Press Releases
AB 33 Clears Assembly Transportation Committee with Teamsters Support
Legislation is Critical to Protecting Middle Class Jobs
Press Contact: Matt McQuaid Phone: (771) 241-0015 Email: mmcquaid@teamster.org
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) – California Teamsters are celebrating the passage of Assembly Bill 33 (AB 33) out of the Committee on Transportation and calling on all state lawmakers to support the legislation. AB 33 would require a trained human operator in any autonomous vehicle (AV) used to deliver commercial goods directly to residences or businesses.
“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,” said Peter Finn, Teamsters Western Region International Vice President and President of Joint Council 7. “Lawmakers have a duty to protect Californians from the chaotic instability that Big Tech unleashes on society, and the commonsense guardrails that AB 33 implements will go a long way toward fulfilling that obligation.”
The push for AB 33 comes on the heels of a new poll that shows California voters overwhelmingly support efforts to regulate driverless cars and trucks as well as artificial intelligence (AI). Previous efforts to regulate driverless vehicles in California have received broad support from voters and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle.
“Silicon Valley might not be concerned with the fate of millions of people who could lose jobs to automation, but everyone else is,” said Chris Griswold, Teamsters International Vice President At-Large and President of Joint Council 42. “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.”
“The route I drive for work is in the same community where I live and where I’m raising my son,” said Greg Cumulat, a Teamsters Local 150 member who testified at the committee hearing. “This bill would protect workers in the supply chain like me, out of recognition of the need for good jobs and public safety.”
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents over 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow us on X @Teamsters and on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.