Labor leaders and worker advocates have long acted to address concerns about new technology in the workplace, whether it has been the mainstreaming of automated teller machines (ATMs) in the 1990s or self-check out machines in fast food establishments or grocery stores more recently. Today, labor leaders are contending with AI developers promising new AI tools that will create entire movies, do your accounting, and assist doctors. Even with promises of improved efficiency and reduced costs not materializing as expected, these promises have driven rushed adoptions across nearly every industry. But as organizations race to capitalize on AI’s potential, the people most affected, workers, are often left out of the conversation.

The narrative around AI adoption has largely been framed as two opposing sides: employers seeking productivity gains, and workers afraid for their livelihoods. But this isn’t how the story has to unfold. Worker displacement does not have to be the cost of innovation. In fact, when workers are brought into the AI adoption process early, and their expertise is treated as an asset, the outcomes are better for workers and employers.

Labor leaders and worker advocates have a crucial role to play in how this process is shaped. Unions across industries and borders are demonstrating that it is possible to win strong AI protections for workers.

So what does it look like to do this well?

Today Partnership on AI is publishing three case studies to show how unions are navigating AI adoption. Building upon on-going work with both labor and employer leaders, these case studies help us understand how to implement the Guidelines on Shared Prosperity, which outline recommended practices for AI-using organizations for how they can incorporate worker voice as they deploy AI tools.

These three case studies feature interviews with the Financial Services Union of Ireland, SLC-CGIL (“Communication Workers Union”) of Italy, and SEIU Local 668—as well as an interview with representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, who SEIU Local 668 negotiated with.