California Teamsters are advocating for Assembly Bill 33’s passage after the legislation successfully passed the Committee on Transportation. AB 33 mandates a trained human operator in any autonomous vehicle (AV) employed for delivering commercial goods directly to residences or businesses.
Peter Finn, Teamsters Western Region International Vice President and President of Joint Council 7, expressed concern about the motivations behind the investment in AV technology: “It’s obvious what’s driving the investment in AV technology — the desire to increase profits at the expense of public safety and middle-class careers,” he said. Finn emphasized the responsibility of lawmakers to protect the public from the disruptive impact of technology, asserting that “the commonsense guardrails that AB 33 implements will go a long way toward fulfilling that obligation.”
Support for AB 33 aligns with recent polling that indicates strong voter approval in California for regulating driverless vehicles and artificial intelligence. Historically, efforts to regulate such technologies in California have drawn bipartisan support.
Chris Griswold, Teamsters International Vice President At-Large and President of Joint Council 42, also pointed to the risks associated with automation stating, “Silicon Valley might not be concerned with the fate of millions of people who could lose jobs to automation, but everyone else is. AV regulation is popular because people understand the risks. This is essential to protecting jobs and preventing billionaires from steamrolling an entire workforce in its reckless push for profit.”
Teamsters Local 150 member Greg Cumulat, who participated in the committee hearing, shared his perspective: “The route I drive for work is in the same community where I live and where I’m raising my son. This bill would protect workers in the supply chain like me, out of recognition of the need for good jobs and public safety.”
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, established in 1903, represents over 1.3 million members across the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. For more information, visit Teamster.org or follow them on social media platforms.
