Vets Taxi driver sign new contract

WindsorStar.com
Sept. 7, 2017
Kelly Steele

Drivers for Vets Taxi (Veteran Cab) have ratified a new four-year contract that will soon allow riders to pay their fares on a mobile app.

Vets Taxi drivers, members of Unifor Local 195, voted 87 per cent in favour of the new contract which features improved language, increased life insurance and an additional holiday for drivers. The deal also has a minimal increase drivers must pay to the company, car rental fees and future plate increases. Facing a midnight strike deadline, the Wednesday night vote averted a strike by 326 cab drivers.

“I think it was a reasonable contract,” said John Toth, president of Unifor Local 195. “It was a tough negotiation because there were a lot of different things that factored in like Uber taking some of the money away from them.”

As part of the contract, there is also a commitment by the company to have a new state-of-the-art computer dispatch system in place by the end of the year. The new technology is designed to improve response times and allow Vets Taxi to compete with Uber by providing payments through their mobile app.