LOCAL
Sea-Tac taxi drivers to strike again Wednesday over conditions
The following is from Teamsters Local 117:
SEATAC (Aug. 23, 2017) — For the second day this week, taxi drivers who serve customers at Sea-Tac Airport will strike over unsafe, unsanitary working conditions and retaliatory practices by the drivers’ dispatch company, Eastside For Hire. The strike will take place on Wednesday, Aug. 23 at 10 a.m. in the Sea-Tac Airport parking garage. Drivers will also distribute these leaflets to the traveling public.
Drivers engaged in an hour-long work stoppage on Monday to raise concerns about a number of contractual violations between Eastside For Hire and the Port of Seattle. Drivers were also protesting the wrongful termination of one of their co-workers, Ali Sugule.
Sugule criticized Eastside For Hire at a Port of Seattle Commission meeting on Aug. 8. His dispatch services were revoked later that week.
After Monday’s action, Eastside For Hire suspended 18 additional drivers for participating in the strike. Teamsters Local 117 has filed Unfair Labor Practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board alleging that Eastside unjustly retaliated against the drivers for participating in protected activity.
The drivers are calling for the immediate reinstatement of all of the suspended drivers and improved working conditions at the airport.