Union Leaders Examine the Changing World of Work in the Near Future
Gabrielle Carteris stepped to the lectern in a Las Vegas ballroom in January with a message for labor leaders. “Study after study has pointed out that millions of jobs are at risk, not only in the United States, but abroad,” the president of SAG-AFTRA told the crowd gathered in a Bally’s Skyview ballroom for the 2nd Annual Labor Innovation & Technology Summit, held during CES, formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show.
“For some workers today, this is actually a reality, and in the very near future, it will be a reality for all workers.”
National Executive Director David White delivered the keynote address at the summit.
“Those of us representing working people and the companies with which we engage have a tremendous opportunity to ensure the awesome power of technology is balanced with the basic values of treating people fairly, respecting their privacy and protecting their right to personal integrity,” he said.
That day, the audience for SAG-AFTRA’s leaders stretched beyond the 26th floor of Bally’s. The event was streamed on Facebook Live, reaching an audience of members and allies globally, and was covered extensively in the press.
Together with the AFL-CIO, SAG-AFTRA had assembled an unprecedented gathering of labor leaders, technology and entertainment industry executives, and member leaders for a frank conversation on how artificial intelligence and automation could impact the American and global economy.
The summit included two panels. The first featured White alongside AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler; UNITE HERE International President D. Taylor; Carnegie Mellon University professor Lee Branstetter, who directs the Future of Work Initiative; and professor Louis Hyman, who leads the Institute for Workplace Studies at Cornell University. Broadcaster Cheri Preston moderated.
The panel addressed the need to protect workers’ rights as more automation, including robots, is introduced into workplaces. “How do we combine flexibility on the one hand and some measure of stability and job protection on the other? That is the real question for the 21st century,” said Hyman.
Shuler said organized labor is primed to adapt to changing technology. “From its origins, the labor movement has been dealing with technological change and has adapted to continually improve the lives of working families,” she said.
To help prepare his members for technological changes in their workplaces, Taylor said that UNITE HERE has begun addressing these issues in negotiations. During talks with Marriott International Inc., he recalled the union was able to secure a provision that the company had to provide at least six months’ notice of technological changes.
“[Also,] the definition of technology is really important. They want to make it a very small definition, but whether it’s algorithms, platforms, or robotics or automation, it’s really important to have that in a comprehensive definition.”
Taylor — whose union is one of the fastest growing in America with 300,000 members in the hotel, gaming, food service and transportation industries — added, “Then we were honest with workers. We said, ‘Listen, these jobs are going to be in three different categories. We’re going to have to get some retraining in your job to do it with the technology. Your job’s going to be a combo. You’re going to work with technology in a totally different way, but you’re not going to be left behind. And then there are going to be some losers.’ I hate to say that, [but] there’ll be some severance issues.”
A second panel focused on deepfakes and the lack of regulation governing platform companies today. It featured Wael AbdAlmageed, co-director of the Center for Vision, Image, Speech and Text Analytics, USC Viterbi School of Engineering Information Sciences Institute; Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s COO and general counsel; Chris Nichols, director of Chaos Group Labs; Andy Stack, founder and president of Arcturus; and Jonathan Taplin, director emeritus, USC Annenberg Innovation Lab. Journalist Carolyn Giardina moderated.
Rapidly evolving technologies are expected to bring significant changes to the industry, which could have a huge impact on the working lives of members. Overall, AI and automation are expected to eliminate millions of jobs in the broader economy. In fact, the McKinsey Global Institute predicts that up to 800 million workers worldwide will lose their jobs by 2030.
In America alone, that number could range from 39 to 73 million jobs in the next decade. From computer-generated news anchors to digital recreations of long-dead performers, SAG-AFTRA members working in all areas will undoubtedly feel the impact.
Already, members are being asked to do performance capture scans during some productions — and members should contact the union if asked to do so. SAG-AFTRA believes performers should have control over when their likenesses are used.
“We can’t rely on the ethics of technology companies to help us; we have to stand up for ourselves to make sure that we’re using the maximum collective bargaining strength that we’ve gained to balance the power between workers and the companies that employ them,” said Crabtree-Ireland.
“We also need to push for stronger legislative protections. We can’t ignore technology or keep our heads in the sand. We need to make technology work for us, not against us.”
Photo: SAG-AFTRA Executive Vice President and New Innovation and Technology Committee Chair Rebecca Damon and President Gabrielle Carteris, center, with Committee members, from left, Randal Berger, Dileep Rao, Nick Fondulis and Ben Whitehair.
This item originally featured in the SAG-AFTRA magazine spring 2019 issue.