Over two dozen unions, such as the Transportation Trades Department, Transport Workers Union of America, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and United Auto Workers, called on U.S. auto safety regulators Thursday to initiate an extensive investigation into autonomous vehicles.
Their request comes in light of the ongoing scrutiny of General Motors' (NYSE:GM) autonomous Cruise unit and California's temporary halt of Cruise's testing activities.
Driverless vehicles "are unsafe and untenable in their current form.” The union’s said in a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Ann Carlson, acting administrator at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
“This industry is in dire need of federal regulation and leadership to restore a modicum of safety and establish a realistic path for these vehicles to operate without threatening other road users," the union’s wrote.
"NHTSA must initiate an industry-wide investigation to determine the true extent of the safety failures behind the scenes," the letter added.
Cruise, which faced a substantial $700 million loss in the quarter ending on September 30, announced that it had implemented reductions in its contractor workforce, particularly those involved in supporting driverless ride-hail operations. These contract workers were responsible for tasks such as fleet maintenance, charging, and cleaning.
Following a recent incident involving one of its autonomous vehicles, Cruise recalled 950 driverless cars, indicating the possibility of additional recalls in the future.
In a distressing event last month, a pedestrian in San Francisco was struck by a hit-and-run driver and subsequently hit by a Cruise robotaxi, which was unable to stop in time and dragged the pedestrian for about 20 feet.
Amid these challenges, Cruise decided to suspend nationwide operations after its license was suspended by California regulators, who deemed the self-driving vehicles a threat to public safety. Additionally, Cruise recently announced the temporary halt of production for its driverless Cruise Origin vehicle.
Shares of GM are down 2.50% in afternoon trading on Thursday.