Microsoft and AFL-CIO announce a new tech-labor alliance on AI

Microsoft, AFL-CIO, and other partners have formed a new partnership to promote open discussions on AI's role in anticipating worker needs and incorporating their voices.

On Monday, Microsoft Corp., the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), and other partners announced the establishment of a new partnership aimed at fostering an open discourse on the necessity of AI in anticipating worker needs and incorporating worker voices into its development and application. 

The three objectives of this partnership — which is the first of its kind between a labor group and a technology company to focus on artificial intelligence — are to: (1) share comprehensive information on trends in AI technology with labor leaders and workers; (2) incorporate worker perspectives and expertise in the development of AI technology; and (3) assist in shaping public policy that supports frontline workers' technology needs and skills.

The partnership additionally involves an agreement with Microsoft that provides a neutral structure for future worker organizing by AFL-CIO affiliate unions. This builds upon the historic neutrality agreement that the Communications Workers of America Union (CWA) negotiated with Microsoft, encompassing video game employees at Activision and Zenimax, as well as the labor principles stated by Microsoft in June 2022. In an era of fast technological change, this framework affirms a shared commitment to upholding employees' rights to form or join unions, cultivating constructive and cooperative labor-management interactions, and negotiating collective bargaining agreements that will assist workers.