Opinion: Workers Deserve a Say in Automation

The Workers' Right to Training Act allows employees to evolve as their employers adopt new tech.
factory worker on top of a steel slab
The Workers' Right to Training Act gives workers advance notice when their employer adopts new technology and requires that workers receive training on it.Photograph: Bernd Vogel/Getty Images




As the senior US Senator from Ohio and the secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, which represents 12.5 million workers across the country, we have an opportunity to meet working people from Coshocton to Columbus, both in Ohio, and from Chicago to Chico, California. And we’ve heard that they’re worried about losing their jobs to automation, or losing their jobs because they lack the technical skills needed for changing industries. Indeed, some analysis suggests that about 25 percent of US jobs could be threatened by automation.

That’s why these workers welcome new training and professional development opportunities that help them adapt to changing technology in their industry. However, few opportunities like this currently exist—companies are more focused on using technology and automation to cut their workforce costs and boost their quarterly earnings reports.

The Workers’ Right to Training Act addresses their concerns. It gives workers advance notice when their employer adopts new technology and requires that workers receive training on it. The bill also requires companies to bargain directly with workers when they implement any of these changes. No one knows the workplace better than workers themselves. They should have a say in how technology is deployed.

Members of the Unite Here labor union in eight cities across the country won this right last year, after they went on strike against Marriott, the wealthiest hotel chain on the planet. Now, if Marriott plans to bring in new technology or automation, it is required to give 165 days’ notice and bargain over the changes. Every worker deserves fair notice so they know what's coming and they have a chance to retrain.

If a worker does end up losing their job due to the introduction of new technology in the workplace, this bill requires employers to provide six months of severance pay and up to a year’s worth of training to make sure that workers have the skills to succeed in our economy.

The generation of workers at the turn of the 20th century didn’t have a government that cared enough to protect them, and unions were not yet strong enough to fight for them. Today, we can—and must—do better by them. As this issue gets more attention, from the presidential debate stage to union halls and workplaces around the country, this bill lays down a marker: Our economy will always evolve. We have a responsibility to ensure workers are a part of that progress, not an afterthought.


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