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.
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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.
