Technology
American workers secure new safeguards and protections against AI job threats
Public sector workers across the United States are successfully negotiating contracts to protect their jobs from artificial intelligence and automation. Following a near-unanimous strike authorization vote, municipal workers in Oakland reached an agreement that requires retraining instead of layoffs.
Municipal workers in Oakland, California, represented by a local union, voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike after worrying that the city would deploy AI systems that could threaten their jobs or inaccurately evaluate their performance. This strong push led to a tentative three-year agreement requiring the city to retrain or reassign workers displaced by AI rather than firing them. Across the nation, public-sector labor groups and unions are increasingly pushing for explicit contractual guardrails against automation and workplace surveillance tools. With state and local government agencies rapidly adopting generative AI technologies, workers are utilizing collective bargaining to establish protections that policymakers have been slow to enact.
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