Policy and Politics

Teamster officials head to Democratic convention as delegates

Congratulations to Local 665 Secretary-Treasurer and Principal Officer Tony Delorio and Local 350 President Robert Sandoval who will serve as Assembly District 17 (AD 17) delegates at the California Democratic Party convention later this spring.

Sandoval was tapped to run again by AD 17 Assemblymember Matt Haney on this year’s slate, which featured a diverse group of labor and community activists, and won in a district-wide election.

Delorio was one of the few delegates appointed by Assemblymember Haney.

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Teamsters endorse autonomous vehicle bill AB 33

Teamsters proudly endorse California Assembly Bill 33 (AB 33), a bill that would require a trained human operator in any autonomous vehicle (AV) used to deliver commercial goods directly to residences or businesses. The legislation, introduced by Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, comes on the heels of a new poll that shows California voters overwhelmingly support efforts to regulate driverless cars and trucks as well as artificial intelligence (AI).

“The evidence is clear: Californians are sick and tired of Big Tech’s complete disregard for the impact of AI on safety,

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Teamsters sponsor pro-worker bills at Capitol

It’s been a whirlwind of a couple months to start the year, and we’ve been working hard on ensuring we invest in our Union’s future. We have a package of bills introduced in both California and Nevada that focus on job protections and benefits.

In California, I want to highlight four bills we are sponsoring, starting with AB 33 introduced by Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry. The fight against autonomous vehicles is far from over: AB 33 would require a human operator for all commercial deliveries to any residence or business in California.

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Teamsters Endorse Autonomous Vehicle Bill AB 33 Amid Widespread Public Support for Regulation of Job Killing Automation

Teamsters proudly endorse California Assembly Bill 33 (AB 33), a bill that would require a trained human operator in any autonomous vehicle (AV) used to deliver commercial goods directly to residences or businesses.

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2025: Our year of investment

November 5 came with a mixed bag of results and a lot of mixed emotions. But no matter how anyone feels about the results of the election, we should take a moment to applaud ourselves for electing some very Teamster-friendly candidates in Joint Council 7’s jurisdiction. We elected Teamster Local 856 members who ran for city council seats in Alameda County, we won tax measures to support our public sector members, and we flipped a Congressional seat in the Central Valley. 

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When we vote, we win!

Election season is upon us once again and your Locals have been hard at work these past couple months interviewing and vetting candidates to determine which ones will be supportive of Teamster issues. We’ve interviewed candidates running for positions as high as the US Senate down their local water board district and everything in between.

We talked to candidates about why they want the Teamsters to support them, what their views are on supporting Unions during contract negotiations,

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THREE TEAMSTERS-BACKED BILLS PASS APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEES, HEAD TO FLOOR VOTES

Legislation is Critical to Protecting Worker Free Speech, Keeping Calif. Streets Safe

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) – Three Teamsters-supported bills that would ensure greater freedom of speech and safety for Californians have cleared procedural votes in the Assembly and Senate Appropriations Committees – as well as their chambers of origin – and now head to floor votes. The bills include autonomous vehicle safety legislation in both Assembly Bill 3061 (AB 3061) and Assembly Bill 2286 (AB 2286),

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Solidarity is our superpower

Teamwork makes the dream work. The past few months have shown us how much working together and supporting each other is our true source of power as Teamsters. Our Joint Council has shown up on a political and legislative level to promote our California Automotive Regulatory Standards (CARS) Package of legislation, which would provide safeguards and regulation for autonomous vehicles (AV).

Our CARS package consists of AB 2286, which is our reintroduction of AB 316 that would require a safety operator for any vehicles over 10,000 lbs;

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Every Teamster vote counts

As we watched the election results come in, we were reminded just how much every vote counts. The March Presidential Primary had incredibly low turnout. That means there will be races won by very narrow margins. That also means every Teamster vote counts in a much bigger way.

This past election cycle, we endorsed candidates running for county Board of Supervisors, City Council, State Assembly, State Senate, and Congressional seats. Each of our Locals in their respective territories interviewed hundreds of candidates and chose those who we felt best aligned with our Teamster priorities.

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SB 915 Will Protect Good Jobs, Public Safety from Dangerous Autonomous Trucks and Cars

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) – California Senate Bill 915 (SB 915), a Teamsters-supported bill that will allow the state’s local governments to regulate autonomous vehicles (AVs), passed overwhelmingly today in the State Senate Local Government Committee.

“The Teamsters commend the Senators on the Local Government Committee who supported this bill to protect public safety and good union jobs,” said Chris Griswold, Teamsters International Vice President At-Large and President of Teamsters Joint Council 42“Right now, local communities have zero control over the dangerous autonomous vehicles on their roads. SB 915 will help fix this broken system and keep our communities safe by giving municipalities a voice in the deployment of AVs.”

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