Airport taxi drivers talking to Teamsters Union
Susan Ruttan, edmontonjournal.com
Published: 3:36 pm
EDMONTON - The upstart Airport Taxi Service that has angered Edmonton-based cabbies is now embroiled in troubles with its own drivers.
Driver Abdul Aziz Nur said today that drivers are meeting with the Teamsters Union to voice grievances about management at the Nisku-based taxi company. Some drivers are signing union cards, he said.
"Management has too much power over the drivers," Nur said. He said the company was making too much money and the drivers not enough.
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Font:****Company general manager Rob Sterr said he's aware some drivers are unhappy. Asked about the possibility of Teamsters involvement, he said the company views its drivers as sub-contractors, not employees.
Airport Taxi Service drivers mainly own their own cars, he said. They pay a weekly fee to the company for dispatch service; the company doesn't pay them.
Airport Taxi was created to compete for the lucrative Edmonton International Airport taxi contract, which it won in the fall of 2006, taking it away from Yellow Taxi. Because it's located outside city boundaries, its drivers don't need an Edmonton taxi licence.
In theory they just carry passengers from the airport into the city. However, other cabbies accuse the Airport drivers of picking up fares within city limits.
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© Edmonton Journal 2008