By Isaac Ceja
25 Oct 2023, 00:22 AM EDT
Dozens of drivers from the Teamsters union protested yesterday in front of the headquarters of Google, owner of the Waymo autonomous vehicles, over the expansion of the driverless taxi service in the Los Angeles area.
The drivers union said they are against autonomous vehicles because they are concerned about the loss of jobs and the safety of residents in Southern California.
At the protest, Lindsay Dougherty, vice president of the Teamsters Western Region, spoke of the dangers of Waymo’s self-driving vehicles, many of them documented.
Dougherty explained that in 2021 and 2022 reports made by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Waymo had the most failures in the automated driving system of any autonomous vehicle company that exists.
“We are here today to talk about the threat of these autonomous vehicles, but I want to be very clear: workers and our allies here today are not against the expansion of technology and we are certainly not against progress.”
He added that they want to make sure that workers in California and the country are supported and protected, “we want to make sure that communities are protected as well.”
The Teamsters represent truck drivers and warehouse workers, but they have organized workers in virtually every occupation imaginable, both professional and non-professional, in the private sector and the public sector.
Teamsters Local 1896 represents 12,000 workers in Southern California in the delivery and sanitation industry.
“We are concerned because it appears that big tech companies are influencing the deployment of technology that threatens jobs, but also puts our communities at risk,” said Adan Alvarez, communications director for Teamsters Local 1896.
According to Alvarez, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill sponsored by the Teamsters in California, AB 316, that would have required a human operator and automated vehicles weighing more than 10,000 pounds.
“Assembly Bill 316 is unnecessary for the regulation and oversight of heavy-duty autonomous vehicle technology in California, as existing law provides sufficient authority to create the appropriate regulatory framework,” Governor Newsom said in a statement. statement after rejecting the bill.
Newsom also mentioned that in 2012, the California Legislature gave the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) the authority to regulate the testing and deployment of autonomous vehicles on California public roads.
So, it was concluded, the DMV consults with the California Highway Patrol, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and others with relevant expertise to determine the regulations necessary for the safe operation of autonomous vehicles on public roadways.
In a report published on NBC News Los Angeles, as of September 22, 659 accidents involving autonomous vehicles were reported to the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
According to Waymo’s website, its vehicle service will primarily be available to the public on the west side of Los Angeles County and over time its service will expand to include the rest of the region.
In September, Waymo shared research led by Swiss Re, an auto insurance provider, showing that by 2022, Waymo’s autonomous vehicles are significantly safer than those driven by humans.
“In the more than 3.8 million miles that Waymo drove without a human behind the wheel through San Francisco, CA and Phoenix, AZ, there were no bodily injury claims, but a significant reduction in the frequency of damage claims. to the property,” Waymo said in a statement.
Currently, Waymo already has autonomous vehicles working in the city of San Francisco and Phoenix, but for the Teamsters there are still more doubts about the safety of the cars because the traffic is greater and the roads are more difficult to manage.
“Our elected leaders really need to step up to see what impact this will have on the human beings they serve,” Alvarez said. “Protect the general well-being, protect human beings, their jobs and communities. “That’s what it’s about.”