DC Taxi Drivers File Lawsuit, Demand Apology

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)The Teamster-affiliated Washington, D.C. Taxi Operators Association last week filed a lawsuit demanding that the District stop towing and impounding taxis and issuing fines to drivers who have been unable to install new dome lights or credit card machines. They also demanded an apology from DC Mayor Vincent Gray after Gray's spokesman told the Washingtonian that "we barely have a third-world taxicab system in this city." The Association -- which recently affiliated with Teamsters 922 -- called the statement “offensive," saying that "it demeans the more than 6,000 taxicab drivers in the District, many of whom are from developing countries in Africa and the Middle East." The lawsuit and a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction were filed late Tuesday in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. They seek a delay "until the District can assure that the credit card system is reliably functional and that a sufficient supply of dome lights is available," the Association said. The lawsuit also seeks damages for those drivers who have been fined or had their vehicles impounded. Drivers plan to speak out on both issues at the next meeting of the D.C. Taxicab Commission this Wednesday. photo: Teamsters President James P. Hoffa speaks with D.C. taxicab drivers; PRNewsFoto/International Brotherhood of Teamsters