LAS VEGAS (KSNV MyNews3.com) -- A week-long strike by drivers for Yellow-Checker-Star, one of 16 taxi companies in the Las Vegas Valley, is having no impact on cab service, according to officials.
A McCarran International Airport official told News 3 that daily reports show cab use is up about 10 percent from the same week a year ago and users are being accommodated without delays.
"The strike has had no impact on our users," said Chris Jones, spokesman for the airport.
The Nevada Taxi Cab Authority authorized a dozen other cab companies to add up to 20 drivers each during the strike in order to have enough cabs on the valley's streets to meet anticipated demand.
Friends and families of some 1,000 striking Y-C-S drivers held a rally Saturday afternoon to show their support for the strikers.
Meanwhile, Y-C-S is hiring replacement drivers on a daily basis according to Chief Operating Officer Bill Shranko.
Two days of talks with a federal mediator held this week were not productive according to Shranko and Paul Bohelski, a spokesman for Local 4873 of the Industrial Technical Professional Employees Union.
"It was just some shuttle diplomacy that went nowhere," Shranko said.
Drivers are striking over wages and working conditions. Other than getting a bigger share of the fare, one of their chief complaints is having to work six years before they can go to a four-day work week.
Y-C-S implemented its terms of employment in early February when about 70 percent of voting drivers rejected what Y-C-S- considered a final contract offer.
Shranko said Saturday that Y-C-S will not schedule more meetings with union officials.
