USW Convention Delegates rally for YCS Drivers
Turning Up the Heat in Las Vegas
USW Convention Delegates Support Union Taxi Drivers
Thousands of USW members turned up the heat in Las Vegas to support union taxi-cab drivers who have been working without a labor contract since late last year.
Waving placards and chanting “No Justice, No Peace,” delegates lined Las Vegas Boulevard outside the convention hall to show support for the 4,500 member Alliance for Taxi and Limousine Drivers in Las Vegas and to turn up the pressure in stalled contract negotiations.
“We think it is vitally important that we show our brothers and sisters that we support them in getting a fair contract,” said delegate Edwin Francis, of Local 8248 in District 9.
The alliance was formed in 2005 as a partnership between the USW and the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) to build membership bargaining power with the numerous taxi companies that serve Las Vegas.
The USW and OPEIU together represent 4,500 drivers at II organized taxi companies. The goal of the alliance is to organize another 3,000 drivers who work for six non-union companies.
?”We are coming together to show the membership what solidarity stands for,” said T. Ruthie Jones, vice president of ITPE Local 4873, an affiliate of OPEIU. “If we all stand together there are no losers, we are all winners.”
About 2,200 ITPE members at Yellow, Checker and Star Cabs have been working without a new labor contract since December. Their issues include livable wages, long hours and targeted terminations of union drivers. The USW represents 2,800 drivers in seven other cab companies with contracts expiring next year.
“Everybody has to have a good wage so they can afford a family without having two or three jobs,” said Dario Llano, of Local 2003 in District 7.
Working families visiting Las Vegas expect the corporate owners of these cab companies to provide drivers a fair agreement with paycheck equity, International President Leo W. Gerard said.
“Driving a taxi is one of the most dangerous jobs in America,” Gerard said. “They deserve a decent contract with decent pay and decent benefits.”
