Both proponents and opponents of state legislation that would have regulated commercial ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft are speaking out following Gov. Pat Quinn's decision on Monday to veto the measure. Progress Illinois rounds up some of the reaction to Quinn's veto and takes a look at the debate leading up to his decision.
Hundreds rallied at the Thompson Center Wednesday afternoon to show their support for cab drivers in Chicago who are demanding better wages and working conditions. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) has been working with cab drivers in Chicago to help them unionize, which they say would give the drivers a better chance at raising their wages, handling city regulations and competing with newer ride sharing companies like Uber and Lyft.
According to a study from AFSCME released last month, wages for at least half of Chicago’s taxicab drivers fall far short of the state’s minimum wage of $8.25 an hour, with some earning just over $5.00 an hour. Some 10 percent of drivers actually lose money.
“We make Chicago run, but that is not enough for City Hall,” Maxwell Akinton, a Chicago cab driver, told the massive crowd on the plaza. “They treat us like an ATM machine and pull money out of us every day. We have no way to fight back.”
The Progressive Reform Coalition will have something of a coming out party Thursday night with a fundraiser designed to introduce itself to the public and raise money to be a more active and more efficient force in city politics. Progress Illinois takes a look at what the caucus is hoping to accomplish with the additional funds.
Taxicab drivers — who are essential to the city’s economy, tourism and transportation — make far less than the minimum wage, according to a group of cabdrivers who took their message to City Hall on Wednesday and called on Mayor Rahm Emanuel to raise cab fares.
“The city sets all of these regulations as if they are our employer, but when it comes to what an employer would provide, they get away without having to provide any of those things, like minimum wage, like benefits, like health insurance, because they call us independent contractors,” said Melissa Callahan, leader of the advocacy group Cab Drivers for Justice. “They’re skirting a lot of their responsibilities.”
Hundreds rallied at the Thompson Center Wednesday afternoon to show their support for cab drivers in Chicago who are demanding better wages and working conditions. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) has been working with cab drivers in Chicago to help them unionize, which they say would give the drivers a better chance at raising their wages, handling city regulations and competing with newer ride sharing companies like Uber and Lyft. 
Taxicab drivers — who are essential to the city’s economy, tourism and transportation — make far less than the minimum wage, according to a group of cabdrivers who took their message to City Hall on Wednesday and called on Mayor Rahm Emanuel to raise cab fares.
