By Sonia Singh These days we hear a lot about how Uber and other apps are driving a new “gig economy” where it’s every worker for themself. But Uber drivers in Seattle are banding together to pursue an old-fashioned goal: collective bargaining. In December their city council backed them up with an unconventional law that Continue readingSeattle Uber drivers win right to bargain
Taxicab industry
By Scott Price Ride-sharing service Uber wants into the Winnipeg taxi market. Looking past the marketing facade, Uber isn’t innovative or inevitable. Uber is in fact deregulation of the taxi industry, modernized using smart phone applications and an aggressive expansion campaign. Studies of the deregulation of the taxi industry in other jurisdictions find a decline Continue readingUber not the answer to Winnipeg’s transport woes
Since August of this year Ottawa taxi drivers at the airport have been locked out by their employer Conventry Connections. The main issue is a 400 percent fee increase demanded by Conventry Connections and the Ottawa Airport Authority (OAA). Both want new levies amounting to $4.50 per taxi customer. For drivers this means a cost Continue readingWeekend Video: Voices from the Ottawa Taxi lockout
By David Bush On Wednesday taxi drivers in Toronto took their battle against Uber to the streets. The protest was just the latest salvo in an increasingly bitter and seemingly complex war over the future city’s taxi industry. Since Uber rolled into Toronto in 2012 it has dramatically shaken up the city’s taxi industry and Continue readingUberXploited: Behind the Toronto taxi wars
by Joel Harden CUPE Local 4600 Chief Steward and delegate to the Ottawa & District Labour Council Last Friday my cell phone rang as I fed our kids breakfast. An Ottawa airport taxi activist was on the other line, among the many I’ve met during their labour dispute with Coventry Connections which has now lasted Continue readingHow to avoid getting “Ubered:” inside the Ottawa taxi lockout
What is prolonging Ottawa’s airport taxi dispute? by Joel Harden CUPE Local 4600 Chief Steward and delegate to the Ottawa & District Labour Council If you believe the mainstream media, Ottawa’s airport is under siege by a an unruly mob of tax drivers since the lockout began on August 11. For the most shrill commentators, Continue readingOttawa’s ‘Unruly’ Cabbies: Explaining the Lockout
By David Bush The transportation network company Uber has had a rough couple of weeks in Toronto. Two weeks ago over 500 cabbies protested Uber by surrounding City Hall, snarling traffic in the downtown core. Days later an UberX driver crashed into a taxicab injuring two passengers. Just a couple of days after that when Continue readingUber must die