Independent Drivers Guild Launched a Petition to Ban Driverless Cars From New York Streets – Already Amassing 5,000 signatures 

See Petition at: bit.ly/NoDriverlessCarsPetition

New York, NY — Today, the Independent Drivers Guild, a Machinists Union affiliate that represents and advocates for New York City’s 80,000 Uber and Lyft drivers, slammed New York City Mayor Adams for approving Waymo to test their experimental autonomous vehicles on city streets. Brendan Sexton, President of the Independent Drivers Guild, released the following statement:

“The streets of New York City are not the place to experiment with dangerous, untested, 5,000 lb driverless vehicles. Mayor Adams is putting the lives of all New Yorkers at risk. We call on the Mayor to reverse this mistake before these cars are responsible for anyone getting hurt, or worse.

Driverless cars have clogged streets, obstructed emergency vehicles, and caused accidents, injuries and even deaths. They are a threat to pedestrians, cyclists and other drivers. We already have the best, safest for-hire vehicle sector in the nation here in New York City. Why risk the lives of New Yorkers for a dangerous experimental system that is seeking to eliminate the jobs of 100,000 New Yorkers?”

Further Background:

• IDG recently launched a petition opposing driverless cars in NY and has already amassed more than 5000 signatures
  https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/stop-driverless-cars-from-taking-over-nyc-streets/

• Experimental driverless cars are using a loophole to operate untested in New York State, but that loophole sunsets next year. Governor Hochul can stop these dangerous experiments by allowing that loophole to expire.

• City and state leaders can also act by requiring that safety studies be completed before any experimental autonomous vehicles can test on New York streets. Like many other products that are lab-tested, driverless car technology should be thoroughly studied in a controlled environment and meet rigorous safety standards before being allowed on any New York streets.

About the Independent Drivers Guild

The Independent Drivers Guild is the nation’s largest rideshare driver advocacy group that represents and advocates for more than 300,000 drivers across the northeast, IL and FL. We are Uber and Lyft drivers united for a more fair industry. The Guild’s organizing has secured landmark victories that put billions of dollars in the pockets of drivers, including requiring a tipping option in the Uber app and winning the nation’s first livable minimum wage for rideshare drivers in New York City.  The Drivers Guild is a non-profit worker center affiliated with the Machinists Union, an AFL-CIO member union, which has represented for-hire vehicle (FHV) drivers for more than twenty-five years.
The Drivers Guild and Machinists Union have led the nation in advocating for benefits and protections for FHV drivers. In 1999, the Machinists Union advocated to create the Black Car Fund, establishing a workers’ compensation fund for New York’s for-hire vehicle drivers. In 2016, the Machinists helped drivers form the Independent Drivers Guild which has successfully advocated for and won a series of new protections and benefits through the program, including free vision, dental, health clinics, telemedicine, disability insurance and the Guild’s mental health counseling program, developed specifically for FHV drivers in response to New York’s driver suicide crisis.
Learn more at DriversGuild.org and follow us at https://x.com/DrivingGuild

Uber and Lyft have been locking New York City rideshare drivers out of their driver apps in periods of high demand, blocking tens of thousands of city drivers from working, their livelihoods. The rideshare driver lockouts are devastating for the 80,000 New Yorkers who drive for these apps for a living. As drivers licensed to operate in New York City, we pay thousands of dollars annually for licensing and insurance. Many of us have invested our savings and taken out loans to join this industry. It’s completely unfair for an app company to be able to disrupt our livelihoods at a moment’s notice.

Independent Drivers Guild members have been fighting around the clock to end the app lockouts imposed by Uber and Lyft. We lobbied legislators and city officials, caravanned in protest, and made sure rideshare companies heard our voices. Recently, Mayor Adams and Commissioner Do attended our annual driver appreciation and family day and pledged to stand with drivers and end the lockouts.  We launched an email campaign thanking them for listening to drivers and urging action. Then on July 31s Mayor Adams announced a commitment to significantly reduce these unfair lockouts. We thank Mayor Adams and Commissioner Do for standing with drivers and taking action against these unfair lockouts as we continue the fight to protect fair pay for drivers and permanently end lockouts.

Video Here: Video Link

Tens of thousands of New York’s Taxi and Limousine Commission drivers are stuck renting or leasing their work vehicles from large, exploitative fleet companies as a result of the city’s for-hire vehicle cap. We urge the Taxi and Limousine Commission to stop licensing vehicles to big fleet owners and instead give individual drivers a right to own.

Drivers deserve the right to own their own vehicle, including electric and wheelchair accessible vehicles. All TLC drivers who have been driving for at least two years should be exempt from the pause on licensing for-hire vehicles.

Renting or leasing a for-hire vehicle costs more than $20,000 per year. It is much more costly than owning. For low income for-hire vehicle drivers who are already struggling to make ends meet and support their families, that is a heavy cost. We are demanding a right to own our own vehicles.

New York leaders say they stand with workers, they stand with immigrants, yet they have allowed this policy to keep thousands of low income, largely immigrant workers beholden to large fleet owners with exploitative practices. If you stand with workers and immigrants, then you must give us a right to own.

Complete this form to tell TLC you deserve the right to own your vehicle.

Workers across the country are speaking out to demand living wages and safer working conditions. Right now, the laws give too much power to corporations and not enough to us. We’re standing up to change that.

Momentum is building for the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, known as the PRO Act, so we can ensure that all workers can join together and take collective action for a better life.

Take action:

Sign the petition.

Tell Congress to pass the PRO Act now!

Today, we demand that ride-hailing and delivery app providers work with us to address the recent increase in carjackings and other criminal incidents. Dozens of rideshare drivers and delivery workers have been targeted as victims of carjackings in Chicago in the last few months alone.

These common-sense improvements will protect both drivers and their passengers from ensuring safe transit during the COVID-19 pandemic:

• Passenger verification
• Mandatory passenger profile photos
• Mandatory mask-wearing selfie when ordering a ride
• Credit card fraud verification
• Stolen account warning
• Police zone warnings in-app
• Passenger background check
• Panic button
• Special crime victim insurance
• Increased penalties for assaults
• In-vehicle cameras
• Safety violation charges

Every rideshare and delivery driver and passenger in Chicago needs to know that we are specifically being targeted for these crimes. As such, we ask for your help and solidarity in fostering a safer industry. Sign our petition here.

Call To Action! To End the war on New York City For-Hire Vehicle TLC Drivers.
Sign our petition to put a stop to this unfair treatment of app-based companies.

App-based companies plan to follow Lyft’s lead in locking drivers out of its app at times and places with low demand. Starting Tuesday, September 17th, 2019, Uber will lock drivers out of its platform at times and locations that few riders are requesting trips.

Sign our petition to put a stop to this unfair treatment of app-based companies.

Target: American Transit Insurance Co. ; Hereford insurance Co; Maya insurance Co. & All other NYC TLC Insurance Companies

We are demanding the following:

• Provide prorated refunds based on FHV miles driven until business returns to last year’s level
• Lower deposit amount
• Lower insurance premium cost
• Eliminate monthly installment surcharge
• Give us the option to buy into lower premium without losing our TLC plates
• Allow us to apply the typical last two “free” months whenever we feel the need

Click here to sign the petition