Taxi drivers accuse Alexandria Yellow Cab of exploitation

 

Alexandria Yellow Cab drivers accused the company of exploiting and mistreating them Tuesday by leveraging a 2010 taxi code prohibiting cab drivers from moving freely between companies.

During the three-hour affair at Nannie J. Lee recreation center, nearly 100 cab drivers went off duty and condemned Yellow Cab's management, as well as the city's taxi code, which they say violates their basic economic and constitutional rights.

Drivers must stay with one company for two years before applying to a competing company for work, according to the city code. The law was passed to increase stability in the local industry, said City Councilman Frank Fannon, who attended the meeting.

One cab driver, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals, said the company is behaving like a "slave driver" and that city officials tend to serve as its agents that facilitate a monopolistic, exploitative system.

"We all know that Yellow Cab uses its financial muscle to get what it wants in the corridors of power," he said.

The latest dispute between the company and the cab drivers was triggered by a recent decision to increase drivers' weekly stand rate — the fee drivers pay to use the dispatch service — by $15.

Kyle Summers, general manager of Alexandria Yellow Cab, attributed the increase to installation of better, more robust technology that has enabled the company to upgrade its service. Summers denied allegations of exploitation and mistreatment.

"Our stand rate is way below the national average when you look at the services we provide," he said.

According to the drivers, the company not only imposed the weekly dues, which brought its dispatch fees to $200 on average, but also charges five percent for each credit card transaction.

Yellow Cab operates about 300 taxis, the company confirmed. But driver Samson Haile pointed out that cab drivers own the cars, not Yellow Cab.

"We are independent contractors," Haile said. "But the city's taxi code imposed on us does not allow us to decide where to work."

Amantai Ullah, another cab driver, said the drivers want to better serve the community, but the "primitive" taxi code "must be repealed" for this to happen.

Allison Silberberg, who aside from a city council candidate chairs the Alexandria Economic Opportunities Commission, expressed concern over the allegations. It is important to seek a fair and balanced solution to the dispute," she said.

"I realize the fact that businesses exist for revenue," she said. "But in this country I don't like the fact that people should ever feel trapped and exploited … These cab drivers should have economic mobility and opportunities like anyone else."

Fannon defended the taxi code, which he said the city passed to create stability and prevent disruptions in cab operations. The code is subject to review as was the case in 2010, he said.

In a letter Yellow Cab president Spencer Kimball wrote last month to Tenants and Workers United, which represents the drivers, he stated: "The decision to raise the stand rate was not done arbitrarily or taken likely." Kimball also detailed the company's expenditure to install new technology and upgrade its network.

He disclosed in his letter that the company has more than 500 applicants on its wait list to employ if any current drivers decide to leave. But some of the cabbies took it as a veiled threat to keep them trapped, knowing the city code prevents them to freely move to a competitor.

Gabriel Rojo, executive director of Tenants and Workers United, said a combination of mobilizing against the "unjust" conditions and taking legal action against the cab company and the city would be the next step.

"We are now at the stage of organizing and mobilizing the cab drivers to fight for their rights and dignity," he said.