Posts tagged autonomous trucks
Commentary:Teamsters built union on innovation but now they’re suing to stop it
August 29, 2026 // 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. They changed their name in 1909, adding “Chauffeurs, Stablemen and Helpers” to signify the adaptation to the societal changes driven by technological progress. The Teamsters own founding story provides a strong case study in organized labor adoption and shaping a technological transition rather than resisting it.
US labor unions fight to contain AI disruption
June 5, 2025 // The threat extends beyond manufacturing. The CEO of Anthropic, which created Claude as a competitor to ChatGPT, warned last week that generative AI could eliminate half of all low-skilled white-collar jobs, potentially driving unemployment rates up to 10-20 percent. "The potential displacement of workers and elimination of jobs is a significant concern not just for our members, but for the public in general," said Peter Finn of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, America's largest union.