Teamsters Union Demands California Suspend Waymo After Robotaxi Hits Child Near School

Major California Union Calls for Waymo to Be Kicked Off the Streets

An accident involving a Waymo robotaxi striking a child near a school in Santa Monica has prompted one of California’s largest unions to call for the Alphabet-owned driverless cab service to be shut down statewide. Teamsters California on Monday urged the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to indefinitely suspend Waymo’s license to operate in the state, arguing the incident underscores broader safety and labor concerns tied to autonomous vehicles. “This incident is emblematic of the broader goal Big Tech companies have to replace skilled human labor with AI,†said Teamsters Co-Chairs Peter Finn and Victor Mineros in a statement. “They want to force millions of people into destitution by destroying their livelihoods, seize money that belongs to workers, and force our communities to reckon with the fallout of automation’s shortcomings. Robotaxis threaten workers’ jobs and are now terrorizing our kids.†The union’s statement comes just days after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced it had opened a probe into the incident. The accident occurred on January 23 during school drop-off hours, when a child reportedly ran toward the school from behind a parked SUV and was hit by a Waymo robotaxi. According to Waymo, the vehicle’s system detected the child immediately after they began running, prompting the car to brake hard and reduce its speed from roughly 17 miles per hour to under 6 miles per hour before making contact. Waymo said the child stood up immediately after the collision and was able to walk to the sidewalk. The vehicle then called 911 and remained at the scene until law enforcement gave it the all-clear to leave. In announcing its probe, NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation said it would examine whether Waymo “exercised appropriate caution given, among other things, its proximity to the elementary school during drop off hours, and the presence of young pedestrians and other potential vulnerable road users.†The probe will also evaluate the robotaxi’s automated driving system's intended behavior in school zones. This isn't the only NHTSA investigation involving Waymo and schools. Last month, NHTSA sent Waymo a letter announcing a separate investigation after reports that Waymo vehicles failed to stop for school buses with flashing lights on, instead driving around them. Waymo did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Gizmodo. In a blog post about the accident, however, the company said, “We remain committed to improving road safety where we operate as we continue on our mission to be the world’s most trusted driver.†Teamsters California represents roughly 250,000 workers across industries, including construction, warehousing, trucking, and transportation. The union pointed to the ongoing school-bus investigation as evidence that regulators should act more aggressively. “Waymo vehicles have continued to illegally ignore school bus stop signs despite a company-wide software recall and another, separate NHTSA investigation,†the Teamsters statement said. “Parents, teachers, school workers, and community members have been demanding that these vehicles be kept away from school zones. Waymo and its parent company, Google, choose to ignore those warnings.†CPUC did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Gizmodo. California isn’t the only place where robotaxi services are drawing labor opposition. Last year, a coalition of unions, including Teamsters Local 25, backed a proposed ordinance that would commission a study on the impact autonomous vehicles could have on the city and use those assessments to set rules for autonomous vehicle operators. The union has also backed legislation that would require robotaxis to be accompanied by human operators.

Teamsters demand Waymos be pulled from California streets after...

The Teamsters demanded Monday that California suspend Waymo taxis indefinitely after one of the self-driving cars hit a 5-year-old near a Santa Monica elementary school. The largest union in the state put Golden State officials on blast, telling them to pull the company's license to operate the futuristic vehicles after the accident on Jan. 23, which left the unidentified child with minor injuries. The statement from the co-chairs of the Teamsters California, whose members include transportation workers and truckers, comes after the National Transportation Safety Board announced a probe of the company. "This incident is emblematic of the broader goal Big Tech companies have to replace skilled human labor with AI," co-chairs Peter Finn and Victor Mineros said in a statement. "They want to force millions of people into destitution by destroying their livelihoods, seize money that belongs to workers, and force our communities to reckon with the fallout of automation's shortcomings," the statement went on. "Robotaxis threaten workers' jobs and are now terrorizing our kids." The regulatory California Public Utilities Commission should intervene or "the next incident could be much worse," the union bosses said. Waymo did not directly respond to The Post's request for comment, instead referring to the original statement issued following the incident, in which the company referred to the child as a "pedestrian." "We remain committed to improving road safety where we operate, as we continue on our mission to be the world's most trusted driver," the statement said. The company had said the child "suddenly entered the roadway" from behind an SUV and stepped in the path of the driverless taxi. The vehicle braked and slowed to 6 mph before contact, the company said. This is not the first time Waymo has had malfunctions. In January alone, there have been several incidents involving Waymos across California, including a near-collision with a family in Los Angeles. Since their launch in 2024, the California DMV indicates that over 900 autonomous vehicle collisions have been reported, most of which involve Waymo vehicles. In December, Waymo recalled more than 3,000 vehicles to fix software that had caused them to drive past stopped school buses, highlighting known safety issues that could put children at risk.