Toronto taxi drivers have called off a potential strike and protest for All-Star Weekend in the city.
Reports surfaced Monday that cab drivers would strike, likely in the downtown area, as the NBA universe enters the city. This came on the heels of Mayor John Tory fighting against an immediate injunction against Uber drivers, something city council supported Sunday. Cab drivers are upset with the lack of regulation that Uber drivers face, claiming the service is illegal and begging the public to cease using it. Several politicans have spoken out in support of that claim, though it remains a contentious issue that isn’t quite as easy as legal vs. illegal or free market vs. oligopoly.
Several union members met with a handful of city councillors on Wednesday, leading the drivers to call of the protest.
“Emotions overran us …There will be no strike for the NBA All-Star weekend,” Paul Sekhon of the United Taxi Workers Association said Wednesday, courtesy of the Toronto Star.
This is the right move. I was, admittedly, overly critical of the potential strike initially. I understand the drivers’ position and the economic necessity for labor’s right to strike, but I thought the timing and handling of this potential protest were way off-base. After a commenter (correctly) pointed out the bias in the language I had used, I expanded with this explanation of my position:
This obviously reads very harsh toward cab drivers, as was pointed out in in a reasonable comment (although the personal shot at me, whatever). I absolutely understand the need for unions to have the right to strike and that strikes are almost never going to receive public support. In this case, my gripe is two-fold: One, they’re taking what should be a great weekend for the city, one that involves a lot of non-voters and visitors, and throwing an unfortunate wrench in it. Two, and related, I don’t think that’s smart use of leverage, and I don’t think the drivers have played their hand very well here. City council just met on this, and four days out, a strike this weekend isn’t going to incite change, it’s just going to further remove them from any public support. There are better short-term means of dealing with the issue (namely, improving your service) while the legality of Uber gets figured out, but instead the drivers are opting to leave money on the table and risk a P.R. disaster. Why All-Star Weekend? And why so soon since the last strike – you’ll have used that bullet twice in 10 weeks now, and accomplished nothing but failing to effectively inform the public of the real issue and the need to push for Uber regulation. Why not time this for a weekend with more politicians involved and likely to be effected? Why not use the All-Star opportunity to provide good service, make a fair amount of money, and inform a large population of users – Uber’s not going to be able to meet demand this weekend, and the standardized, non-surge rates of taxis is a major advantage they don’t do a good job of highlighting. There are just so many better ways to have gone about the weekend, in my mind. It’s a strategic misstep, in political and P.R. terms.
It seems cooler heads have prevailed. It helps, too, that the cab drivers felt like Wednesday was the first time city officials have really heard their complaints, per the Star, which can be important in managing this type of conflict.
To my point, Gail Beck-Souter, president of Beck Taxi, pointed out the economics of the timing of this strike and handing additional business to Uber. Striking on a weekend in which Uber is unlikely to be able to handle volume without significant surge pricing – swinging free-market factors back in the favor of cabs, who have fixed rates – seemed ill-advised.
“It would only hurt our valued customers and give Uber exactly what they want,” she wrote Tuesday, per The Star. “I get you feel left behind, forgotten, dispensable, that no one values the dedication you’ve made to this industry and the people of Toronto”.
This doesn’t mean the matter is closed. Not even close.. Cab drivers still claim Uber is unsafe and illegal, warning people against using the service, and it stands to be a hot-button political issue for the forseeable future, not just in Toronto but in any major city. Kitchener-Waterloo, where I spend half my time, has had some conflict, too, and some cab companies have tried to get out ahead of any political change by improving their services in order to better compete with Uber in the interim.
Perhaps that’s not fair to ask of cab drivers, if you’re of the mind Uber is illegal. From a market perspective, consumers are going to make the choice they’re most comfortable with, factoring in cost, safety, convenience, any moral opinion, and comfort with the requisite technology to use Uber.
By calling off the strike, I actually think cab drivers have given themselves a nice opportunity this weekend. There remains a great deal of attention on the issue, and by calling it off ahead of a weekend that means a lot to the city, their status quo now looks like a positive P.R. move and a concession to the public. If the unions can use the high-volume weekend to better educate end-users about their position and continue to drum up political support (all while stacking paper to the ceiling taking people club to club, arena to arena) then maybe this weekend ends up being a victory for them.
