News

CHICAGO – To highlight the growing foreclosure crisis facing Chicago’s 2,000 small business owners who own and operate taxis, Cab Drivers United/

Following news that Access Living, a Chicago-based, nationally recognized advocacy organization for people with disabilities – filed a claim in federal court against Uber, for violations of the Ame

Cab Drivers United/AFSCME members are praising the Chicago City Council’s introduction of a resolution today, focused on regulating “transportation network providers” (TNPs, e.g. UberX and Lyft) like the taxi services they are. Also today, dozens of Cab Drivers United/AFSCME Council 31 members made their voices heard inside and outside the Taxi Driver Fairness Ordinance Town Hall meeting.

City Council introduces resolution regulating Transportation Network Providers with majority support

CHICAGO – Cab Drivers United/AFSCME 31, Chicago’s cab drivers union, applauded the City of Chicago’s action to prohibit so-called “rideshare” services like UberX and Lyft from picking up passengers at O’Hare and Midway.

CHICAGO – Cab Drivers United/AFSCME Council 31 representatives were proud to stand up and demand fairer rules as part of the City of Chicago’s Taxi Driver Fairness Ordinance Task Force. The Task Force was part of a package of reforms Cab Drivers United/AFSCME Council 31 pushed the city to enact in 2014 to relieve the economic burdens imposed on drivers.

In response to serious concerns over abuse policing practices Cab Drivers United/AFSCME Council 31 members brought forward, a high-ranking representative of the Chicago Police Department committed to taking action, issuing a “cease and desist” order to the officers identified by drivers and research as the most abusive in their interactions with cab drivers.

Over the last four months, Cab Drivers United members Ezz Abdelmagid and Michael Agunloye, joined representatives from the city on the Taxi Driver Fairness Ordinance Task Force, to review the city’s current laws that regulate the taxi industry in Chicago, and provide recommendations on desperately needed reforms.

Following a two-week period in which two Chicago cab drivers were robbed at knifepoint by a passenger, Cab Drivers United/AFSCME Council 31 is renewing its call for further reforms to protect Chicago’s 12,000 cab drivers.

“After the brutal murders of our fellow drivers Chinedu Madu and Seneca Richardson last winter, we called on the city to take our safety seriously and take the steps necessary to protect us,” said Cheryl Miller, a veteran Chicago cab driver and Cab Drivers United/AFSCME Council 31 member.

Chicago taxicab drivers were among thousands of underpaid workers marching through the streets here April 15 making the case for raising the minimum wage to $15 – in Chicago and in 230 cities across the country. As members of Cab Drivers United/AFSCME Council 31 took their places among the protesters, solidarity was very much on their minds.

Cab Drivers United members in March met with Chicago Police Department representatives to complain about policing practices that cost drivers thousands of dollars in fines, put their licenses at risk and create hostility and distrust between drivers and law enforcement. Drivers took their concerns to CPD representatives from each downtown police district, and to two deputy chiefs responsible for police actions.