MontCo Taxi Drivers & BWI Super Shuttle Drivers Hit Streets for Justice

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)Fed-up Montgomery County taxi drivers and BWI Super Shuttle drivers took to the streets yesterday. In unrelated actions, the drivers staged protests in Rockville in the morning and at BWI airport in the afternoon. Dozens of taxi drivers circled through rainy Rockville town center streets and in front of the Executive Office Building while a delegation delivered petitions signed by more than 400 drivers to County Executive Ike Leggett's office demanding action on "exorbitant" credit card handling fees being charged by Montgomery County cab companies. "The taxi companies can charge us whatever they want," said Ibrahima Ndiaye, who's been driving for Barwood Taxi for 16 years. "That's why they charge us so much more than they have to pay the credit card companies." Thedrivers, organizing with the National Taxi Workers Alliance with assistance from the AFL-CIO, recently formed the Montgomery County Professional Drivers Union.  Later in the afternoon, nearly 100 BWI Super Shuttle drivers drove slowly through BWI in their signature blue vans, snarling airport traffic for the second day; they had staged a similar impromptu action Wednesday afternoon in protest of Super Shuttle management's "refusal to hear their complaints about workplace problems," according to UFCW Local 1994. The drivers have filed to be represented by Local 1994. While Super Shuttle/Blue Van is owned by Veolia, a profitable, multinational transportation conglomerate, the drivers earn very little per ride and are subject to massive weekly fees. "It's complete wage slavery," said one driver. "When we're sick, we still have to pay company fees. There's no relief, no putting our fees on hold. Sometimes we work for nothing...zero dollar paychecks. We need change." Leggett spokesman Patrick Lacefieldtold the Washington Post that the county executive plans to meet with the drivers within the next 10 days to discuss their concerns. Super Shuttle management has promised to address one of the drivers' most urgent issues, regarding malfunctioning dispatch equipment that costs the drivers $500 per week. - report/photos by Chris Garlock; check out @dclabor for more photos of both actions