FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 2, 2022
Contact: Denise Romano, dromano@twu.org
‘Future Transportation Systems Should Be Built for Users, Not Companies’
TWU President Samuelsen Testifies at Congressional Hearing on Automated Vehicles
On February 2, Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) International President Samuelsen testified in front of the Congressional Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure’s Subcommittee on Highways & Transit, as part the hearing, “The Road Ahead for Automated Vehicles (Avs).”
The TWU represents more than 150,000 members across the airline, railroad and transport sectors – and 95 percent have been deemed essential workers throughout the pandemic.
“These members include bus operators, mechanics, and other transit workers serving both large and small urban areas across the country. In New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Miami, Columbus, Ann Arbor and many other areas, our members are the ones most at risk of job loss and displacement if automated vehicles are deployed haphazardly or in ways that undermine workers’ interests. As this committee considers legislation that addresses how and if AVs are integrated into our transportation system, the decisions you make will have profound effects on the frontline employees, passengers and motorists, and on the future of mobility across America,” Samuelsen testified.
“Let me be clear: the TWU fully supports pro-worker, pro-safety technology. We frequently spend our own capital in bargaining to force our employers to install automatic braking, blind-spot monitoring, and other key technologies that empower workers to perform their jobs safely and efficiently. We would strongly endorse legislation that regulates the AV industry, holds new technologies to our existing or higher safety standards, and ensures that this industry creates and sustains good, union jobs in the United States. We look forward to working with this committee and others to advance new technology that improves the quality of life for transportation workers,” he explained.
“To that end, we must acknowledge that today’s transportation sector is at a critical moment as new technologies, including automation features, mature and prepare for wide scale deployment. This development necessitates active involvement and oversight from the Department of Transportation (DOT) – a shift from the Department’s recent laissez faire approach to emerging technologies,” Samuelsen continued. “Our future transportation systems should be built for the users – whether they be in vehicles or sharing the road with them – and frontline transportation workers, not companies.”
The TWU also rejects arguments of those who claim that any limitation on innovation somehow creates a global competitive disadvantage for our nation. We know that auto manufacturers, technology companies, and startups, buoyed by significant federal investments, are pouring billions into AVs.
The TWU offered the following recommendations for a federal response to the future of AV deployment:
- A worker- and safety-centric Transportation & Infrastructure Committee title must be a part of any House AV legislation
- DOT’s Transportation Innovation Principles provide a strong foundation
- A qualified human operator must be on-board all passenger buses and other commercial use vehicles regardless of level of automation
- Transportation Labor’s AV principles: The TWU has joined 34 other unions to develop the “Labor Principles for Autonomous Vehicle Legislation.”
- AV technology requires clear safety standards and transparency
- Workers must have a seat at every table as new technologies emerge
- Unified oversight and coordinating mechanism are needed inside the US DOT
“It is imperative that AV legislation is comprehensive, addresses gaping holes in our safety and cybersecurity regulations, directs the DOT and its modal agencies to close those holes, places limits on the use of waivers and exemptions from federal vehicle safety requirements, requires a qualified operator on-board in any commercial operations, mandates workforce involvement in development, testing and eventual deployment of AV’s, normalizes transparency for planning and data collection and reporting, and ensures that the AV industry is an American industry employing US workers across the entire supply chain,” Samuelsen concluded.
###
The Transport Workers Union of America represents more than 150,000 workers across the airline, railroad, transit, universities, utilities and service sectors