Dozens of Uber drivers, union workers and faith leaders gathered Tuesday outside the John Wilson Building to rally against a proposal that would bring Waymo and other autonomous driving services to the city.
“Robotaxis don’t vote. We vote,” voiced the crowd Tuesday afternoon.
Among them was Helen Raynor, a full-time employee who drives for Uber and Lyft to get a little extra to provide for her four children and attempt to make ends meet.
“I don’t feel like this decision is made for constituents. I feel like it’s made to make businesses, and you know, owners of these autonomous vehicle companies happy,” she told WTOP. “If it happens here, it’s going to kind of trickle into Maryland and Virginia. We’re starting to see some of them drive around doing these test runs and things like that, and so a lot of us folks in the labor movement, we’re just worried about employment.”
Raynor said she sometimes gets up to $1,000 extra a month driving for ride-hail services and fears that will all go away if the Autonomous Vehicle Deployment Authorization Amendment Act of 2026 is passed.
That legislation lays out the framework for bringing robotaxi services such as Waymo into the city, including how many robotaxis can be operating from each company. Autonomous vehicle operators would have a limited fleet size of 200 cars until Jan. 1, 2028.
After that date operators can submit plans to increase fleet size. It also creates the rules that will govern level three, four and five autonomous driving systems in D.C., with level five vehicles being completely autonomous.
“We cannot let our income, our hard-earned money, go to Silicon Valley and replace us with robots,” said Autumn Weintraub, 32BJ App Drivers Union executive director.
“Work is not just a paycheck. Work is dignity. Work is a gift. When you replace the driver with a sensor, you’re not just changing the car. No, no. You’re taking bread from the table,” Boise Kimber, president of the National Baptist Convention U.S.A. Inc.
The bill is sponsored by Ward 6 Council member Charles Allen, who said introducing autonomous vehicles “presents an opportunity to improve traffic and consumer choice in the District.”
No vote has been scheduled for the proposal.
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