SAN FRANCISCO — The California Teamsters union is suing several state agencies and their leaders, including the Department of Motor Vehicles, claiming Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration improperly rolled out regulations that pave the way for self-driving trucks on state roads.
The lawsuit — seen by POLITICO before it was officially filed Wednesday — comes as the home of tech innovation grapples with the potential workforce impacts of new tools like artificial intelligence, and also sets up a potential battle between labor and Silicon Valley interests for the state’s next governor.
Despite long being the home of self-driving companies like Tesla and Waymo, California had previously been the only state that prohibited large self-driving vehicles, in part due to long-running objections from unions about job displacement. But in April, the DMV adopted the new rules for autonomous trucks, with agency Director Steve Gordon saying at the time they would support the growth of the AV industry while enhancing public safety and accountability for manufacturers.
The Teamsters’ lawsuit argues the new rules pose “an existential threat” to hundreds of thousands of union jobs, asking the court to prevent the DMV from enforcing them, and declare that they were implemented in error.
