Alexandria Yellow Cab Drivers Plan Tuesday Protest

Alexandria Yellow Cab drivers will take their vehicles off the road from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday in protest increased dues and unfair treatment from management, according to Gabriel Rojo, the director of Tenants and Workers United.

The Alexandria Yellow Cab Committee is organizing the protest with the help of TWU. 

Taxi drivers will meet at the Nannie Lee Memorial Recreation Center at 11 a.m. to “demonstrate to the company’s ownership and management that the drivers are united and will not put up with unfair treatment,” Rojo said.

Rojo said it has been difficult for drivers to move from company to company after the city . Similar concerns led to the creation of the Union Cab Company in Alexandria about five years ago.

“The drivers want freedom to go to another company and they don’t want to be treated like property,” Rojo said.

A Yellow Cab driver who asked to remain anonymous told Patch that only drivers with significant seniority are allowed to move.

Yellow Cab also recently increased the monthly stand dues that drivers pay, the driver said. The increased dues coupled with high gas prices have made it more expensive for drivers to do business with Yellow Cab.

Rojo invited members of City Council and council candidates to attend the event so they could be informed about the issues relating to the protest.

According to the Alexandria Yellow Cab website, the city has more than 260 operating taxicabs and receives more than 3,800 calls per day.