Teamsters California sues California DMV over autonomous truck regulations

Teamsters California has filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to block new regulations permitting the testing and deployment of heavy-duty autonomous trucks on state roads. The union filed the 34-page lawsuit in Alameda County Superior Court on August 5, 2026, arguing that the DMV bypassed legal requirements to assess and disclose the economic impacts of self-driving heavy trucks before adopting the rules. Teamsters California represents 250,000 union workers and claims the regulations threaten up to 200,000 jobs held by employee truck drivers in California, as well as additional self-employed drivers operating commercial vehicles weighing between 10,001 pounds and 25,999 pounds. The lawsuit also warns of broader economic harm to supporting industries such as commercial driving schools, hotels, restaurants, and truck stops. Peter Finn, vice president at large of Teamsters California, stated, “Every day brings new evidence that Waymo robotaxis are putting public safety at risk, and those dangers scale up exponentially with trucks that are up to 16 times heavier and moving at highway speeds.” The union contends that the DMV failed to conduct a Standardized Regulatory Impact Assessment, which is mandated for regulations expected to impose economic costs exceeding $50 million in the first year. The DMV had revised its rules on April 28, 2026, to lift a ban on autonomous vehicles (AVs) with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more, aiming to position California as a leader in AV technology adoption while enhancing public safety and transparency. The lawsuit names the DMV, the state Office of Administrative Law, the California State Transportation Agency, and seven state officials in their official capacities. Teamsters California argues that the deployment of self-driving trucks could “wipe out the jobs” of more than 200,000 employee semi-truck drivers in California and impact a similarly large number of self-employed drivers. The union also highlighted California’s role as a critical market for autonomous trucking companies, handling 40% of the nation’s containerized imports and 30% of all U.S. exports, with the state’s $2.8 trillion trucking corridor seen as a key component of their autonomous networks.