
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | February 6, 2015 | PAGE 5 Taxi drivers appeal to City: No special rules for Uber By Don McIntosh Associate Editor Kedir Wako never imagined he’d one day share a stage with Broadway Cab general manager Raye Miles at a Pioneer Court- house Square political rally. Wako was a leading member of a group of Broadway Cab driv- ers who protested exploitive conditions, formed a driver self- help association, and ultimately broke away to form a new union-affiliated cab co-op. Now Wako is president of that co-op, Union Cab. But on Jan. 13, Wako put aside bygones for a common cause: Getting the City of Portland to insist that compa- nies like Uber play by the same rules as the taxi companies they compete with. Portland, like many other cities, regulates taxi rates, caps the number of vehicles, and re- quires driver background checks, vehicle inspections and proof of insurance, among other rules. But on Dec. 5, Uber launched its app-based ride service in Portland in violation of those regulations. Two weeks later, Portland Mayor Charlie Hales announced the City would propose a new set of taxi rules by April 9 that would allow companies like Uber to operate legally. And Uber announced it Portland taxi drivers rallied Jan. 13 at Pioneer Courthouse Square. Cab com- panies want the City of Portland to make ride-sharing companies like Uber play by the same rules as they do. would suspend its service until then. The City has a long-estab- lished volunteer citizen review board known as the Private For- Hire Transportation Board of Review. The board includes an elected taxi driver representative, a taxi industry representative, a disability advocate, an airport representative, a tourism official, and others. But instead of turn- ing to that board, which has decades of collective experience with taxi rules, Hales and City Commissioner Steve Novick ap- pointed a brand-new Private For- Hire Transportation Innovation Task Force, with no representa- tive from taxi drivers or compa- nies, and no real familiarity with the industry. That didn’t sit well with taxi companies or drivers. To make sure their voice is heard in the new rule-making process, six Portland taxi companies formed a new group, the Transportation Fairness Alliance. Its launch party was the attention-grabbing rally, with parked cabs covering Pioneer Courthouse Square. “We welcome competition, as long as everyone plays by the same rules,” Radio Cab superin- tendent Noah Ernst told rally participants. Despite the current cap on the number of City per- mits (460), Ernst said the indus- try is quite competitive. Existing companies and would-be com- petitors have applied for over 100 additional permits, only to encounter a protracted and per- plexing decision process by city bureaucrats. “We are as frustrated as any- body when you can’t get a cab at peak hours,” Ernst said. The day after the rally, mem- bers of the new task force met for the first time for an orienta- tion led by City officials and taxi regulators. The 12-member task force includes representatives from the Portland Business Al- liance, the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association, and a software and technology trade association, as well as a night club owner, an insurance con- sultant, and disability, environ- mental and immigrants rights advocates. “We don’t usually in the con- text of American capitalism reg- ulate rates and limit entry into markets,” Novick, who is in charge of the Bureau of Trans- portation, told the group. So, Novick said, the task force should consider whether or not the City should continue to do those things. The task force heard a presen- tation from taxi companies Feb. 4, and will hear from taxi drivers Feb. 10, from “transportation network companies” like Uber on Feb. 19, and from the public on Feb. 25. In March, they’ll work to come up with regula- tions, which would be presented to City Council April 9. City of Portland to consider $15 an hour for contract workers The idea of a $15-an-hour wage floor is continuing to gain momentum. On Feb. 18, Port- land City Council will hold a hearing about updating the City’s 20-year-old living wage ordinance, which sets minimum wage and benefit levels for sev- eral groups of contract employ- ees: janitors and security guards at city buildings, attendants at city-owned parking lots, and some workers at city-owned Providence Park. Under the City’s current Fair Wage Policy, the workers must be paid at least $10.38 an hour plus $1.92 an hour for benefits. The group 15 Now PDX is call- ing for that minimum to rise to $15 an hour, and benefits to $2 an hour — effective Jan. 1, 2016. Commissioner Dan Saltzman is in favor of that proposal, which is also backed by Laborers Local 483 and by Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Lo- cal 49, which represents janitors and security guards. “We want to see it as a springboard, challeng- ing private sector owners to step up,” said Local 49 organizing di- rector Maggie Long. City Council will take public feedback on the issue Feb. 18 at 2 p.m. at City Hall, and could vote on an increase then or at a later date. If a $15 minimum passes, the City would become the third Portland-area government body to set that standard for at least some workers, following Home Forward (the local public hous- ing agency) and Multnomah County. It would also mean siz- able raises for over 100 workers, including 62 janitors employed by Portland Habilitation Center and 30 security guards employed by G4S. The janitors make $12 to $13.80 under their union con- tract, and the security guards make $12 to $14.50 under theirs.
