Posts tagged AI
GM lays off more than 1,000 workers, adds 50 robots at flagship Detroit plant: ‘We’re disgusted’
June 24, 2026 // The automaker insists the cobots are not replacements to human workers and are actually necessary at the Detroit-Hamtramck electric-truck plant to stay competitive while improving “safety and ergonomics” for the workers, according to Crain’s Detroit Business and a company spokesman.
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley rips AI “cheerleaders,” backs Teamsters union agenda
June 18, 2026 // Hawley told the Teamsters that "mega corporations" have "lost their moral compass" and that he supports the labor movement because unionized workers deserve fair wages and "decent working conditions," according to a copy of his speech obtained by Axios. Hawley: Argued that the Faster Labor Contracts Act is needed to "speed up first contracts for new unions" and said his Christian faith backs up his belief in unions. Endorsed the Teamsters' position that Congress should pass legislation barring self-driving trucks from replacing commercial drivers. Ripped Amazon as "the biggest monopolist in the country," saying it's treating workers as "indentured servants." Slammed "AI cheerleaders" as corporate goons who "want to replace every job they can with an algorithm" and said "we need to give workers rights over AI in the workplace."
Head of major teachers union calls for restrictions on AI, screens in schools
May 29, 2026 // American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten called for restrictions on artificial intelligence and screen usage in schools. In a speech on Wednesday, Weingarten said that students are “drowning in tech” and there needs to be research done on the effects of students’ learning with AI.
Journalists at McClatchy-owned papers in WA and Idaho go on daylong strike
May 28, 2026 // For the one-day strike, journalists at the news outlets are asking readers not to visit the newspapers' websites. With the local journalists off the job, Courtney Scott, executive officer of the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild, said it's anyone's guess what the company will fill its news sites with. " I think there's a chance that they post a bunch of AI garbage, that's a thing they've done," Scott said. "I don't know. But it's not our problem today." One of the things union members have fought for in this contract is better protections against AI. The company has used AI-generated content on its websites, at times without prior authorization or notice to the reporters, whose content is feeding the AI.
University of California IT Staff Unionize Amid AI Fears
May 27, 2026 // About 2,100 IT and technical employees across the University of California system voted to join the labor union over concerns about mass layoffs in the tech sector, as well as growing workloads without any added pay.
After AI layoffs, Newsom orders state government to find ways to ease the pain
May 23, 2026 // In February, AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler, members of the California Labor Federation and labor leaders in Democratic primary states pledged to pull support for a Newsom 2028 presidential campaign if he didn’t take steps to protect workers from artificial intelligence. Newsom’s veto of the predecessor of the No Robo Bosses Act was named as a reason for that pledge. In a statement shared with CalMatters, California Labor Federation president Lorena Gonzalez said the executive order is welcome but not enough
California’s War on Autonomous Trucking
May 14, 2026 // As structural economic factors push costs for the freight industry and consumers higher, the American public has three options. It can accept higher prices for all transportation services; it can enlarge the labor pool through immigration; or it can embrace new technology that improves transportation productivity and resolves the Baumol dilemma. Becerra, Steyer, and Khanna have followed the path prescribed by FreightWaves’ Fuller, promising to force higher freight costs onto the public. While the Golden State’s coalition politics might require genuflecting to the Teamsters, Californians are bound to notice before long that they’re paying higher prices than people in other states while also lagging behind them technologically.
Companies are abandoning ‘peanut butter’ raises as pay-for-performance takes over the workplace in the AI era
May 11, 2026 // This disparity between employees challenges the idea behind “peanut butter raises,” which aim to address some of the criticisms with merit raises, namely, that they are subjective and bias-prone, according to Payscale’s report. While across-the-board raises may seem equal on the surface, high performers or AI super users may not see it that way, said Hannah Yardley, the chief people and culture officer at Achievers, a software company that tracks employee recognition and offers rewards.
Self-Checkout Is Under Fire Across the Country. Is Theft Really the Reason?
May 8, 2026 // For instance, the Connecticut bill mandates that stores must have one employee for every two self-checkout machines, in addition to having one manual checkout station for every two automated lanes. Stores cannot go over eight self-checkout lanes total. And any employee designated with the task of supervising self-checkouts is barred from engaging in any other simultaneous duties that could interfere with such supervision.
Google DeepMind workers are unionizing over AI military contracts
May 6, 2026 // Staffers at Google DeepMind’s headquarters have voted to unionize in an effort to prevent the AI firm’s technology from being used by Israel and the US military. In a letter to Google management on Tuesday, employees requested that the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and Unite the Union be recognized as joint representatives, with 98 percent of CWU members at DeepMind voting in support of the move.