{"id":1605,"date":"2019-09-17T06:00:20","date_gmt":"2019-09-17T06:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uniontrack.com\/blog\/?p=1605"},"modified":"2019-09-16T20:57:30","modified_gmt":"2019-09-16T20:57:30","slug":"unions-and-automation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uniontrack.com\/blog\/unions-and-automation","title":{"rendered":"How Unions Can Protect the Workers Who Are Most Vulnerable to Automation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Automation has irrevocably changed the workplace and workers\u2019 roles in it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no arguing that the advances in workplace automation have made \u2014 and will continue to make \u2014 many jobs obsolete. According to McKinsey researchers James Manyika<\/a>, et al., by the year 2030 some 800 million workers across the globe will have lost their jobs due to automation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEven in the best of times, many, if not most, workers will strain to manage the coming necessary adjustments as automation and AI change or eliminate many jobs, while simultaneously creating new ones,\u201d write Robert Maxim and Mark Muro<\/a> at The Brookings Institution\u2019s Metropolitan Policy Program.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a future for which many workers are unsure how to prepare. That\u2019s where unions have to step in and lead the charge by giving workers a roadmap for navigating such a future while holding employers accountable.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s are some ways organized labor can mitigate automation\u2019s threats to workers.<\/p>\n

Help Ensure Access to Retraining Programs to Meet Technology Demands<\/h2>\n

Adaptation is going to be the key to survival for workers in a more-automated economy. \u201cUnions need to figure out how to help workplaces and workers adapt to new technologies to reduce layoffs if workers are to have hope of surviving and even thriving in the face of this threat,\u201d writes labor reporter Steven Greenhouse<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Most workers, either through job change or role transition, will eventually have to learn how to work side-by-side with automated machines, says Michael Chui<\/a>, partner at the McKinsey Global Institute. \u201cPeople increasingly, over time, will have to be complements to the work that machines do.\u201d<\/p>\n

For workers, this will mean reskilling for new roles and responsibilities to stay relevant in the workforce. \u201cThe people are going to require a new set of skills to maintain their ability to support themselves and have a decent quality of life,\u201d Susan Schurman<\/a>, a labor studies professor at Rutgers University, tells Bloomberg Law.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unions are in a position to lead the way in helping workers adapt to new technologies and reskill to prepare them for successful transitions in the automated workplace, but they must work together with employers to be effective. Daniel Bustillo<\/a>, director of the Healthcare Career Advancement Program, a national network of Service Employees International Unions and healthcare employers, says unions and employers both have equal responsibility to provide retraining programs to workers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For unions, the collective bargaining agreement is the best mechanism available to push companies for employee retraining.<\/p>\n

\"Metal<\/p>\n

Include Automation in Collective Bargaining Agreements<\/h2>\n

Unions can help secure that training for workers by including language for retraining programs in collective bargaining contracts. This holds employers accountable to their workers and helps ensure that employees continue to have a place in the workforce. Unions can also collaborate with employers to facilitate the retraining programs.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the approach the Culinary Workers Union Local 226<\/a> in Las Vegas took when negotiations with hotels began in 2018. The union gained a big win by securing language to protect workers when employers bring in new technologies. Some of those protections include:\u00a0<\/p>\n