Since its founding, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters has been an adaptable labor union, evolving alongside technological progress and helping to usher in a new era of transportation. Charting a new, obstructionist course for their organization, Teamsters in California now seek to block the latest technological revolution in transportation.

On August 5, Teamsters California filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in Alameda Superior Court. The Teamsters claimed the DMV skipped a procedural requirement to conduct a Standardized Regulatory Impact Assessment when it adopted rules in April 2026 to allow autonomous trucks over 10,000 pounds on California’s roadways.

The Teamsters have framed the DMV’s actions as intentionally devious, claiming it kept the public in the dark while putting more than 200,000 drivers’ jobs at risk for an unproven technology. While the Teamsters’ point about the DMV missing a procedural step may have merit, their request for a complete repeal of the April regulations would set California even further back in adopting a technology that shows great promise.

Founded between 1901 and 1903, the original Teamsters organization protected the interests of horse-drawn carriage drivers. Early in their history, members faced a new technology that threatened to make their horse-centric skills obsolete: the automobile. Despite the challenges presented by motorized transport, the early Teamsters did not fight the innovation. Instead, they organized around its adoption, expanding their membership categories to include car drivers, retraining horse-team drivers, and helping write the new rules of the road for the automotive future.

Teamsters built union on innovation but now they’re suing to stop it – Daily News