AFL-CIO Develops Worker-Centric Approach to AI

By Amber Ankerholz

The initiative outlines AI implementation principles aimed at protecting workers.

The AFL-CIO – the largest labor federation in the United States – recently published a Workers First Initiative on AI, outlining principles “to put working people at the center of the AI revolution.”

The organization, which represents 63 unions and nearly 15 million workers, drafted the initiative to serve as a “blueprint for how employers and legislators should advance AI implementation in the workplace to the benefit of America’s working people and economy.”

The initiative explores the following eight key principles for worker-centered AI:

Strengthen labor rights and broaden opportunities for collective bargaining
Advance guardrails against harmful uses of AI in the workplace
Support and promote copyright and intellectual property protections
Develop a worker-centered workforce development and training system
Institutionalize worker voice within AI R&D
Require transparency and accountability in AI applications
Model best practices for AI use with government procurement
Protect workers’ civil rights and uphold democratic integrity

“No one understands how to build the future of work better than America’s labor movement,” said Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO. “We reject the false choice between American competitiveness on the world stage and respecting workers’ rights and dignity. We know that for AI – or any other technology – to truly boost our economy, it needs to benefit everyone, not just a select few at the top.”