Labor Pushes AI Protections in Work Contracts: California Brief

Unions Seek AI Safeguards in Labor Talks

Writer Ilana Pena during a strike by the Writers Guild of America in Hollywood, Calif.

Photographer: Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Unions are pushing to negotiate safeguards over use of artificial intelligence in the workplace while federal oversight of the issue remains lax, George Weykamp reports.

The White House recently unveiled an AI framework calling on Congress to regulate AI. But union leaders criticized parts of the proposal—including provisions urging Congress to overturn state AI regulations and speeding up permitting for data centers—as detrimental to workers.

Unions in contract talks are prioritizing language that prevents AI-related mass layoffs and overly broad use of surveillance technology, labor observers said. They added that ...