America's Labor Unions are Backing State Regulations for AI Use in Workplaces

'As employers and tech companies rush to deploy AI software into workplaces to improve efficiency, labor unions are stepping up work with state lawmakers across the nation to place guardrails on its use...' reports the Washington Post.

'Union leaders say they must intervene to protect workers from the potential for AI to cause massive job displacement or infringe on employment rights.'

In Massachusetts, the Teamsters labor union is backing a proposed state law that would require autonomous vehicles to have a human safety operator who can intervene during the ride, effectively forbidding truly driverless rides. Oregon lawmakers recently passed a bill supported by the Oregon Nurses Association that prohibits AI from using the title 'nurse' or any associated abbreviations. The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, a federation of 63 national and international labor unions, launched a national task force last month to work with state lawmakers on more laws that regulate automation and AI affecting workers... The AFL-CIO task force plans to help unions take on problematic use of AI in collective bargaining and contracts and in coming months to develop a slate of model legislation available to state leaders, modeled on recently passed and newly proposed legislation in places including California and Massachusetts.
The president of the California Federation of Labor Unions also supports a proposed state law 'that would prevent employers from primarily relying on AI software to automate decisions like terminations or disciplinary actions,' according to the article. 'Instead, humans would have to review decisions. The law would also prohibit use of tools that predict workers' behaviors, emotional states and personality.'

Read more of this story at Slashdot.