IDG WAV Roundtable-15

Photo by Morgan Hill

Driver in a wheelchair speaks during the IDG WAV Roundtable.

Helping New York’s For-Hire Vehicle Make Ends Meet After Years of Paycuts

It’s no secret that after years of pay cuts, New York’s For-Hire Vehicle (FHV) drivers are struggling to make ends meet. As a first step to addressing this problem, members of the Independent Drivers Guild organized and won a New York City law and a Taxi and Limousine Commission rule which forced Uber, Via and all black car companies to offer a tipping option to their apps or other payment methods. Now we need your help to take the next step and win an FHV-specific minimum wage that’s high enough to provide for our families.

After offering attractive rates at the outset, Uber and Lyft repeatedly reduced driver pay and hiked their cut of each fare, violating and voiding rider and driver agreements again and again, and depressing pay across the black car industry. They have slashed the earning potential for drivers dramatically and redirected the profits from New Yorkers’ labor out of our community and into the coffers of privately held multinational corporations. Riders are being gouged with fares that are more than double what their drivers are paid. Drivers who already invested their savings and took out loans to join the industry have been left with little choice but to work longer and longer hours to make ends meet.

There is an urgent need for action. Workers are in financial crisis, which is leading to mounting safety hazards. A recent Independent Drivers Guild (IDG) survey of New York City drivers found that:

  • 73% of workers that had been in the industry for at least a year reported their financial well-being was worse now than had been previously.
  • 73% of drivers worked more than 10 hours on their most recent shift.

The IDG’s Pay Organizing Committee – the group of workers organizing to win fair pay – approved a proposal to ensure workers can provide for our families. These are our key demands of the proposal:

1) The IDG demands a minimum pay raise to driver pay – what drivers are paid per trip, per minute and per mile after fees and surcharges – by 37% across all platforms, including Uber, Lyft, Juno, and Via. That would make the pay rates for UberX minimally:

  • $2.3526 per trip
  • $1.6145 per mile
  • $0.3229 per minute

2) The IDG demands an end to price gouging. We must prevent Uber from charging our passengers more than double what a worker is paid. Uber and other companies must not charge our passengers over 25% what a worker is paid.

3) The IDG demands workers receive deadhead pay – getting paid for our trip back to New York City while no passenger is in the car.

If you support our demands, sign our petition at http://idg.ms/Progress and share it with your fellow drivers.


IDG Meets w/ Wheelchair Accessibility Advocates in NYC

IDG stewards also recently met with several wheelchair accessibility advocates to address the problem of accessibility in New York and how the FHV industry could help make it easier for those in wheelchairs to get rides.

IDG WAV Roundtable-4

Photo by Morgan Hill

A representative of CUNY Coalition for Students with Disabilities speaks at the IDG WAV Roundtable.

Recent attempts by the city to address the WAV issue have been impractical, and have failed to consider that the enormous costs of a conversion would be put on the FHV drivers, who cannot afford it. The IDG opposed the city’s latest proposal because it would bankrupt drivers. In no way does that mean we’re against accessibility; in fact, we believe that FHV drivers and wheelchair advocates share many of the same challenges.

The Guild’s pay committee studied the problem and proposed a pay raise for existing FHV drivers who transition to driving WAV vehicles to make the industry more accessible without pushing existing drivers (most of whom are already bound to multi-year loans or leases) further into poverty.

Photo by Morgan Hill

You may find the full proposal how to improve pay at: drivingguild.org/progress.

IDG WAV Roundtable-11

Photo by Morgan Hill

Participants listen in during the IDG WAV Roundtable.

Finally, please spread the word and share this article with your fellow drivers. You can even share it with your riders! A better and more fair for-hire vehicle industry is possible, but only if each of us takes part in fighting for it.

NOTE: THIS IS A MULTI-IMAGE SHORCODE EXAMPLE

IDG WAV Roundtable-4

Photo by Morgan Hill

A representative of CUNY Coalition for Students with Disabilities speaks at the IDG WAV Roundtable.

Photo by Morgan Hill


IDG WAV Roundtable-11

Photo by Morgan Hill

Participants listen in during the IDG WAV Roundtable.

IDG WAV Roundtable-15

Photo by Morgan Hill

Driver in a wheelchair speaks during the IDG WAV Roundtable.

Article by Black Car News

Black Car News provides breaking news, editorial, and information to drivers, owners, and other key players in the New York City for-hire vehicle industry.

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