AFT Joins Lawsuit to Block DOT's Seizure of CDL Holders' Personal Data

Legal Action Intensifies Over CDL Holders' Data Privacy

WASHINGTON—The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has decided to join a legal battle against the United States Department of Transportation. The lawsuit aims to prevent the federal agency from acquiring the personal records of 17 million commercial driver’s license (CDL) holders. The data is held by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA), a nonprofit organization that manages the national database for driver records. Legal representation for the AFT is being provided by Public Citizen Litigation Group and Murphy Anderson PLLC.

The AFT, which includes roughly 13,500 transportation professionals such as school bus and maintenance drivers, is concerned about the potential risks to these workers' sensitive personal data. Information at stake includes names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, license numbers, and states of record. The organization argues that the government's demand for this data could lead to unauthorized collection and sharing, violating the privacy of CDL holders.

AFT President Randi Weingarten emphasized the importance of protecting members' privacy, stating, “Many AFT members require a CDL to work as school bus drivers or Department of Transportation employees—and we must protect them and their privacy against the vindictive nature of this president and his cronies.” She added that this situation is reminiscent of a previous lawsuit against the Department of Government Efficiency for a similar attempt to extract personal data from working-class Americans. Weingarten criticized the current administration's approach, describing it as a "strong-arm" tactic to obtain CDL holders' personal information without their consent.

The Trump administration has reportedly demanded that AAMVA release sensitive data without proper legal authority and without adhering to federal privacy laws. The AFT’s complaint suggests that the administration intends to use this information for immigration enforcement purposes, which it argues is unrelated to transportation safety.

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The AFT represents a diverse group of 1.8 million professionals, including pre-K through 12th-grade teachers, school paraprofessionals, higher education faculty, government employees, healthcare workers, and early childhood educators.