Attend the April 7th SFMTA Board Meeting!

NEXT ACTION ITEM!!!
On Tuesday April 7th, the SFMTA Board is holding a meeting. The Coalition to Protect Prop. K is encouraging all drivers and the public to come out and tell the SFMTA that they can not close the city's budget off the sweat of taxi drivers. The meeting will start at 2pm in City Hall in Room 400. We hope to have massive turnout so be there to voice your concerns and support your colleauges and cabbies.

How Does an SFMTA Board Meeting Run?

These meetings vary in length. Usually they last about 2.5 hours, but they can be as short as 45 minutes.
Minutes from these meetings are usually posted on the SFMTA website within a few weeks. A tape of the meeting is on file in the office of the Secretary to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors.
You may find the meeting agenda and calendar items on the SFMTA website.

THE PLAYERS

• Tom Nolan, Chairman, Board of Directors
• The Rev. Dr. James McCray, Jr., Vice Chairman, Board of Directors
• Nathaniel P. Ford, Sr., Director of Transportation
• Roberta Boomer, Secretary
• Cameron Beach, Board of Directors
• Shirley Breyer Black, Board of Directors
• Malcolm Heinicke, Board of Directors
• Jerry Lee, Board of Directors
• Bruce Oka, Board of Directors

THE ORDER OF THE MEETING

Call to Order

• The Chairman or a presiding officer will call the meeting to order.

Roll Call

• The names of the board members are called to determine their presence or absence.
  Announcement of Prohibition of Sound Producing Devices
• The Chairman or a presiding officer announces that the ringing of and use of cell phones, pagers and similar sound-producing electronic devices are prohibited at the meeting. Any person with these things might be told to leave the meeting. Shut off your electrical devices. Merely putting them on vibrate might cause some interference.
  

Approval of Minutes

• The Board members will be asked to approve the minutes of the previous meeting.

Communications

• The members will describe any changes to the agenda of the day’s meeting. The agenda will be posted online at least 72 hours before the meeting.

Board of Director's New and Unfinished Business

• The board members will talk about various things here. This can include the introduction of a new member, presentation of awards, announcement of dates of various events, request on reports, etc. Board members may also hold votes here as well.

Director's Report

• The Senior Director (Ford) may give a report to the board members.

Citizen’s Advisory Council Report

• The Citizen’s Advisory Council provides the board with a report. The Citizen’s Advisory Council is an advisory body to the SFMTA. It gives recommendations to the Agency on any matter within SFMTA’s control.

Public Comment

• In every regular or special meeting, the public is allowed to directly talk to the board members on any subject matter relating any area under SFMTA’s control, including the taxi industry.
• If taxis are not part of an agenda item for that day’s meeting, this is where you should speak.
• HOWEVER, if taxis are part of the agenda, you should not speak in the public comments. You should wait and speak only after that item has been raised by the board.

Calendar Matters

• Agenda items are discussed here (agenda items may vary).
• The public may speak on individual items.
• If taxi items are on the agenda, this is the time where you may speak.

Adjournment

• The Board calls for the close of the open meeting.

Convening of Closed Meeting

• Usually, a closed meeting will occur after the open meeting. Members from the public may not participate in this meeting.

What Should I Say At a Board Meeting?

The public comment period is for you to let the Board hear what you think or feel about any issue that comes within its authority. You might have an alternative idea or you might just want to let them know why you do or do not like their idea.

Making it Personal Makes it Real

• You don’t have to be a technical expert to speak to city officials. You are the expert on how city regulations affect you.
  
• Making it personal helps make it real. By speaking to a city official, you give the official a real face and story to think about when making a decision.

So What Should I Say?

• Tell them who you are (name and occupation, for example)
• Tell them your story or your ideas
• Tell them how their decisions affect you personally

EXAMPLES of What You Could Say

• Hi, my name is Mohammad Latif, and I have been driving taxi for 7 years. The gate fee is already too high. I don’t even want to think about how much more it will cost me just to go to work once medallions are being bought up. Already, this economy is so bad that I have a hard time making a profit on my shift, and I have no health insurance or pension plan. If I have to pay even more for the gates when people are paying more for medallions, I will have to find other work. Many of us dedicated, experienced drivers will have to look elsewhere for work. Please do not sell our futures with the medallions. Thank you.
  
• Hello. I am Jane Lee, and I am here to ask you to keep Prop K. Please do not start selling medallions just to make money for the city. It will be a disaster for cab drivers. We’ve heard about New York sold them and made a lot of money. But have you heard that in New York the drivers can never catch up financially? Here we are, an industry without much debt, and you want us to start taking out big loans to give you more money to get out of debt. Please, do something for us! We will pay a fee on our medallions for health care and other basic human necessities. But please do not force us into debt just so you can make a dent in yours. Thank you.

How Can You Speak During a Government Meeting?

It is important for taxi drivers, as well as the public, to speak at San Francisco city board meetings.

Under the Sunshine Ordinance*, the public has the right to attend and speak during San Francisco governmental deliberations. The City operations must be open to the people’s review. The government's duty is to serve the public, reaching its decisions in full view of the public. Commissions, boards, councils, and other agencies of the City and County exist to conduct the people's business.

WHEN CAN YOU SPEAK?

• AFTER EVERY AGENDA ITEM. After every agenda item is discussed by government officials, you have an opportunity to directly talk to these officials about that specific item. You will usually be given 3 minutes to speak. However, the time given for each person to speak will vary from meeting to meeting.
  
• PUBLIC COMMENTS SECTION. Time will be allotted during each open and public meeting for the public audience to speak (usually towards the end of the meeting). During this time, you can speak about anything you would like as long as it’s on a subject matter that the specific policy body governs over. (Example: You can talk about the illegal limousine industry to the SFMTA board BUT you can may NOT talk to them about problems about garbage pick-up in your neighborhood.) Again, you will usually be given 3 minutes to speak but this time can change from meeting to meeting.
  
• SPECIAL RULES FOR BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETINGS. During a Board of the Supervisors meeting, the agenda does not have to give the public the opportunity to speak about an agenda item if the item has already been considered by the committee and if the public has already had a chance to speak about it. However, the Board has the discretion to allow the public to comment on the item if it has been substantially changed.

DO YOU NEED A TRANSLATOR?

Even if you don’t speak English, you may still attend and speak at these meetings. The Clerk of the Board of Supervisors will provide you with a translator. If you are a San Francisco resident and if you need a translator you may request one from the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors at least 48 hours before the meeting. The Clerk’s phone number is (415) 554-5184. For meetings on a Monday or a Tuesday, you should make this request by Friday (or the last business day of the preceding week). You may also ask for sign language interpreters or note-takers.

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO RECORD MEETINGS

Any person attending an open and public meeting has the right to record proceedings with an audio or video recorder or a still or motion picture camera. This can be done as long as you do this without noise, disruption, or obstruction of view.

* Sunshine Ordinance applies to all agencies, boards and commissions created by the City Charter or by Ordinance or Resolution passed by the Board of Supervisors. The Sunshine Ordinance does not apply to the SF Health Authority, the SF Housing Authority, the SF Redevelopment Agency, the SF Transportation Authority, the Community College District and the SF School District. These agencies are only subject to the CA Public Records Act and the State open meeting law (which is called the Brown Act).

Asian Law Caucus/United Taxicab Worker's Medallion Proposal

This is a co-sponsored proposal of the Asian Law Caucus and the United Taxicab Workers of San Francisco. The Asian Law Caucus is the nation’s oldest legal services organization serving low income Asian Pacific Islander communities. The United Taxicab Workers, affiliated with Communications Workers of America Local 9410, has organized and advocated on behalf of
drivers since the early 1980s.

Proposal Summary:

We propose a rental fee on the City’s 1500 taxi medallions that will generate badly-needed revenue to benefit the industry. This rental fee, which could generate millions each year, will help provide health insurance and retirement benefits for all drivers, and revenue for Taxi Detail enforcement, particularly illegal limousines.

Background:

Described as a sweatshop on wheels, the taxi industry is one of the lowest-paying, most dangerous and exploitative jobs in the country. In San Francisco, largely immigrant cab drivers typically make minimum wage or less, while they are denied basic employee rights to health benefits, overtime pay, sick leave, pensions, vacations, and the right to unionize. They are even liable for the cab rental (“the gate”) if they are too sick to work. Combined with long, odd hours, poor working conditions, and employer abuses, these make cab drivers an increasingly vulnerable and marginalized community.

Currently, several medallion plans are being floated, with most focusing on privatization as a shrewd, if desperate, means of patching the City’s budget. Given the above conditions, implementing these plans on the backs of immigrant taxi laborers is not only unethical, it is impractical, short-sighted, and an open invitation to corruption.

A medallion is a government-issued permit that confers the right to operate a taxi cab in the City. Currently, the City of San Francisco has issued 1,500 medallions. While there are approximately 7,000 licensed cab drivers in San Francisco, only 1,500 taxis may be on the road at any given time.

Medallions in San Francisco are currently non-transferable (they cannot be bought, sold, or inherited) and are issued to working drivers only. Drivers who have been issued medallions are called medallion holders. Most commonly, these medallion holders lease their medallions, or “permits,” to cab companies for a monthly fee. (The average lease is reasonably estimated at $2,000 per month.) In turn, the companies lease their taxis, with the medallions, to non-medallion holding drivers for the daily gate, currently capped at an average of $96.50 per 12-hour shift, with a $7.50 surcharge for vehicles that meet certain emissions standards.

Many non-medallion drivers pay the requisite fee to be put on the medallion waiting list, where they may wait as long as 20 years for a medallion. Once a driver receives a medallion, his/her life changes dramatically. (S)he effective doubles his/her income, while suddenly receiving perks such as choice of shifts and hours, breaks on gates and choice of car. The dream of holding a medallion inspires many taxi drivers to stay in the industry and maintain good driving records.

Recommendations:

City-owned taxi medallions are issued to cab drivers for the price of a modest application fee (currently $346). Medallion holders, in turn, lease the permits to cab companies by the month. Assuming an average lease fee of $2000 per month, some $36 million a year goes toward medallion lease fees (or equivalent profits for medallion holders who operate their own taxis). We propose taking a negotiated portion of this unearned income to provide job benefits and protections that all drivers lack and sorely need.

Benefits provided from this annual collection should include:

(1) Health Insurance – Health insurance is unaffordable for most cab drivers and their families. Even if they are able to pay, many drivers are uninsurable due to pre-existing conditions. The Taxi Commission has recommended the creation of a group health plan covering all drivers who do not have health insurance coverage. Money generated from this application fee can help pay for health insurance for all drivers.

(2) Retirement – All long-time drivers should be able to exit from the industry with dignity and a degree of economic security in their waning years. Medallion holders in particular will gain an ‘exit strategy’, allowing them to relinquish their medallions to other drivers, thus shortening the waiting time and allowing more drivers to enjoy the benefits of the system.

(3) Enforcement – a huge problem within the industry is illegal limo services. Illegal limos steal rides from licensed taxi drivers. They are unsafe for consumers, and they limit the livelihoods of those who are operating legally. Currently, the Taxi Detail, due to staff shortages, does not have ability to come down on illegal limo operations. A portion of the income generated from our plan should go to the Taxi Detail to allow them to focus more time and resources on illegal limo enforcement.

Benefits to the City of San Francisco

In addition to providing the above benefits for drivers, this plan will benefit for consumers. Taxi riders will have healthier, more satisfied drivers who are not driving under exploitative labor conditions. Drivers will be more likely to make taxi-driving a career, creating a more stable, dedicated, and experienced workforce that will provide better and safer service to the public.

1. Additionally, this plan will encourage medallion-holding drivers to actually driver their vehicles in compliance with current law. Since the medallion holders themselves will be driving the taxis, they will be more motivated to keep the taxis in safe, workable condition. This, in turn, will be a benefit to all riders.

2. Also, drivers will have an incentive to retire. This will mean that fewer aged drivers with poorer reflexes and eyesight will be on the road, and the medallion waiting list will shrink, bringing younger drivers into the medallion holder fold. This also is a safety benefit for riders.

3. Finally, giving the Taxi Detail the capacity to enforce illegal limousine activity will in turn improve taxi service in the City of San Francisco.

Medallion Proposal Workshop and Communicating to Government Officials Training Session

We will be having our next workshop on Saturday March 28, 2009 at the Asian Law Caucus from 12pm to 2:30pm. The Asian Law Caucus is located at 55 Columbus Avenue (between Jackson Street and Washington Street) in San Francisco.

This workshop is focused on the following two items:

1. Workshop the Asian Law Caucus/United Taxicab Workers proposal.
We ask that you review this proposal before the meeting and come ready to talk about any changes/additions that you would make to the proposal.

2. Hold a brief training on speaking before the SFMTA Board or at other government meetings.
We encourage you to speak at the San Francisco Board of Supervisors meetings as well as the SFMTA Board of Directors meetings. In this session, we will talk about how these meetings are run and how you can effectively speak to the board of supervisors about what you, as a taxi driver, need and deserve.

Please help us spread the word about this meeting and our efforts to other taxi drivers. If you can help us with this outreach action, please email or call us and we will give you more details.

Thanks so much! We look forward to a productive meeting with you all next Saturday!

Schedule of SMTA-Led Town Hall Meetings

The SFMTA Division of Taxis and Accessible Services has arranged the following meeting schedule for a taxi industry open forum. It is important that taxi drivers and others concerned about the welfare of taxi drivers to go to these meetings. These meetings will be your opportunity to tell the SFMTA that they need to start taking the needs and concerns of taxi drivers into account. You may also find the schedule here.

2009 meeting schedule and agendas

• March 10, 9 a.m. - noon:
  • 9-10 a.m.:
    • Proposition K reform: discussion of the legal status of Proposition K.
    • Introduction of Proposition K reform proposals from various sources.
    • Announcement of Request for Information to respond to Prop K reform proposals or to offer additional proposals.
  • 10 a.m. - noon: Taxi rules and regulations: Permit Applications and Eligibility; Conditions applicable to all permits.

• March 18, 1-4 p.m..
  • 1-3 p.m.: Taxi rules and regulations: Color Scheme and Dispatch Service Permit requirements.
  • 3-4 p.m: Proposition K reform: discussion of proposals.
    
    
• March 24, 9 a.m. - noon.
  • 9-11 a.m.: Taxi rules and regulations: driver permit requirements.
  • 11 a.m. - noon: Proposition K reform: discussion of proposals.
• March 30, 9 a.m. - noon.
  • Taxi rules and regulations: medallion holder permit requirements.
• Date and time to be determined.
  • Taxi rules and regulations: ramp taxi Permit requirements.
  • Taxi rules and regulations: operation and vehicle equipment requirements.

April Meeting schedule: Check back for additional meeting dates, times and topics, including:

• Disciplinary procedures and penalties.
• Continuing Prop K discussion forum.

Asian Law Caucus - Position Paper on Transferability of Medallions

Released in January 2009 by the Asian Law Caucus

Protecting Taxi Workers & San Francisco Consumers: Medallion Transferability and Proposition K

Executive Summary
On January 12, 2009, Mayor Gavin Newsom, who has long publicly supported Proposition K, announced a budget proposal to overturn it and make the city’s taxi medallions transferable, thereby generating income for the city. Labor rights organizers, consumer advocates, and medallion holders oppose the Mayor’s proposal, and believe that for the benefit of consumers and workers, San Francisco taxi medallions should remain the property of the people of San Francisco. They should remain nontransferable, issued to experienced, working taxi drivers only. Mayor Newsom and the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency should honor the Mayor’s earlier promise to protect voter-mandated Proposition K.1 The city’s budget crisis should not be fixed on the backs of hard working, largely immigrant laborers.

To read the entire document please click here.

About Us

Described as a “sweatshop on wheels,” the taxi industry provides some of the most low-paying, dangerous, and economically unstable jobs in the country. In San Francisco, drivers are largely immigrant, and due to their status as “independent contractors,” most make far less than minimum wage. Meager pay combined with long, odd hours, poor working conditions, and employer exploitation make cab drivers an increasingly vulnerable and yet underserved community.

We will improve the labor conditions of San Francisco cab drivers by focusing on three major issues: (1) workplace health and safety, (2) taxi company exploitation, and (3) fair wages. Through an innovative combination of legal advocacy and community organizing, the project provides legal education and representation to taxi workers, empowers them to actively struggle for their rights, and supports sustainable worker organizing campaigns through policy advocacy and litigation.

For more information on how to get involved or to report any problems you are facing, please contact us at 415-848-7733 or at sftaxiunited@gmail.com.