Of course if uber has to raise rates because their employee costs go up, you'd have to expect cab companies to do the same because all their employees aren't getting benefits either.
They are, however, paying their portion of the payroll taxes, disability, unemployment, etc. And perhaps softer benefits that still have costs, like paid time off.
I think what happens in the media is small outfit bias.
Über is big, so what they do must be judged in that light, yellow cab is small, so they get a pass even though they engage in similar practices.
I listen to NPR and they had a bit about über and them being "unfair" to drivers, but never was that compared to how drivers are treated at yellow cab for example. So, because they are big they are looked at more suspiciously, plus they are "tech" so there must be a bad angle there somewhere. People have a thing for underdogs, I do too, but not so much in this case because cabs can often be worse for the drivers, at this time. No telling in the future when automation takes over. The point will be irrelevant then.
You're correct - taxi drivers have been suing for decades to get employee status. You don't hear about it because Uber is the first major national player that everyone recognizes.