Cab drivers’ parent union gives OK for strike

The high command of the union representing drivers at Las Vegas’ second-largest cab company has consented to a strike in the face of growing driver impatience.

Representatives of the Industrial Technical Professional Employees Union confirmed Tuesday that the president of its parent union had signed a strike authorization after hearing a renewed plea late last week. As a result, local ITPEU steward Sam Moffitt said, the union has started dispatching a support team with strike experience, with all of them due in Las Vegas by Saturday.

Previously, union officials said they held the authority to call a work stoppage at Yellow Checker Star Transportation after the ITPEU head office granted permission nearly a month ago. However, Michael Goodwin withheld consent as the president of the parent Office and Professional Employees International Union, so any walkout would have been unauthorized and would have deprived drivers of union-provided strike pay.

On Feb. 3, Yellow Checker Star unilaterally installed the contract proposal rejected by 70 percent of drivers who voted Jan. 24-25 and declared an end to further negotiations.

At a members-only meeting last week, local union officials fielded numerous complaints from drivers about paying dues and receiving little or no action. Several took to blogs to vent their frustration

Johnny Abegaz, a Yellow Checker Star driver for nine years, felt let down by the union.

“We are satisfied they are going forward,” he said. “But I don’t trust those people until they put us on the street.”

Although the contract proposal, the second voted down by drivers in three months, contained sweeteners in areas such as general and safety bonuses and larger pension contributions by the company, many drivers were disappointed by slight movement in basic pay rates.

“We want to go on strike to show our anger,” Abegaz said. “They treat us badly.”

In a statement, Yellow Checker Star called the now-implemented terms “exceedingly driver-friendly” and said they improve upon what already was the “best contract for drivers in our industry.”

Goodwin could not be reached for comment. But according to Moffitt, he was concerned that the drivers had not rallied strong enough backing to ensure a strike’s success.

Union officials have not provided an exact count of the January vote, saying only that about 70 percent of 1,100 ballots cast opted for rejection. But even at what is typically considered a landslide level, Goodwin was said to be concerned that this still amounted to less than half of Yellow Checker Star’s 1,740 drivers, about 400 of whom are not union members.

Yellow Checker Star holds one-fourth of the 2,394 operating permits known as medallions that have been distributed to the 16 cab brands in Las Vegas. Because there has not been a local taxi strike in two decades, how one would affect the visitor industry in a busy March is largely guesswork.

Besides its nonunion drivers, Yellow Checker Star has advertised in recent weeks for new drivers. And the Nevada Taxicab Authority has created emergency medallions that could be issued to other companies to plug any service gap.

Contact reporter Tim O’Reiley at
toreiley@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290.