ORGANIZING WITH TAXI AND RIDESHARE DRIVERS FOR BETTER PROTECTIONS

Workers in the taxi industry (including for-hire vehicle and rideshare drivers) are the backbone of our City, providing continued support throughout the COVID-19 pandemic despite our City failing to protect drivers with health and pension funds, or even basic PPE. Especially because private tech companies (like Uber and Lyft) deny workers’ protections (like healthcare, strong anti-harassment and discrimination policies, and paid sick leave) through refusing to recognize drivers as employees, City Council must protect the health, safety, and well-being of taxi workers during COVID-19 and beyond. 

Throughout Shahana’s organizing efforts and direct constituent services work with drivers in our District, she has seen the need for drivers to have adequate safety nets, from unemployment insurance to pension funds. To address this, rideshare drivers must be able to unionize and be classified as employees, not independent contractors. Drivers also deserve to safely retire - but the medallion crisis has left our city’s drivers in immense debt; any relief efforts for drivers must include debt forgiveness and reparations for this injustice. 

Supporting organized labor in working-class communities is deeply personal for Shahana. Many Bangladeshi immigrants, particularly from Kensington, relied on and continue to rely on the availability of construction work to make a living and survive in this City. In his early years as a construction laborer, Shahana’s father collapsed from a scaffold and was left with a permanent disability in his legs. Shahana has worked closely with workers to receive language accessible OSHA training, and is an advocate of the NYS Scaffold Law.  Shahana is an ardent advocate for construction workers like her father and will continue to be an advocate for worker protections and unionizing across all fields. 

+ Gig worker rights

As Council Member Shahana will...

  • Work with her colleagues in the State and Assembly to classify drivers as employees, instead of independent contractors, to provide drivers with labor protections and benefits including (1) legal protections against discrimination, sexual harassment and assault, and workplace harassment, (2) workers’ compensation, (3) paid sick and vacation days, (4) healthcare, and (5) retirement and savings plans
  • Stand with the New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA) and organize with her constituents to fight for drivers’ unionization and collective bargaining
  • Revamp oversight of the Taxi and Limousine Commission to ensure that the Board of Commissioners is more demographically reflective of drivers and includes an active driver
  • Create an undocumented bill of rights and protections for taxi workers (including gig workers), ensuring undocumented workers are protected from employer threats of retaliation, deportation, and cooperation with ICE

+ Healthcare and pensions

As Council Member Shahana will...

  • Establish a health and pension fund for drivers
  • Levy a small, cents-on-the-dollar (i.e. under 10 cents) surcharge per ride to cover costs
  • Work with partners in the City to expand the New York Employees' Retirement System (NYCERS) to include drivers
  • Subsidize PPE until the COVID-19 state of emergency is lifted
  • Allocate funds towards more regular maintenance and construction of sanitary public toilet facilities in public parks and spaces. In the short term, work with local municipal buildings and restaurants to allow drivers to use their bathrooms at no cost
  • Create a multilingual hotline for mental health support
  • Establish peer-to-peer mental health counseling
  • Leverage pick-up locations with long wait times for drivers, such as at airports, to screen drivers for health issues and enroll into available healthcare options
  • Work with for-hire drivers and organizers to advocate for the New York Health Act

+ Workplace and legal protections

As Council Member Shahana will...

  • Host anti-bias workshops and training to combat anti-Blackness and Islamophobia against drivers and customers. Host anti-bias training to support customers of marginalized genders
  • Expand the Department of Labor’s “Labor on Wheels” program to target outreach to immigrant communities
  • Provide access to legal resources, legal counsel for employment disputes, and multilingual Know Your Rights events for drivers
  • Strengthen support against violence and harassment for women and gender non-conforming drivers:
  • Host transformative training workshops to address workplace violence, centering around de-escalation and conflict resolution.
  • Advocate and provide support for women drivers, through facilitating and developing family-friendly HR policies, trainings on gender sensitivity, gender steering groups, childcare voucher systems, and other inclusive retention efforts in partnership with unions and taxi companies
  • Pair unions and taxi companies with community based organizations to provide mentorship programs, advanced training, and professional development for drivers