In Business Las Vegas, November 30th, 2007
Taxi industry regulators say they'll keep a close watch on driver trip sheets after two union representatives said some companies were allowing drivers to work more than 12 hours at a time in violation of state law.
Representatives of the United Steelworkers and the Industrial Technical Professional Employees unions said at the Nov. 27 Taxicab Authority meeting that some companies have encouraged drivers to work longer shifts while others would look the other way when they turned in their trip sheets, which are logs of a driver's daily runs.
Karla
Hiropolous
, who spoke on behalf of ITPE, did not name which of Clark County's 16 companies she was accusing in the allegation, but added that several drivers have told her of violations.
Drivers are being allowed to take longer shifts,
Hiropolous
said, because taxi trips are down from the previous year's levels. According to Taxicab Authority statistics, the average number of trips per shift is down 3.74 percent from 2006. That has taken a bite out of tips for drivers.
Because of increases in rates, cab companies haven't seen revenue fall during the same period. Year over year, cab company revenue is up 7.27 percent in Clark County, according to authority statistics.
Brock
Croy
, who conducts trip sheet audits for the Taxicab Authority, said he has seen no evidence of there being widespread incidences of drivers working longer than 12 hours at a time. His most recent trip sheet audit, he said, found a few instances in which a driver's last trip took him far from the company's headquarters and by the time he returned, he had clocked more than 12 hours in the cab.
Cheryl
Knapp, general manager
of Whittlesea Bell Transportation, scoffed at union claims that some cab companies were forcing or allowing drivers to work long shifts.
Knapp
said at her company drivers punch a time clock ticket to monitor time on the job. Drivers can face disciplinary action if they drive more than 12 hours, she said.
"It's preposterous for the unions to make these allegations,"
Knapp
said, adding that she thought it was a ploy to convince regulators to be sympathetic to the union's requests on upcoming cab medallion requests.
The allegations were raised when the Taxicab Authority was considering allocating additional cabs on the streets for the New Year's holiday. January traditionally is a big month for allocating more cabs because the New Year's holiday is followed by the International Consumer Electronics Show and the Adult Entertainment Expo, which between them bring more than 180,000 conventioneers to the city.
The World of Concrete Expo, which is expected to draw 85,000 people to the city, also is on the January convention calendar.
The unions and the cab companies rarely see eye to eye on the subject of additional cab allocations because company owners want more cabs to generate more revenue, while drivers see additional cabs as cutting into their paychecks since the pie is cut into more pieces.
The monthly Taxicab Authority meeting was the first for two new members, Jones Vargas
lawyer
Stacie
Truesdell
and
Susan
Carrasco, assistant general counsel
at UNLV.
When
Gov.
Jim
Gibbons
appointed
Truesdell
to the authority, he took the unusual step of appointing her vice chairwoman, even though she is inexperienced in the taxi industry. Usually, the authority elects its own chairman and vice chairman.
Kathryn
Werner-Collins, who is chairwoman
of the authority, said
Gibbons
did not consult with her prior to the appointment.
"I'm sure she'll do a fine job, but it's just a little unusual that we haven't heard anything at all from the governor," she said.
The arrival of
Truesdell
and
Carrasco
marked the first time that four of the five-member authority are women.
Werner-Collins
also hasn't heard anything from the governor's office on the appointment of an administrator.
Tom
Czehowski
continues to serve as acting administrator and was one of the candidates to fill the job permanently.
In August the Taxicab Authority board interviewed 14 candidates and chose three finalists, sending those names to state Business and Industry
Director
Mendy
Elliott
as prospective choices to fill the vacancy.
The three are
April
Woodard, a former deputy administrator
with the Nevada Transportation Authority, formerly known as the Transportation Services Authority;
Croy, an administrative services officer
for the Taxicab Authority for 3 1/2 years; and
Gordon
Walker, vice president
of Ruchman & Associates Inc., a government contractor for the National Nuclear Security Administration at the Nevada Test Site.
