Self-driving trucks could be hauling cargo across highways in the near future. But not without the Teamsters having a say in the matter first.
The California branch of the nation’s largest union is suing state lawmakers, accusing them of rushing out new regulations that are friendly to the autonomous vehicle industry without considering their impact on workers’ jobs.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, takes aim at several state agencies, including the Department of Motor Vehicles and Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration. The union contends that the new regulations are an “existential threat” to hundreds of thousands of union jobs and is demanding that the DMV be blocked from enforcing the new rules.
The Union’s Argument
“The DMV irresponsibly, carelessly, and unlawfully kept the public in the dark about the true economic and human costs of the amended Autonomous Vehicle regulations,” said Julie Gutman Dickinson, an attorney representing the Teamsters.
“The only way to protect the public’s right to properly scrutinize regulations that will transform transportation in California is for the Court to order the DMV to immediately rescind the illegally enacted regulations,” Dickinson added.
At the crux of the suit, the Teamsters say that the DMV didn’t conduct a mandatory economic study to gauge the effects of the new regulations. Instead, the lawmakers expediently used a process meant to fast-track minor updates that have minimal economic impact, they allege.
The Job Threat
The DMV, puzzlingly, calculated that no jobs would be eliminated by self-driving trucks. The Teamsters strongly dispute this, estimating that over 200,000 semi-truck drivers could be put out of work.
The Regulatory Shift
California regulators have played hardball with autonomous vehicle companies in the past, including Elon Musk’s Tesla. Previously, it was the only state that prohibited large self-driving vehicles.
That changed in April. Snuck into a sweeping bill that imposed tighter limits on how driverless cars should operate was a clause that allowed testing of autonomous semi-trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles, so long as the pilot programs go through an approval process.
Safety Concerns
The Teamsters also raised the danger posed by allowing computer systems to control a vehicle weighing tens of thousands of pounds, compared to the smaller threat posed by a robotaxi. A Tesla Semi — a vehicle envisioned as having autonomous driving capabilities — was involved in a grisly crash that killed two people, though it doesn’t appear that self-driving features were being tested at the time of the accident.
The Bottom Line
The Teamsters union has sued California’s DMV and Governor Newsom’s administration over new regulations that allow testing of autonomous semi-trucks. The union argues the DMV illegally rushed the rules without conducting a mandatory economic study, and warns that over 200,000 truck driver jobs could be eliminated. The lawsuit seeks to block enforcement of the regulations. California had previously prohibited large self-driving vehicles but changed course in April.
