Unions claim violations of cab drivers’ 12-hour day

Monday, Dec. 3, 2007 | 7:12 a.m.

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 in violation of state law.

Representatives of the United Steelworkers and the Industrial Technical Professional Employees unions complained last week at the 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 the industrial and technical union, did not say which of Clark County's 16 companies she was referring to.

Drivers are being allowed to take longer shifts, Hiropolous said, because taxi trips are down from last year's levels. According to Taxicab Authority statistics, the average number of trips per shift is down almost 4 percent from 2006, with a resulting drop in 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 more than 7 percent in Clark County, according to authority statistics.

Brock Croy, who audits trip sheets for the Taxicab Authority, said he has seen no widespread evidence of drivers working longer than 12 hours.

Cheryl Knapp, general manager of Whittlesea Bell Transportation, said at her company drivers punch a time clock ticket to monitor time on the job and can face disciplinary action if they drive more than 12 hours.

"It's preposterous for the unions to make these allegations," Knapp said, adding that she thought it was a ploy to persuade regulators to be sympathetic to the union's upcoming cab medallion (permit to drive a cab) requests.

The allegations were raised when the Taxicab Authority was considering allocating additional cabs 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 because 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 naming 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, chairwoman of the authority, said Gibbons did not consult with her before 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 authority members 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.

A version of this story appears in In Business Las Vegas, a sister publication.