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.
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