My name is Mikaiil Hussein, President of United Taxi Workers of San Diego. I am writing this as a driver, as a worker, and as president of United Taxi Workers of San Diego. I am not writing it for Silicon Valley. I am writing it for the men and women who have been putting in the work for years—picking up San Diegans at the airport, at hospitals, downtown at 2 a.m., in the rain, in traffic, when the app fails and a human still has to get someone home.
Waymo is now licensed to pick up customers on San Diego’s streets. That is not a rumor. That is happening. Tesla is pushing CyberCab. Driverless taxis are on the rise. I said as much when I spoke about this moment—you can read the KPBS piece here: Like it or not, Waymo is ready to fully launch in San Diego.
“Like it or not” is a headline. It is not a contract I signed. I do not accept that my members should be told to like it, or else.
I stand with human drivers
I stand with the drivers who already serve this city. We are not a “legacy problem.” We are the people who learned every neighborhood the hard way. We deal with drunk passengers, lost tourists, seniors who need help with a bag, workers who need to make a shift. A camera and a steering wheel with nobody in it does not replace that. It competes with us—on terms that were never written for us.
UTWSD exists because drivers get treated as disposable until a company needs the streets we already work. I will not pretend CyberCab and Waymo are just “innovation.” For us, this is jobs, rent, and dignity.
What I need every driver to understand
Waymo can now legally pick up riders here. That means empty robotaxis on the same curbs, the same airports, the same late-night demand we live on.
Tesla CyberCab is the same fight with a different logo: a company that wants the rideshare market without paying a human being to do the work.
Here is what I tell drivers, in plain language:
- This is about labor. If a fleet has no driver, there is no wage, no tip, no one to organize. Capital is trying to replace us.
- A license to pick up customers is not a license to ignore workers. The city and the state still owe the public safety, accessibility, insurance, and a real look at what this does to people who already drive for a living.
- Do not wait for the app companies to explain it to you. They will sell convenience. They will not sell you a future.
- We inform our own. That is why I am writing this. Rumors help the companies. Facts help us.
What I am asking for
I am not asking San Diego to freeze time. I am asking San Diego not to sell out the people who already move this city.
I want public rules, not a press release. Who is liable when something goes wrong? Who helps a rider in a wheelchair? Who answers when a passenger is scared or stranded? I do. My members do. A RoboTaxi does not.
I want drivers at the table—not after the permits are signed, not after the fleet is already on the street.
I want my members informed, united, and loud. Isolated drivers lose. United drivers can still demand hearings, impact on earnings, fair permitting, and accountability.
My message to San Diego
I have respect for this city because I work it. Waymo can be licensed. Tesla can brand CyberCab however it wants. I still stand with human drivers. We put in the years. We know these streets. We will not be a footnote in someone else’s launch.
If you drive taxi or rideshare in San Diego, hear me: stay informed, talk to each other, document what you see, and stand with UTWSD. I will keep speaking for you. That is my job as president. That is my job as a worker.
United Taxi Workers of San Diego stands with human drivers. I stand with you.
— Mikaiil Hussein
President, UTWSD
KPBS: Like it or not, Waymo is ready to fully launch in San Diego