To: Governor Kathy Hochul, Mayor Eric Adams, NYC DOT, and the New York State Legislature

We, the undersigned drivers, workers, organizers, immigrants, and neighbors, call on you to reject Waymo’s push to bring autonomous vehicles into New York City and defend the workers who have kept this city alive.

Let’s be clear. Robo-cabs are not an innovation. They are automation dressed up as progress. And they come with a cost: the livelihoods of thousands of working-class families, especially immigrant drivers who have already borne the brunt of exploitative gig platforms like Uber and Lyft.

Waymo’s entry into New York is not about efficiency. It is about power. It is about a billion-dollar tech empire trying to rewrite labor, safety, and public life without the people’s consent.

Here’s what’s at stake:

Over 180,000 New Yorkers make their living behind the wheel. Many are parents, caretakers, and refugees of war and poverty. Robo-cabs would replace them with machines that don’t need rest, healthcare, or fair wages.
Robo-cabs are a surveillance tool, not a transit solution. Packed with sensors, microphones, and cameras, they turn every ride into a data harvest. Riders become datasets. Streets become test labs.
This is a fight for the soul of New York. Do we hand over our streets to Google, or do we stand with workers who know this city block by block?
We demand:

A permanent ban on autonomous for-hire vehicles in NYC
An end to all negotiations with Waymo and other tech firms seeking to automate human labor
Investment in a just transition for drivers: debt relief, healthcare, pensions, and recognition of their essential labor
Public hearings that center drivers, not lobbyists
New York was not built by machines. It was built by labor. By yellow cab veterans, late-night chauffeurs, and immigrant workers who move this city forward. We will not be pushed out quietly. We will not let Silicon Valley erase us.

This is not just about cabs. It is about who gets to live with dignity in this city. It is about who this city belongs to.

Stand with us. Not with the machines.

Signed,
The Drivers of New York City
Allies in Labor and Liberation