Legislation is critical to protecting workers’ free speech and keeping California’s streets safe

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) – Three Teamsters-backed bills that would guarantee Californians greater freedom of speech and safety have passed procedural votes in the House and Senate Budget Committees and their chambers of origin and will now move to a vote in the full House. The bills include safety requirements for autonomous vehicles in House Bills 3061 (AB 3061) and 2286 (AB 2286), which will move to a vote in the Senate, and House Bill 399 (SB 399), which includes protections for captive listeners and will move to a vote in the full House.

“Working people are the backbone of California, and it’s past time they have equal rights as these greedy corporations try to silence them. Whether it’s the big tech companies trying to put 80,000-pound autonomous trucks on our streets without a trained driver at the wheel, or union-busting employers trying to keep workers from organizing by meeting with a captive audience, the Teamsters will continue to fight for California’s workers,” said Lindsay Dougherty, vice president of the Teamsters Western Region International and director of the Teamsters Motion Picture and Theatrical Trade Division. “We applaud the passage of AB 3061, AB 2286 and SB 399 by the Budget Committee and call on all of California’s elected leaders to ensure these laws become law.”

AB 3061, introduced by Rep. Matt Haney (D-17), would require AV companies to publicly report all vehicle collisions, traffic violations, evasive maneuvers, assaults, or harassment involving their vehicles to the Dept. of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The bill is critical to ensure public transparency and accountability, especially since AV companies fail to publicly report major incidents on California’s roadways. The California DMV has not collected data on fault in collisions involving AVs for several years.

The bill, AB 2286, introduced by Rep. Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-4), would require a trained human driver at the wheel of self-driving trucks weighing over 10,000 pounds and require companies in California to publicly report to the DMV any vehicle collisions, traffic violations, back-offs, attacks or harassment involving their vehicles.

The third bill, SB 399, would protect California workers from adverse action if they choose not to attend an employer’s “captive audience meetings,” a tactic often used by companies to bust unions and discourage workers from forming a union. The bill does not prevent the employer from holding these meetings, but it prohibits them from requiring employees to attend these meetings as a condition of their employment. Connecticut, Oregon, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Washington, Hawaii and New York have already passed similar laws.

“Companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars each year on fear-mongering like captive audience meetings to dissuade workers from joining a union. SB 399 is critical to fixing this backwards system and protecting workers in their fight for a voice in the workplace,” said Chris Griswold, vice president of Teamsters International At-Large and president of Teamsters Joint Council 42. “Gavin Newsom must follow the lead of governors who have already signed similar legislation. Stand up to big business, stand with working people, sign the bill.”

The Teamsters-backed autonomous vehicle safety legislation continues to gain support amid widespread safety incidents involving autonomous vehicles, including a robotaxis that nearly hit school crossing guards in San Francisco, and the failure of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and DMV to implement any significant safety measures. Despite the lack of safety protocols, Waymo will begin testing driverless robotaxis on San Francisco’s freeways this week.

“While the CPUC and DMV continue to favor Big Tech over the California public by approving the expansion of AVs on our roads, our elected leaders have made one thing clear: We need more AV safety regulations. The Teamsters applaud the Assembly’s passage of AB 3061 and AB 2286, which prioritize public safety over dangerous technology,” said Peter Finn, international vice president of the Teamsters Western Region and president of Teamsters Joint Council 7. “This is common sense legislation that the Teamsters will continue to fight for until workers and their families are protected and our roads are safe.”

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org to learn more. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.