tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2708859863717325805.post891757741512566031..comments2024-02-13T12:56:46.050-08:00Comments on The Phantom Cab Driver Phites Back: Jim Steele's Legacy: Part 1Crocker Amazonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14344354862430937003noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2708859863717325805.post-13502217650642646672012-01-09T11:29:52.031-08:002012-01-09T11:29:52.031-08:00Happy New Year Ed!! I love this blog best. Thank y...Happy New Year Ed!! I love this blog best. Thank you for addressing the tipping issue. If the drivers were to unite against one unfair practice in the taxi industry, I believe that this this is the one that would save them the most money. This attitude of, “it’s been going on forever and it’s just part of the cost of doing business” is making fat-cats out of several color scheme execs via the hard work of drivers. How does that not anger the masses?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2708859863717325805.post-69335360045810962102012-01-06T14:21:37.255-08:002012-01-06T14:21:37.255-08:00Dear Ed,
Of course your figure of $200,000,000 bi...Dear Ed,<br /><br />Of course your figure of $200,000,000 bilked from the drivers is very conservative since you do not include medical benefits that are owed by law for several years, and ought to have been included all along. I anticipate complaints, for example from the ever-complaining Mr. Lembke, that $10 per shift is too much for thirty years ago. But this possible margin of error is more than compensated if we consider actual benefits denied, and Mr. Lembke thinks that anyone who does not agree with him is monstrously unfair.<br /><br />You have heard me say many times, "Whoever can fire you, that person is your boss." So the Independent Contractor status is indeed a legal fiction. Industry wants to use this maneuver more, not less, as it dispossesses more and more workers. If there is an understanding between equals, at most cab companies, the attitude is, "Worker and management are equally capable of quitting this place any time they like." <br /><br />Jimmy Steele was like the manufacturer of shovels who made sure to include a shovel for each soldier in No Man's Land. Every "Lucky soldier" should thank Jimmy Steele for his shovel. When you arrive in this industry, there is nowhere to go but into a foxhole. If Yellow Cab had included even one single class in how to operate the cab computer we might have had a fighting chance. My taxable income for 1993 was $2882. My last forty working days there in 2001 I was averaging $44.85. There ought to be a law against ten years in boot camp. How is it that with the "independent Contractor" agreement workers can be allowed to make less than minimum wage? A fiction is one thing. A lie is another.Christopher Fulkerson, Ph.D.http://christopherfulkerson.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2708859863717325805.post-67554917042135288892012-01-06T14:09:20.946-08:002012-01-06T14:09:20.946-08:00Anybody that allowed and profited from the cruel t...Anybody that allowed and profited from the cruel treatment of drivers at Yellow or anywhere deserves a special place in hell as far as I'm concerned. When I was there drivers would be fired by the dozen to Wieners unbridled glee as he handed out the notices.<br />It's not just tipping but also ripping drivers off over accidents. Fixing cars for $100 and charging the driver $500 is as common as spitting on the sidewalk at Yellow.<br />Jim Gillespie likes to come off as as gentleman but I've seen his rap sheet and there is more than one felony for fraud.<br />Google "20 questions IRS" if you think drivers are independent contractors. <br />I could go on and yellow may not be the worst. I think the Russian's at Checker probably take the cake for utter ruthlessness.<br />Good job Ed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2708859863717325805.post-14499250399729458922012-01-06T13:21:24.098-08:002012-01-06T13:21:24.098-08:00Hi Ed,
This is a very good commentary on a decad...Hi Ed, <br /><br />This is a very good commentary on a decades old issue that is still important today. I'm glad you wrote this. <br /><br />It is important that the MTA understand that even though non-medallion drivers are classified as "independent contractors", just like medallion holders are independent, non-medallion holders, on the other hand, do not function independently of the cab companies, They are in fact, heavily dependent, and one could argue that in certain respects, solely dependent upon the decisions of management (i.e., scheduling, which cabs they can drive, etc.). <br /><br />Thanks for writing this essay. I hope you had a good holiday and new year. Keep up the good writing.John Hanhttp://www.taxitownsf.comnoreply@blogger.com