News: What labor advocates want from AI policy

Monday, January 22, 2024

What labor advocates want from AI policy

Jan 22, 2024

With help from Steven Overly and Grace Yarrow

QUICK FIX

THE UNION AI PLAYBOOK GROWS UP: Ask AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler what she wants from the federal government on artificial intelligence, and her first answer isn’t a surprise: Strengthen collective bargaining rights, like, generally.

“Through every industrial revolution, labor has been the force that has harnessed the technology and channeled it in a way that's productive and safe,” Shuler said in an interview this month, speaking from a summit alongside the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

But Shuler is also laying out some more specific asks.

For one: She’s lasering in regulations and investments related to training workers for jobs in the event of displacement.

And she’s advocating for a “traffic cop” entity to vet technologies for harmful effects before they’re put on the market — “similar to an FDA, or an agency that oversees things like making sure drugs don't kill people before they're put out into the world.”

The AFL-CIO’s posture on AI in recent months has escalated from an already high point of demanding a seat at the table on AI-adjacent negotiations, to demanding that the labor movement be the greatest counteracting force to AI’s disruption in the entire country.

“We need a plan. … We need to be that stabilizing force, and we are the only movement that can do that,” Shuler said in public remarks this month.

AI’s influence in hiring is also an issue, though it’s one that unions exercise little direct control over in most workplaces. Critics will note that the private sector union membership rate is only about 6 percent according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Still, unions are lobbying for greater transparency in hiring technology where they can.

“When workers and their unions are able to engage with employers about this technology, they can help provide — not just a refusal to use the technology — but a much better insight into how that technology can be implemented in a way that achieves the employers goals, but also protects workers,” said SAG-AFTRA’s Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, a leader in one of the nation’s most prominent AI labor negotiations so far.

Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, sitting alongside Shuler in a separate POLITICO interview this month, said the answer to AI equity questions of the future “depends on government doing the right thing.”

“If we continue to go down a path in which we don't have guardrails, in which we don't prioritize the well being of working people, then we don't want to look back and say, ‘What happened?’” Su said.

GOOD MORNING. It’s Monday, Jan. 22. Welcome back to Morning Shift, your go-to tipsheet on labor and employment-related immigration. I was a Gen Z kid with a high school job before it was cool. Send feedback, tips and exclusives to nniedzwiadek@politico.com and oolander@politico.com. Follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @NickNiedz and @oliviaolanderr.

WELCOME: We’re excited to share that Grace Yarrow is joining the labor team as a spring intern. A recent graduate of the University of Maryland, Grace previously reported for The Texas Tribune, the Star Tribune and The Hill. Drop her a line: gyarrow@politico.com or @YarrowGrace.

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Around the Agencies

TIME TRIAL: President Joe Biden is betting on federally-backed domestic manufacturing as a key to his election pitch. But many of those projects have yet to generate the anticipated surge of new jobs, our Adam Cancyrn reports.

“The lull has threatened to complicate the White House’s depiction of an economy that’s entered a manufacturing renaissance, feeding fears that Biden is losing ground among voters in key battleground states — even as he advances policies aimed squarely at boosting their communities in the long run,” Adam reports.

Biden aides involved in the strategy have acknowledged “the effects will be measured in years, rather than months,” Adam notes.

“These are envisioned as long-term investments that are about the next 10 to 15 years,” said Elizabeth Reynolds, a former Biden National Economic Council official focused on manufacturing and economic development. “It’s important to remember that the challenge the U.S. has had in recent years has not been about creating new jobs. Our challenge has been the quality of jobs.”

More agency news: “DOL to Allow Small Fees for Auto 401(k) Portability Transfer,” from Bloomberg Law.

Unions

ENDORSEMENT O’CLOCK? The United Auto Workers is expected to discuss the closely-watched question of who they’ll back for president at a conference in Washington that started this weekend, Olivia and Holly Otterbein report.

The Washington Post reported on Friday that the union is likely to endorse Biden. The union and the Biden campaign have declined to comment on the issue.

The UAW and a handful of other major national unions have so far refrained from endorsing Biden’s campaign, despite the administration’s record of largely pro-union actions and Biden joining auto workers on their picket line last year.

Headed to the UAW conference this week? We want to hear from you! oolander@politico.com.

More union news: “America’s Largest University System Is Headed for a Faculty Strike. Here’s a Primer,” from The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Even more: “Trader Joe’s Illegally Closed New York Store To Stop Union Organizing, Feds Say,” from HuffPost.

In the Workplace

JOB SEARCH LANDSCAPE: A report on the job site ZipRecruiter out last week may bring some comfort against fears of an immediate job-displacement AI apocalypse.

“There is some evidence that the companies hiring AI talent have reduced hiring in non-AI positions, but employment levels in those companies have not changed overall, according to recent research,” the annual report said.

Another trend the company is watching: A boost in construction jobs for clean energy projects, electric vehicle charging stations and microchip factories, it said, due to funds from the Biden administration’s infrastructure law and CHIPS and Science Act.

“Expect them to draw talent into the industry due to their scale, expected social impact, and attractive conditions,” the report said.

More in the workplace: “PwC drops some US diversity goals to meet changed legal landscape,” from the Financial Times.

IN THE STATES

MEDIA MATTERS: Los Angeles Times Guild members staged their first newsroom union work stoppage on Friday, our Christine Zhu reports, striking for a day following an announcement from management about layoff plans.

“According to the Times’ own reporting, the cuts stem from offsetting steep financial losses that owner Patrick Soon-Shiong has absorbed since acquiring the paper almost six years ago. The proposed layoffs are the third round of cuts since June,” Christine notes.

A spokesperson for the Times said the company was “disappointed in the Guild’s decision, but respect their right to strike.”

(The Guild is part of the The NewsGuild-CWA, which represents journalists from media outlets including POLITICO.)

More out West: “State labor board sides with Oakland teachers union, finds controversial strike was legal,” from The Mercury News.

WHAT WE'RE READING

— “Wayfair Boss, Weeks After Viral Memo, Cuts 13% of Staff,” from The Wall Street Journal.

— “Sports Illustrated Thrown Into Chaos With Mass Layoffs,” from The New York Times.

— “Planned Parenthood union ratifies first-ever contract with health care organization,” from The Des Moines Register.

— “‘Union’ Filmmakers Talk Amazon, Labor Unions and Jeff Bezos’ Possible Response to the Documentary,” from Variety.

THAT’S YOUR SHIFT!

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