From Manhattan to Minnesota: NYC TLC Drivers Want To Be Heard
Two separate driver caravans, both mostly made up of NYC TLC drivers, are probably indicative of a labor force that's increasingly feeling pinched
AutoMarketplace NYC covers the for-hire transportation industry and automotive news. Check out AutoMarketplace on YouTube โถ๏ธ
There is never a dull moment in the NYC for-hire transportation market. Our team was on the ground (footage above) covering the Justice for App Workers drivers caravan that traveled from Brooklyn to Uber's office(s) in Manhattan.
However, what may have slipped through the cracks, is that another caravan, consisting mostly of NYC TLC drivers as well, was on its way to Minnesota!
Minnesota? ๐ค
That caravan consisted of yellow taxi medallion driver/owners protesting a Minnesota-based investment firm, O'Brien Staley Partners (OSP), repossessing medallions after driver loan defaults. This was seen as controversial, as the vast majority of other NYC taxi medallion lenders agreed to a City-backed debt restructuring agreement last November.
Both caravans garnered a fair amount of media attention. The Justice for App Workers demands are broad, revolving around compensation and accusations of unfair power dynamics between the apps and their driver workforce. The driver caravan of yellow taxi medallion owners actually resulted in OSP, the Minnesota-based investment firm, agreeing to sign on to the November City-backed debt restructuring deal.
The Revenge of the Worker?
During this weekโs AutoMarketplace team catch up, some interesting questions were posed.
Is the gig economy model broken?
Canโt drivers just cut out Uber & Lyft altogether?
Is capitalism itself broken?
My response was nuanced, but I essentially made the point that the gig economy or capitalism is actually not broken, but rather it's being iterated on. Remember, this is all new. It may seem like Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, etc have been around for decades, but they've barely been around for A decade. Without becoming too philosophical, the beauty of new business models or technologies is that they fundamentally disrupt ๐ (yes, I know very overused term) some status quo that wasn't working.
This is what is often forgotten, how did Uber & Lyft go from heroes to villains? How did they go from the new to the established? In fact, the rise of both companies and how dominant they quickly became, probably underscores how broken the system was before. This is definitely not to say that these companies shouldn't be checked (I've had several ideas on this). However, whatโs clear to see is that a lot of drivers are upset. When a lot of people, especially hardworking people, are upset, there are probably some valid points that need to be heard; that need to be addressed.
We'll leave you with a New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA) video we ran across from about a decade ago, before Uber & Lyft were really a thing. When the taxi medallion was good as gold (or โฟ Bitcoin, which was only a few years old then). It's interesting, to look back at history and see how the once โinvincibleโ acted. In my personal opinion, the best outcome for the current state of affairs is likely somewhere in the middle, as most things are. Uber & Lyft ignore their drivers a little bit too much (deactivation appeals, ability to speak to a human), but at the same time some drivers underestimate just how complex it is to run businesses like Uber & Lyft.
It's not that capitalism or the gig economy are broken, itโs still being worked through. Itโs important though, for all parties, to not ignore history.
As always let us know your thoughts below or by emailing us at info@automarketplace.com
AutoMarketplace NYC covers the for-hire transportation industry and automotive news. Check out AutoMarketplace on YouTube โถ๏ธ