Workers and Machines #7

Happy end of August. This is our summer edition of Workers & Machines. 

This month, we're kicking off a new project focused on working with unions to build confidence and capacity to bargain on workplace AI. We want to develop practical resources for unions, and build a network of trade unionists at the forefront of collective bargaining on new technology. Want in? 

We’re looking for national officers, organisers and negotiating leads to shape this project. We want to know how AI is showing up as a workplace issue, and what strategies and tactics would be genuinely useful for the movement to make sure we're in a position to challenge and negotiate on AI at work.

Get involved with this project 

How much is up to you 

• Short survey (3 minutes)  

• Interview (20 minutes) 

• Workshop (full or half day)  

• More as you like 

Interested? Take the survey

Feel free to forward this to colleagues or share with relevant networks. You can also reach out to Isabella directly for more information. 

Adam and Isabella

In brief:  

Bargaining on AI, Coming to a Workplace Near You

2023 was a historic year for Hollywood strikes: 11,500 writers followed by 160,000 actors on strike for a combined 184 days. It was the first time since 1960 that actors and writers walked out simultaneously.  It was also a breakthrough moment for trade unions bargaining and winning on the use of Artificial Intelligence in the workplace.  

In many ways, the strike was over bread-and-butter trade union issues – fair pay, job security, and dignity at work. The strikers rightly saw AI as intrinsic to these challenges. SAG-AFTRA cited "employers’ unwillingness to offer a deal that includes fair and fundamental A.I. protections" as a key reason the strike went on as long as it did.   

Both unions eventually won groundbreaking deals on AI. The Writers Guild of America won protections around the use of generative AI in the writers' room. SAG-AFTRA's final agreement included protections against the use of digital replicas: AI-generated simulations of a real person’s likeness, voice, or physical features.  

Unions across sectors are increasingly pushing for the introduction and use of new technologies to be included in collective bargaining agreements. Especially as tech CEOs continue to reveal themselves to be actual comic book villains, workers need to be able to shape how tech is used in the workplace through their unions. But this is easier said than done.  

AI brings a complex new set of questions and challenges for unions. Unions are already stretched thin, juggling a changing policy environment alongside fundamental challenges like retention, attracting new members, and breaking into sectors with low union density. We will need support to build confidence in understanding how AI works, what the risks are, and how to effectively negotiate on it. 

Context also matters. It's easy to see why digital replicas aren't an abstract concern for creative workers. Susan Sarandon told a BBC reporter that it was clear to her "on a primitive level." "If you can take my face and my body and my voice and make me say or do something I had no choice about, that's not a good thing." In other workplaces, the connection between technology and fundamental collective bargaining issues is not always so clear. We need to be able to connect these issues for members.   

The TUC has been working to address these challenges. This year, we ran an education-sector programme with nine unions, developing institutional knowledge and networks to collaborate on cross-cutting issues around AI. We also ran a collective bargaining on AI forum to get this work moving. Both projects helped the movement understand how AI is affecting work, develop shared positions, and translate learning into practical outputs.   

Now we need to scale these projects in a way that works for a cross-sector and cross-union audience. To do that effectively, we need some help from you. Tell us what's working, what's missing, and what you need to respond to the challenges of AI in the workplace.  

In the meantime, employers will continue to make significant decisions about AI at work – despite being no better informed. We need to be ready to make sure these decisions don't go unchecked.

Take the survey