Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Here's your host, Alex Garrett. All right, well once again
here on one look up with Alex Garrett. I have
to give credit to President Trump for stepping into something
I did not expect them to step into. Headlines are
that he has stepped into the lr labor dispute, which,
as you might be following, has been an issue. I mean,
(00:22):
they were about to go on strike as of last week,
and yet he stepped in and stopped it and created
what they call an emergency board to investigate disputes between
the larr and the unions. Now, I know my colleague
Heer Ryan and friend here has been looking at this
more than I have. What was the issue with the
dispute to begin with?
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah, so a lot of it. It boiled down to
five unions representing Long Island Railroad workers, so it's not
everybody that works for the railroad, but a good chunk
of the staff. They wanted new contracts. They wanted raises
to keep up with the economy and the inflated cost
of living these days that you're bound to get with
(01:05):
the changing of the times. Now, to my understanding, the
MTA was proposing a six percent wage increase. But to
my understanding the unions wanted nine percent, and that's kind
of where the talks really stalled, where the threats of
a strike, which would be the first in decades, or
would have been the first two decades, had that actually.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
Gone tomorrow right Thursday, which would have been impacting more
than two and seventy thousand customers. We are two of them.
And so it's now put off for now four months
or so. And I hear Governor Hokel was actually on
board with this. Is that what happened there?
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Yeah, And it's kind of crazy to think about, because
I mean, she tacnically somebody that's overseeing the MTA, being
that it's an entity representing the state of New York here.
And I'll be honest, I was a little bit surprised
that she was perfectly okay with this because at this point,
and this is something that I talked about on my
(02:01):
own podcast, Pag's Perspective, she just seemed more or less
resigned to throwing her hands in the air and saying, well,
we tried. Any strike that happens, it's all President Trump's fault.
I want everybody to know, if this strike happens, it's
on the President and nobody else. She seemed more or
less resigned to doing that and going to the playbook
of just blaming Trump for everything. But yet that hasn't happened.
(02:24):
She's acting in the best interests of New Yorkers, the MTA,
as well as the union workers by allowing these talks
to continue through mid May twenty twenty six, where if
they can't get a deal done by that point, that
is what a strike would happen. So I gotta give
her credit for that.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Well, we'll see what happens. That's the latest for that
no strike on the LR. It was cool to see
that design, but I was stay in transportation because the
DOJ you know call screening here for Mike Gallagher in
the national hours of sale made in New York. It's
opened my eyes to all the news and apparently Pam
Bondy was under fire about targeting a hate speech and
(03:01):
all that, and whether she was actually gonna lock people up.
Well after last Wednesday, I can't believe it was in
a week since Charlie Kirk was assassinated. A week ago
that horrific tragedy happened. It feels like twenty years ago
at this point. The way things have been moving. There's
been charges against the shooter himself, seven of them, and
I hope that maybe he does get the chair or
(03:22):
the firing squad. I don't know yet, but all to say,
Bondi's also been keeping a rye on something else which
impacts the disabled community. I got this letter the other day.
This is funny because I didn't think we get this
note that Uber is unfairly impacting the disabled community, according
to the DOJ. I don't know if you heard about this, Ryan,
(03:44):
but Uber denies rides to passengers with disabilities, the Justice
Department claims in new lawsuit CBS News Rights the Justice
Department has filled one hundred and twenty five million dollar
lawsuits against Uber, a legend that the ride sharing company
discriminates against passengers with disabilities. Here at one look up, Alex,
(04:05):
we talk about this, and I want to shout out
my colleague, my friend, and the guy behind Tripper, Eric Ryan.
Right now, this is an example of why Tripper is
so important in this time. Not only does Uber not
help about people disabilities on Long Island, now they say
Uber is viling the ADA by routinely.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Refusing to serve individuals with disabilities charging cleaning fees because
of service animals shedding and charging cancelation fees to writers
who are unlawfully denied service.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Uber of course denies this, but you know what Uber's pattern.
I could see this happening. Them and Lift don't even
provide a service in Long Island, so this does not
surprise me. I wish the DJ would actually include that
in this letter. The ADA requires ride sharing companies to
allow service animals and adaptability right, the ADA will always
(04:58):
be adapting to these different needs of people in the
technological age. ADA requires ride sharing companies to allow service
animals accompanying people with disabilities on rides, providing rides and
assistance to people with sable wheelchairs and mobility devices. By
lawsuit reviewed by CBS News highlighted Uber saying that many
(05:22):
individuals disabilities increasingly rely on Uber services to meet their
and transportation needs, including travel, work, medical appointments, for religious services,
and other important places. The company has refused to reasonably
modify its policies to avoid discriminating against riders disabilities, or
train or train drivers in ADA compliance, meaning individuals with
(05:43):
disabilities have experienced of the infinite delays misdippointments have been
left stranded and inclement weather. This is what I'm talking about.
I didn't see Biden DOJ do this. I didn't see
them go after Uber like this, And so I applaud
Pambondi for why now she's dealing with this horrific tragedy
also going ahead and standing up for people disabilities. And
(06:06):
you might think, well, why are you giving the Trump
credit for doing that? Well here it is here, it
is right here staying up for people disabilities. I don't
always agree with the Trump administration, but I can applaud
them for something like this where the holding one of
the biggest ride share, the biggest ride share companies accountable
accountable for this. In a response to the lawsuit, Uber
(06:28):
has said every driver must acknowledge and agree to the
Service Animal policy and appreciate and applicable accessibility to laws.
Drivers who violate Uber policies face the size of action,
including permanent account the activation. They've also said they're investing
in technology training and dedicating report in general. But look,
I don't care what Hooper says. This is a massive lawsuit,
(06:51):
one hundred and twenty five million dollars. Tell people with disabilities.
I would love for the DJ and Eric Ryan to
connect right now about this and promote Tripper even more.
If DJ's gonna really stake a claim in making this
right Sharing Services ADA complaint, Eric Ryan, here's your chance.
Let's connect with the DJ right now, right Ryan.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
Yeah, And it sounds like, you know, Eric Ryan would
have a ton to say about that, because it's just
crazy that it's taken until now to acknowledge that Uber
has been doing wrong by so many non able bodied folks.
And and credit to the Trump administration for finally being
the ones to deal with that, because I mean, he's
(07:37):
able bodied folks. They should be treated like any regular
human as well. So let's not forget that.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
And do you know it's not just a baseless lawsuit.
Over a dozen people with disabilities have been involved in this.
Also talked about Ryan Honick, for example, as cited by
CBS News, who has CP and use the service dog
for some test including opening doors, is named in the lawsuit.
Honig said that this is evidence of widespread civil rights
(08:07):
failure when companies like Uber consistently failed to comply with
the law. It's disabled riders who are disabled writers who
are felt behind this lawsuit. Underscore is a long standing pattern.
Puple disabilities have been have called out for years and now,
and I want to stay corrected. The Biden DJ did
deal with this as far as passenger fees in twenty
(08:28):
twenty two, but this takes it a step further.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
I think, yeah, because also with the passenger fees as well,
if I recall correctly, that's more so dealing with something
that everybody has had to deal with, and not just
the disabled communities that are being directly impacted by this lawsuit.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Right now, and assistant ad Harmey Dyllon, who we've you know,
we've heard a lot about and has gotten praise from
the conservative world, said this, for far too long, blind
writers have suffered repeated ride denials by Uber because they're
traveling with a service dog. This lawsuit seeks to end
the persistent discrimination and allow riders with disabilities to use Uber.
(09:09):
Sometimes we gotta be frank here, we got an Uber
with with someone with a driver, and sometimes you wonder
how they got even there because the driving's bumpy, The
ride for gave's une always comfortable. I mean, there are
changes that could be made to the vehicles themselves.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Exactly, and it's just one of it's just those times too,
where you just want to ask the driver and you
know what your badge number, because you know, that's what
a lot of people used to do with New York
City taxis back in the day. If they felt wrong
by taxi driver, for example, it be like, eh, you
know what's your badge number? To report them and hold
(09:43):
the drivers accountable for this behavior. And you know, I'm
not necessarily sure if something like this exists with these
ride sharing apps like Uber and Lyft to this day.
But even in New York City, you're seeing a lot
of taxi drivers now doubling as Uber and Lyft drivers.
So you'd think there would be a simil or system
in place, especially here in New York to be able
(10:04):
to report said behavior, especially if somebody feels like they're
being heavily wronged by a driver based off of their condition.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
And I think this has to go with member the
service dog. That the guy got punched out by an
Uber driver not too long ago for having the service
dog and it was like he knocked him out cold.
That video was horrific. I think that's what spread the son,
to be honest with you, But here's what Dylan go
on goes on to say, we will enforce the ada's
guarantee that people with disabilities have equal opportunity and full
(10:33):
participation in all aspects of American society, including transportation. Now, Ryan, yes,
this is a mainstream but I have not heard a
lot of podcasts talk about this. I feel like this
is breaking news to some people.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
This definitely is. I mean, I can say I'm one
of them, honestly, And it's just kind of crazy that
this isn't being talked about more. Now. I get it,
the tragic death of Charlie Kirk exactly a week ago
on the day recording this, it's still dominating the headlines
left and right. I get that. But at the same time,
(11:07):
you think more outlets would be picking up on this,
especially because this is something that isn't just gonna affect
the disabled community, really affects everybody if you want to
go to that whole trickle down effect.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
And this also demands when we're paid monetary damages to
writers who have been affected and a civil penalty to
vindicate the public's interest in eliminating disability and discrimination. So
when I hear boat crap and look, I've shaken Trump's
hand Okay, twenty years ago, I shook his hand at
Yankee Stadium. And I'm not here to defend Trump on everything.
(11:39):
But when I hear bulk crap about how we hate
to disabled community, look to this lawsuit as an example.
That's his DOJ right there, stepping in like he just
stepped into the LR, like he's stepping in on federal
cases with Charlotte. I mean, this guy is on it,
and I can respect him for that. I can really
respect him.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
For that, especially when the prior administration wasn't going leaps
and bounds above everybody else to take care of this stuff.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
And so and I know Pambondi is behind this as well,
so I gotta give her a lot of credit as well.
But yeah, we gotta have Eric on this. I said
him the article and say, hey, here's your time to shine, dude.
This is where Tripper can really shine because he can
make the point, Hey, Uber is doing a disservice. That's
where Tripper comes in. Uber is not serving you after
ten pm in Long Island or whatever, or even not
(12:26):
at all. That's where Tripper comes in. And now you've
got a lawsuit that really can I would say leverage
trippers standing in the space.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Yeah, and just make it more well known to folks
who may have only heard of Uber or lyft, really
everybody that has only heard of the mainstream options per se.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
So that's the breaking news. I couldn't stay silent much longer.
And by the way, I might just throw this on
the breaking news stream that we have at One Leg
Up Alex at Airtime. I'm gonna share that link. I'm
gonna invest, as I just signed up for Spreaker another year,
I'm gonna also invest thanks to this idea spark grant,
I feel like I have some, you know, cash to
(13:08):
spend and really grow this out. We're gonna do a
twenty four to seven streaming service at One Leg Up
Alex thanks to Airtime pro. So don't miss that. It's
on right now. I'll share the link with you, and
I might just be able to throw this on the
stream as it's going live. So join us. We're spinning off,
We're doing it more. We're gonna be twenty four to
seven Alex, as Ryan has now said, because it's time.
(13:30):
It's time to be beyond. And I love Spreaker and
it's my flagship, but it's time to spin off and
do something even bigger with this.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Platform exactly twenty four to seven. Alex.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
There, there you go. Well, I'm Alex Garrett, breaking news
and it amazingly has to do a Trump on both
fronts and the Trump administration. And you can't knock them
for that. Here at one leg up, Alex Garett