Deactivated? Worried that low ratings are threatening your livelihood? Many riders have no idea that a rating as high as 4.6 out of 5 stars can be a fireable offense on the Uber app. The Independent Drivers Guild has a free class to help you boost your ratings and get you back on the app. ABC7 came out to check out our class – get a behind the scenes look here:
On December 20th, New York City Council Voted to End the Unfair Practice of Double Jeopardy Ticketing
The Independent Drivers Guild lobbied the New York City Council for a solution to Double Jeopardy Ticketing. For too long drivers for apps like Uber and Lyft have been ticketed and fined by the city’s DOT for a violation, paying to fight or settle that ticket, and then months later they would be ticketed again for the same exact violation by the Taxi and Limousine Commission. This week the city council passed a bill to end this unfair practice. This victory requires judges and hearing officers to dismiss a duplicate notice of violation.
The city’s official summary of Intro 748-A is as follows:
This bill would establish certain procedural requirements in relation to violations of New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) laws or regulations adjudicated by the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH). The bill would require that a TLC representative would be required to be present at hearings, either in person or remotely; that a respondent could appear remotely, through internet video; that OATH could reduce a violation, if it finds doing so to be in the interests of justice, subject to a review by TLC; that any duplicate notice of violation should be automatically dismissed and, finally, it would establish hearing timeliness requirements to facilitate prompt adjudication of violations.
The mayor is expected to sign the legislation soon and the law will take effect 180 days thereafter. In the meantime, if you have questions about tickets and duplicate tickets, please call our legal helpline – (800) 576-7806. Please note, IDG does not provide any legal services and is simply an intermediary.
Today, the Independent Drivers Guild is calling on New York City Council Members to vote to end the unfair practice of double ticketing for-hire vehicle drivers for the same violation. The Committee on Governmental Operations, Chaired by Fernando Cabrera, will be holding a hearing to vote on Intro 748-A and if passed, the bill is likely to go to the full City Council for a vote in the stated meeting at 1:30pm today.
Currently, drivers for apps like Uber and Lyft are being ticketed and fined by DOT for a violation, paying to fight or settle that ticket, and then months later they are ticketed again for the same exact violation by the Taxi and Limousine Commission. The Independent Drivers Guild has lobbied to end this unfair practice that is harming drivers who already face exorbitant fees and expenses. Intro 748-A requires judges and hearing officers to dismiss a duplicate notice of violation.
“Double ticketing for-hire vehicle drivers for the same violation is blatantly unfair. One department of the city cannot be allowed to fine a driver again after another department has already adjudicated or reached a settlement for the same alleged violation,” said Jim Conigliaro, founder of the Independent Drivers Guild. “Double ticketing is a scam that targets those who can least afford it and we are pleased to see the City Council take up a vote to right this wrong. We urge passage of Intro 748-A.”
The city’s official summary of Intro 748-A is as follows:
This bill would establish certain procedural requirements in relation to violations of New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) laws or regulations adjudicated by the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH). The bill would require that a TLC representative would be required to be present at hearings, either in person or remotely; that a respondent could appear remotely, through internet video; that OATH could reduce a violation, if it finds doing so to be in the interests of justice, subject to a review by TLC; that any duplicate notice of violation should be automatically dismissed and, finally, it would establish hearing timeliness requirements to facilitate prompt adjudication of violations.
The Independent Drivers Guild has also opposed a new New York State congestion tax on for-hire vehicles that will take effect in January and raise the average per trip tax to $5 per trip on app-based vehicles like Uber and Lyft with trips that enter Manhattan below 96th St. The same $20 fare would be taxed at a little over $3 per trip in taxis. See the IDG’s analysis of that upcoming tax here.The Guild has called for state legislators to repeal and replace that unfair tax.
Today, the Independent Drivers Guild is calling on New York City Council Members to vote to end the unfair practice of double ticketing for-hire vehicle drivers for the same violation. The Committee on Governmental Operations, Chaired by Fernando Cabrera, will be holding a hearing to vote on Intro 748-A and if passed, the bill is likely to go to the full City Council for a vote in the stated meeting today.
Currently, drivers for apps like Uber and Lyft are being ticketed and fined by DOT for a violation, paying to fight or settle that ticket, and then months later they are ticketed again for the same exact violation by the Taxi and Limousine Commission. The Independent Drivers Guild has lobbied to end this unfair practice that is harming drivers who already face exorbitant fees and expenses. Intro 748-A requires judges and hearing officers to dismiss a duplicate notice of violation.
“Double ticketing for-hire vehicle drivers for the same violation is blatantly unfair. One department of the city cannot be allowed to fine a driver again after another department has already adjudicated or reached settlement for the same alleged violation,” said Jim Conigliaro, founder of the Independent Drivers Guild. “Double ticketing is a scam that targets those who can least afford it and we are pleased to see the City Council take up a vote to right this wrong. We urge passage of Intro 748-A.”
The city’s official summary of Intro 748-A is as follows:
This bill would establish certain procedural requirements in relation to violations of New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) laws or regulations adjudicated by the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH). The bill would require that a TLC representative would be required to be present at hearings, either in person or remotely; that a respondent could appear remotely, through internet video; that OATH could reduce a violation, if it finds doing so to be in the interests of justice, subject to a review by TLC; that any duplicate notice of violation should be automatically dismissed and, finally, it would establish hearing timeliness requirements to facilitate prompt adjudication of violations.
The Independent Drivers Guild has also opposed a new New York State congestion tax on for-hire vehicles that will take effect in January and raise the average per trip tax to $5 per trip on app-based vehicles like Uber and Lyft with trips that enter Manhattan below 96th St. The same $20 fare would be taxed at a little over $3 per trip in taxis. See the IDG’s analysis of that upcoming tax here. The Guild has called for state legislators to repeal and replace that unfair tax.
After a two year worker-led campaign by the Independent Drivers Guild, New York City officials voted Tuesday morning to set the nation’s first minimum pay rate for app-based drivers. The rate is set at $17.22 per hour after expenses ($26.51 per hour gross), which the city Taxi and Limousine Commission calculated as the contractor equivalent of New York City’s employee minimum wage of $15 per hour (effective 12/31/18). The rules come in response to a massive campaign by the IDG including a petition signed by 16,000 drivers and many months of rallies, research, and lobby days as well as thousands of calls and letters to city officials. The pay rules will go into effect in 30 days and will bring desperately needed relief to more than 70,000 working families who are struggling to get by on the current pay rate of $11.90 per hour after expenses. The new pay floor will raise driver pay by over $9,600 per year, according to the commission’s analysis.
“Today we brought desperately needed relief to 80,000 working families. All workers deserve the protection of a fair, livable wage and we are proud to be setting the new bar for contractor workers’ rights in America,” said Jim Conigliaro, Jr., founder of the Independent Drivers Guild. “We are thankful to the Mayor, Commissioner Joshi and the Taxi and Limousine Commission, City Council Member Brad Lander and all of the city officials who listened to and stood up for drivers.”
“I’m proud that my bill will make New York City the first major U.S. city to establish a minimum pay standard and living wage requirement for Uber and Lyft drivers,” said Council Member Brad Lander. “I’m thrilled the TLC is voting to finalize the rules today, which will protect drivers, level the playing field and support accessibility. Huge thanks to the Independent Drivers Guild for organizing tirelessly around this issue and for ringing the alarm bell on driver pay.”
“People told us we could never win, not against billion dollar companies like Uber and Lyft. But we proved that when workers come together, nothing is impossible,” said IDG member and driver for apps like Uber and Lyft Hailing “Henry” Chen.
In the two years since the Independent Drivers Guild first called on the city to establish a pay floor, the Guild has waged a massive, worker-led campaign. See the timeline here. More than 16,000 drivers signed the IDG’s petition to require a minimum pay rate for apps like Uber and Lyft. To force action, the IDG filed a formal rulemaking petition in March and the city responded in May that it planned to act on pay rules this summer. In August, the city council passed and Mayor de Blasio signed legislation sponsored by Council Member Brad Lander requiring the Taxi and Limousine Commission to set minimum payments for drivers for high volume app-based for-hire vehicle services like Uber and Lyft.
The new rules include the following policies originally proposed by the IDG:
Livable wage raise of at least 40%
Out of town pay for return trips
Higher pay for drivers of wheelchair accessible vehicles
Prohibition on underpaying drivers on certain trips as part of incentive schemes
The IDG used the same regulatory and legislative tactics to require Uber to add a tipping option to the app last year. Just months after the city greenlighted the IDG’s proposed tipping rules in April 2017, Uber added an in-app tipping option not only for New York City (its biggest market) but for drivers across the U.S.
The IDG has also won first of their kind benefits for app-based and Black Car drivers, securing vision and 24/7 telemedicine health benefits this summer, as well as a death benefit for drivers killed on the job and free flu shots.
The Independent Drivers Guild is an affiliate of the Machinists Union which has represented and organized Black Car drivers for more than 20 years in New York City. We are Uber, Lyft, Juno, and Via drivers united for a fair for-hire vehicle industry.
IDG Fair Pay Campaign: By The Numbers
Two Years
16,000 petition signatures
7,400 emails to city officials
>1700 phone calls to city officials
>500 IDG members/ drivers rallied at City Hall and TLC Hearings
4,000 flyers
615 drivers signed the first sign on letter in July 2016
Uber and Lyft Drivers Guild Wins Historic Pay Rules
NYC Sets Nation’s First Minimum Wage for App-Based Drivers
New Pay floor = Raise of at least $9,600 for 70,000 Drivers
New York, NY — After a two year worker-led campaign by the Independent Drivers Guild, New York City officials voted Tuesday morning to set the nation’s first minimum pay rate for app-based drivers. The rate is set at $17.22 per hour after expenses ($27.86 per hour gross), which the city Taxi and Limousine Commission calculated as the contractor equivalent of New York City’s employee minimum wage of $15 per hour (effective 12/31/18). The rules come in response to a massive campaign by the IDG including a petition signed by 16,000 drivers and many months of rallies, research, and lobby days as well as thousands of calls and letters to city officials. The pay rules will go into effect in 30 days and will bring desperately needed relief to more than 70,000 working families who are struggling to get by on the current pay rate of $11.90 per hour after expenses. The new pay floor will raise driver pay by over $9,600 per year, according to the commission’s analysis.
The Independent Drivers Guild, an affiliate of the Machinists Union, represents and advocates for more than 70,000 professional drivers for apps like Uber, Lyft, Via and Juno in New York City. Nearly 90 percent of IDG members drive for apps as their main source of income and nine in ten drivers are immigrants.
“Today we brought desperately needed relief to 80,000 working families. All workers deserve the protection of a fair, livable wage and we are proud to be setting the new bar for contractor workers’ rights in America,” said Jim Conigliaro, Jr., founder of the Independent Drivers Guild. “We are thankful to the Mayor, Commissioner Joshi and the Taxi and Limousine Commission, City Council Member Brad Lander and all of the city officials who listened to and stood up for drivers.”
“I’m proud that my bill will make New York City the first major U.S. city to establish a minimum pay standard and living wage requirement for Uber and Lyft drivers,” said Council Member Brad Lander. “I’m thrilled the TLC is voting to finalize the rules today, which will protect drivers, level the playing field and support accessibility. Huge thanks to the Independent Drivers Guild for organizing tirelessly around this issue and for ringing the alarm bell on driver pay.”
“People told us we could never win, not against billion dollar companies like Uber and Lyft. But we proved that when workers come together, nothing is impossible,” said IDG member and driver for apps like Uber and Lyft Hailing “Henry” Chen.
In the two years since the Independent Drivers Guild first called on the city to establish a pay floor, the Guild has waged a massive, worker-led campaign. See the timeline here. More than 16,000 drivers signed the IDG’s petition to require a minimum pay rate for apps like Uber and Lyft. To force action, the IDG filed a formal rulemaking petition in March and the city responded in May that it planned to act on pay rules this summer. In August, the city council passed and Mayor de Blasio signed legislation sponsored by Council Member Brad Lander requiring the Taxi and Limousine Commission to set minimum payments for drivers for high volume app-based for-hire vehicle services like Uber and Lyft.
The new rules include the following policies originally proposed by the IDG:
Livable wage raise of at least 40%
Out of town pay for return trips
Higher pay for drivers of wheelchair accessible vehicles
Prohibition on underpaying drivers on certain trips as part of incentive schemes
The IDG used the same regulatory and legislative tactics to require Uber to add a tipping option to the app last year. Just months after the city greenlighted the IDG’s proposed tipping rules in April 2017, Uber added an in-app tipping option not only for New York City (its biggest market) but for drivers across the U.S.
The IDG has also won first of their kind benefits for app-based and Black Car drivers, securing vision and 24/7 telemedicine health benefits this summer, as well as a death benefit for drivers killed on the job and free flu shots.
The Independent Drivers Guild is an affiliate of the Machinists Union which has represented and organized Black Car drivers for more than 20 years in New York City. We are Uber, Lyft, Juno, and Via drivers united for a fair for-hire vehicle industry.
IDG Fair Pay Campaign: By The Numbers
Two Years
16,000 petition signatures
7,400 emails to city officials
>1700 phone calls to city officials
>500 IDG members/ drivers rallied at City Hall and TLC Hearings
4,000 flyers
615 drivers signed the first sign on letter in July 2016
Drivers Guild Led Two Year Campaign for Fair Pay, Would Mean Raise of over $9,000/yr for More than 70,000 Drivers — Starting in 30 Days
New York, New York — On Tuesday morning at 8:30 AM, members of the Independent Drivers Guild will hold a rally calling for fair pay ahead of the vote of New York City’s Taxi and Limousine Commission on the final pay rules for app-based for-hire vehicle drivers. Drivers will also thank the TLC for putting forward the landmark rules for a vote. The commission will convene at 10 AM to vote on the final rules.
The IDG, which represents and advocates for more than 70,000 app-based drivers in New York City, petitioned for and has led a two year campaign for the rules which would set a pay floor for drivers for the first time and require that drivers be paid “out of town pay” for return trips to the city after providing an out of town ride. As contractors, app-based drivers are not protected by minimum wage laws in the U.S. In New York City, drivers currently make $11.90 per hour in take home pay after expenses according to the updated city analysis urged by the IDG, well under the city’s minimum wage (currently $13, but will be $15 starting 12/31/18). If passed, the proposed rules will go into effect in 30 days and raise pay by at least $9,600 per year for 90 percent of the drivers for high volume app-based for-hire vehicle services in the city (Uber, Lyft, Via and Juno) according to the TLC. What: “Vote for Fair Pay” Rally When: 8:30 AM Where: Outside 33 Beaver St, NYC (TLC Headquarters) Who: Members of the Independent Drivers Guild – We are Uber, Lyft, Juno and Via Drivers united for a more fair industry See Timeline of the Campaign and what’s new in the final version of the rules here. “This vote has been a long time coming. Thousands of drivers have rallied, lobbied, petitioned, made calls, and flyered over the last two years to get to this point. More than 80,000 families in our city depend on the earnings of an app-based driver. We cannot allow Silicon Valley companies to exploit hard working New Yorkers with sub minimum wage pay. Passing these rules will help thousands of working families and send a clear message that New York stands up for worker rights,” said Jim Conigliaro, Jr., President of the Independent Drivers Guild, an affiliate of the Machinists Union which has represented and organized Black Car drivers for more than 20 years in New York City. More than 16,000 drivers signed the IDG’s petition to require a minimum pay rate for apps like Uber and Lyft. To force action, the IDG filed a formal rulemaking petition in March and the city responded in May that it planned to act on pay rules this summer. In August, the city council passed and Mayor de Blasio signed legislation sponsored by Council Member Brad Lander requiring the Taxi and Limousine Commission to set minimum payments for drivers for high volume app-based for-hire vehicle services like Uber and Lyft. The IDG used the same regulatory and legislative tactics to require Uber to add a tipping option to the app last year. Just months after the city greenlighted the IDG’s proposed tipping rules in April 2017, Uber added an in-app tipping option not only for New York City (its biggest market) but for drivers across the U.S.
The Independent Drivers Guild is an affiliate of the Machinists Union which has represented and organized Black Car drivers for more than 20 years in New York City. We are Uber, Lyft, Juno, and Via drivers united for a fair for-hire vehicle industry.
After 2 years of organizing, the TLC will finally vote on raising driver pay, introducing dead head pay, and enforcing pay transparency on Tuesday, December 4th. We need YOUR support!
We will be gathering at 8:30 AM outside 33 Beaver Street New York, NY to show power at the 10:00 AM meeting and demand that the TLC raise driver pay to what we deserve. Without you, we cannot win.
