Evening star., 1945-12-02
TaxiCab Controversy
BIZ John w. Thomson Jr

A few facts may serve to clarity the
issues over which local cab drivers have
been negotiating with the Commission
ers and the Public Utilities Commission
during the last few weeks. A Today
truce" called by the strike threatening
drivers ended yesterday.
At present there are some 5000 L.
censed taxicab operators in the District
OF whom some $500 are now actually
driving cabs. Within this group there
are two labor unions. One is the Amer
lean Federation of Labor affiliate, known
as the union of Taxicab Operators,
Drivers and Garagemen,. Local 935.
which claims a membership of about
$500. The other is the Independent
Taxicab Operators Association with
membership said to number about 600.
Pending threats of vacation" and
charges of "stalling" and "runaround, i"
leveled at the city heads and the PUG
during the last few days, all emanate
from Local 935 which is the sole group
formally to present grievances to the
two regulating bodies.
Principal union interest in dealings
with the Commissioners has been its
proposed bill to regulate the number of
taxicabs in Washington, 500 to each
100000 population. Other grievances
have, in the main, been corrected or
have dropped into the background.
With PUG the union wants only one
fare scale-the present single passenger
rate-instead of two, one for group
riders and one for single passengers.
In group riders each passenger would
be authorized to deduct 10 cents for
each zone. Apparent purpose for the
change Is to eliminate situation under
which driver, bringing in a passenger
from the fourth zone and picking up
fare in the first zone, will now receive
less for the two than the amount of
the single fare from the fourth zone.
4 II
In connection with the union cab lin
itation bill, it's leaders have made sew
eral efforts to curtail the issuance of
additional licenses, pending considera-
ton of their measure at the Capitol.
According to the Commissioners, they
were asked to revoke all inactive
licenses, to refuse to license any more
drivers, and even to refuse motor We
hicle inspection to new cabs and then
deny license for lack of inspection. All
of these proposed expedients were ruled
illegal" by Corporation Counsel Vernon
e. West. Three days ago the union
asked the Commissioners to request that
the Office of Defense Transportation
place "freeze" on the number of cabs
under war authority, but the city heads
refused. They said such action would
be prejudging the case for the pro-
posed bill, on which they have as yet
taken no official stand.
In the matter of the unions rate plan,
on which no action has as yet been
taken, Chairman James H. Flanagan of
the PUG did not receive the completely
clarified proposal until November 90
several days after the November 81 mass
meeting at which, it was indicated, the
union demands had been rejected"
Mr.. Flanagan now has had the plan
under study and said the commission
will announce its decision as soon as
possible.
The independent union, while 1t has
certain faults to find with existing situ-
ations, has taken the position that
strike is not now in the public interest
or in the interests Of the drivers. It has
communicated this point of view to
Chairman Randolph Of the House Dis
trict Committee. In the matter of rates,
President John Peters said his men
were opposed to rates that require q
driver to compute his fares with log
arithms and slide rules"