CABDRIVERS UNION BLASTS RAHM’S PLAN TO SAVE TAXI INDUSTRY

Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s plan to save Chicago’s dying taxicab industry sailed through a City Council committee Monday over the strenuous objections of a union representing cabbies.

Meg Lewis, campaign coordinator for Cabdrivers United, a union affiliated with AFSCME Council 31, argued that opening the door for cabdrivers to drive older vehicles— while joining their ride- hailing competitors in charging surge prices, and being screened without fingerprinting— is not the answer towhat ails the taxicab industry.

It’s more like closing the barn door after the horses are already out. She noted that “nearly 2,000” taxicab medallions are either in foreclosure or surrendered to the city and still more are “off the road.”

Lewis accused Emanuel, whose brother is an Uber investor, of “slipping in” provisions that “reduce transparency and safety” for Uber, Lyft and Via.

That was accomplished by “reducing data recording requirements” and the frequency of vehicle inspections while allowing ride- hailing drivers to operate for longer hours on the road, she said.

“Taxi drivers did not ask for and do not want lower standards on training or background checks or the right to price- gouge customers. These provisions are cynical moves to quote- unquote ‘ level the playing field’ by lowering the standards instead of raising them,” Lewis told the City Council’s Budget Committee.

“Drivers need relief,” she said. “They need parity on license fees, on ground taxes and, most urgently, on the number of vehicles that are flooding the market and destroying the ability of both” cabbies and ride- hailing drivers to earn a decent living.