Microsoft AI Deal With AFL-CIO Is Step to Broader Standards (1)

Microsoft Corp.‘s recent agreement with the largest coalition of US labor unions has the potential to set nationwide standards for how artificial intelligence is used in the workforce, tech industry and labor observers say.

The software giant announced its alliance with the AFL-CIO Dec. 11, promising increased training for workers and collaboration with the unions under the federation’s umbrella to sculpt both public policy and company standards on AI implementation.

The deal marks the first partnership between a tech company and organized labor on the issue as concerns mount that AI could replace large sections of the nation’s workforce. Microsoft has invested over $13 billion in OpenAI, seeking to integrate ChatGPT into its corporate and consumer products.

The size and power of both Microsoft and the AFL-CIO give any standards that the two reach a high level of legitimacy, and increase the chance that those guidelines will be adopted by employers both within and outside the tech industry in contract deals with employee unions, said Rebecca Givan, associate professor at Rutgers University’s School of Management and Labor Relations.

“Some employers could choose to get on board with this initiative, but also this is helpful to organizing workers even if the companies don’t get on board,” she said. “If there’s some broadly acceptable standards developed by the AFL-CIO and Microsoft, then workers and employers across multiple industries can look to them when setting their own guidelines or contract language.”

The agreement with the AFL-CIO also includes a template for “neutrality” terms that would make it easier for unions to organize workers at Microsoft and its subsidiaries. Neutrality agreements commit companies not to take a stance in response to workers’ organizing efforts.

The move expands an approach Microsoft already agreed to for its video game workers and lays the groundwork for broader unionization at the tech giant.

Margaret O’Mara, a University of Washington professor and historian on tech and the economy, said Microsoft has positioned itself as “the adult in the room” to set an example for other companies that have tried to temper efforts to control their usage of AI and other new technology.

“Microsoft and the unions are certainly hoping to create some kind of model that can be transplanted into other companies,” O’Mara said. “Because this isn’t just about a handful of big tech companies. This is about all companies and how they’ll employ this new technology.”

Microsoft President Brad Smith said at an event announcing the partnership that the company’s goal is to get the two groups thinking about how to “enhance” the way people work.

“AI is well-designed to accelerate and eliminate some of the parts of people’s jobs that you might consider to be drudgery,” he said. “By working directly with labor leaders, we can help ensure that AI serves the country’s workers.”

AI in Contracts

AI has increasingly become a point of contention in union contract talks and a key issue for negotiation.

The agreement reached in September between Hollywood writers and studios, for example, includes provisions that the union says prevent writers from being forced to use software like ChatGPT, stop AI-generated material from being used to dilute writers’ credit, and let the union challenge use of writers’ work to train AI systems.

Hospitality workers in Las Vegas also recently secured protections from AI technology use in their new contracts. The agreement reached with Caesar’s Entertainment Inc., for instance, requires six months’ notice before introducing AI, robotics, or other new technology into the workplace. It also would require Caesars to offer retraining, severance, and continued benefits for those affected or laid off as a result.

And just this week, the Communications Workers of America and Microsoft subsidiary ZeniMax Media Inc. reached a tentative agreement on language governing AI usage at the video game studio. The ZeniMax workers voted in July to unionize with the CWA, an AFL-CIO affiliate, becoming the first organized unit at Microsoft.

The language incorporates Microsoft’s six previously announced AI principles, under which the company committed to ensuring the systems “treat all people fairly” and “empower everyone and engage people.”

“The goal is to ensure tools and technologies benefit rather than harm workers,” according to the contract language. It then obligates Microsoft to inform the union any time its implementation of AI or other automation “may impact work performed” by union members, and if requested, to negotiate over the impact on employees.

The measures would be enforceable through the contract’s grievance process, including arbitration and mediation.

The Washington-Baltimore News Guild, which is affiliated with the Communications Workers of America, represents employees of Bloomberg Law.

Tech Responsibility

Kate Edwards, former director of the International Game Developers Association and a former Microsoft geopolitical strategist, said major players in the tech industry like Microsoft have a particular responsibility to set AI implementation guidelines because they’re the ones developing the technology.

“We know this technology is coming down the pipe, we’ve seen first hand what it’s capable of and I think it scares us especially,” Edwards said, referring to tech workers. “I think a lot of companies would rather use AI to hammer down costs. But I think it’s important to give employees the hammer to wield as another tool in their jobs instead of using it as a hammer wielded by management against them.”

Edwards and Chrissy Fellmeth, a gaming organizer at the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, said they both would like to see AI job protections become the standard across all industries.

But they also don’t want the guidelines to inhibit technological developments.

“The ability to move forward with technology is super important and everyone understands that what their jobs were 10 years ago is not what it is today,” Fellmeth said. “But if AI changes your job so much that you are no longer able to participate in it, your employer needs to give you the option to be retrained so you still have the ability to bring value.”

Public Policy

Aside from influencing union contracts, Microsoft’s alliance with the AFL-CIO also could help push policy makers to move faster on regulations and legislation governing AI, Givan said.

In their joint statement, the two said they would “join forces to propose and support policies that will equip workers with the essential skills, knowledge and economic support needed to thrive in an AI-powered economy.”

“If Microsoft and AFL-CIO feel that regulatory or legislative changes are needed, then advocating for that jointly is much more powerful than doing it separately,” Givan said. “They could be a very convincing coalition for policy makers.”

President Joe Biden already has made initial steps to get a handle on the impacts of AI with an October executive order that lays out safety guidelines for the technology and mandates that multiple government agencies study its use.

Congress remains deadlocked on legislation, despite hearings on the issue. But that’s exactly why organized labor has taken this step, O’Mara said.

“Congress is very slow moving which creates a vacuum when technology like this moves very fast,” she said. “The unions are not just going to wait for Congress because that’s what they’ve done historically and it’s not always worked for them. This is a pragmatic move by the AFL-CIO and an effort for Microsoft to set the terms of their regulations.”