Future of Workers

Workers Are Setting the Rules for AI in Silicon Valley

AI is being deployed in the institutions working people depend on most: hospitals, benefits offices, government agencies. And the people it affects most have had the least say in how it’s used. That’s starting to change. Workers and unions aren’t waiting for state or federal policy to catch up, they’re negotiating AI accountability directly, in contract talks and county boardrooms, and they’re starting to make change.

On March 24, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to move forward with a comprehensive study on how AI is being used across county departments. The vote came with real commitments: co-create AI policy with employees, ensure human review of AI outputs, guarantee the right to appeal AI-driven decisions, and pledge that technology will augment workers, not replace them.

Days later, AFSCME Local 101, which represents 3,400 City of San José employees, introduced a package of AI safeguards as part of ongoing contract negotiations. Their demands include prohibiting AI from being used to replace workers, limiting its role in hiring and performance monitoring, and establishing a joint oversight committee to review new systems before they’re deployed.

What Santa Clara County and San Jose decides in the coming months will not stay within our borders. The precedents we set, on transparency, on worker voice, on accountability, will ripple outward.
Maria Noel Fernandez, Executive Director, Working partnerships USA and Riko Mendez, Chief Elected Officer, SEIU 521 for The Mercury News. (Read the full Opinion piece here.)

These aren’t isolated moments. They’re part of a coordinated push by workers, unions, and organizations to ensure that the region that builds this technology doesn’t get to ignore its consequences. WPUSA Executive Director Maria Noel Fernandez and SEIU Local 521 CEO Riko Mendez made that case in a Mercury News op-ed this month: frontline public workers are not obstacles to technological progress, they are its most important quality-control system. When they are cut out of the process, systems fail and real people suffer the consequences.

But the stakes extend beyond the workplace. When algorithms make decisions about who receives public benefits, who gets flagged by law enforcement, or how medical care is triaged, entire communities bear the consequences, especially low-income residents, immigrants, and communities of color who have the least recourse when systems fail them. Winning accountability in our public institutions isn’t just a labor issue. It’s a civil rights issue.

The Board’s vote is a foundation. The contract fight in San José is a test. What this region decides in the coming months will set a precedent that ripples far beyond our borders, and we are determined to get it right.

San Jose Votes to Restrict Flock Cameras.

On March 10, the San José City Council voted unanimously to adopt new safeguards for its network of 474 Flock Safety license plate reader cameras, reducing data retention from one year to 30 days, restricting where cameras can be placed, and tightening access controls for outside law enforcement agencies. Workers, immigrants, and community members showed up to City Hall and made their voices heard. While the Council took some steps forward, residents and advocates had called for more, including cutting ties with Flock Safety entirely.

Across the Bay Area, cities have been grappling with what Flock Safety actually is, and what it enables. An internal audit revealed that from August to November 2024, several federal law enforcement agencies accessed Mountain View’s Flock cameras without the city’s permission or knowledge, because Flock had quietly enabled a nationwide search setting on its own. Mountain View called it a system failure. But the deeper problem is this: a private vendor had the ability to open a city’s surveillance infrastructure to federal agencies, and no one in the city government knew it was happening until it was too late. Santa Clara County, Mountain View, and Los Altos Hills have all since terminated their Flock contracts. San José has not.

The legal pressure on the city is mounting. Civil liberties groups sued San José in November 2025 over the cameras’ violation of California’s constitution. In April 2026, a second federal lawsuit was filed, this time seeking class-action status on behalf of all San José residents, arguing that nearly 500 AI-connected cameras tracking every driver’s movements without a warrant or probable cause constitutes an unconstitutional mass surveillance system. The suits make clear that the guardrails the Council adopted in March didn’t go nearly far enough.

Meanwhile, Mayor Matt Mahan has been one of Flock Safety’s most prominent boosters, appearing in promotional material on the company’s own website touting San José’s expansion of the camera network. That’s worth noting as the city weighs its next steps.

This isn’t just a technology story. It’s a story about power. Who has it, who doesn’t, and how decisions that shape our daily lives are being made behind closed doors. Every surveillance contract a city signs is a choice about who gets watched, who gets trusted, and who gets power. Those choices should be made openly, with community input, and with the ability to say no, not handed off to vendors in a procurement process most people never see.

The Flock fight is part of a larger pattern. Across Silicon Valley, surveillance infrastructure is being built out, from license plate readers, facial recognition, to data-sharing contracts with companies like Palantir, with little public debate and even less public understanding of what these systems do, who can access the data, and what happens when it’s wrong. In some cases, the same platforms touching crime data are also touching immigration enforcement and benefits eligibility. The line between city services and surveillance is blurring, and it’s happening in a regulatory void. That’s exactly why we’re building a coalition to demand democratic control over how these technologies are deployed in our communities.

Real public safety requires transparency and accountability. When private vendors can operate city systems without oversight and open them up to federal agencies without anyone knowing, that doesn’t make our communities safer — it makes them more vulnerable, especially for immigrant communities, people seeking healthcare, and residents exercising their right to protest.

Chatbots Over Therapists? Not in our town.

On March 18, approximately 2,400 Kaiser Permanente mental health therapists, social workers, and psychologists went on strike across California including right here in Santa Clara County, and we were proud to stand with them on the picket line.

The strike wasn’t just about pay. It was about Kaiser’s decision to overhaul its patient triage system, replacing trained therapists with yes-or-no prompts and AI-assisted routing, without input from a care provider, without transparency, and without accountability when things go wrong.

Kaiser is under both state and federal monitoring for mental health parity violations, having paid out over $230 million in penalties for failing to provide adequate mental healthcare to its 4.6 million patients. Despite that, the company has refused to include protections against AI replacing therapists in its Northern California contract, even while its Southern California agreement includes that exact language. When union bargaining committee members asked directly whether the change foreshadowed layoffs, Kaiser said it wanted “flexibility.”

This isn’t just a Kaiser story. It’s the same playbook we’re seeing across industries: deploy the technology fast, skip worker input, call it innovation, and when workers push back, call them the problem. The workers who get hit first are always the same, lower-wage, majority women, majority workers of color.

WPUSA Executive Director Maria Noel Fernandez joined healthcare workers, California Nurses Association, Working Families Party, and representatives from Assemblymember Ash Kalra and Senator Dave Cortese’s offices on the picket line. Her message was simple: when one of us is on the line, all of us show up.

The fight for worker voice in how technology gets deployed, in hospitals, in warehouses, in government offices, is the same fight, and we’re building the coalition to win it.

Making Tech Work For Workers Conference

In January 2025, we joined workers, unions, researchers, and community allies from across California at the Making Tech Work for Workers convening. Together, we shared strategies for responding to the ways AI is already transforming work, and imagined a future where digital innovation is guided by the needs of working people.

We gained key insights from working people across a range of professions, as well as from academics, researchers, and union leaders.

AI is already here, and it’s being used to hire, fire, surveil, and automate work, often with no oversight
These tools can reinforce existing inequalities, especially for women, immigrants, and workers of color
We need stronger laws, organizing strategies, and contract language to protect workers from digital exploitation
Worker power is the solution, unions, community organizations, and grassroots leadership are essential to shaping tech for the common good

We also got the chance to hear from workers from a range of industries from warehouse workers and healthcare workers, to gig workers and teachers. Watch our 1:1 interviews with workers and conference attendees here.

This conference was organized by the Conference Steering Committee, with advice from the Labor Advisory Committee.

Conference Steering Committee

Labor Advisory Committee

This conference was made possible by the generous support of the Freedom Together Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation, and the Omidyar Network Fund.

A big win for fast food workers in Santa Clara County

On April 8, thanks to the tireless efforts of fast food workers and the unwavering support of allies like you, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors took a critical step toward advancing Know Your Rights training for fast food workers in the county! This unanimous decision brings us closer to ensuring that every fast food cook and cashier knows their rights—from paid sick leave and family leave to protections against discrimination and wage theft.

This victory didn’t happen by accident. It happened because workers refused to back down. From walkouts and strikes across the county to speaking out against unsafe conditions and injustice, fast food workers in Santa Clara County have shown incredible courage and persistence.

It happened because allies like you took action, from sending in letters of support to County leadership to giving public comment at the meeting.

Lastly, it happened thanks to the bold leadership of County Supervisors Betty Doung and Susan Ellenberg, who spearheaded the effort, despite pressure from industry lobbyists who wanted to keep workers in the dark about their rights.

This isn’t just a win for workers’ rights—it’s a powerful step forward for immigrant rights and reproductive justice, at a time when these fundamental freedoms are under attack and far from guaranteed. Let’s keep the momentum going!

Fast Food Fair Work Ordinance: Q & A with Organizer Gabriel Cardenas

Gabriel Cardenas is a full-time Organizer at WPUSA, with nearly a decade of experience in labor organizing and workforce development.

When we say fast food workers, who are we talking about in San José?

There are 13,000 fast food workers employed at 600-700 locations in San José, which is one of the largest populations of fast food workers in the Bay Area. Most of these workers are women and 80% are people of color. There is a perception that fast food jobs are mostly short-term summer jobs or part-time jobs for high school students, though most of the professionals employed at fast food restaurants are working full-time to support families. Fast food workers are not just high school students; they make Silicon Valley what it is. We are talking about the same people who are making your food, working in the field, cleaning rooms in hotels, doing heavy lifting, and making Silicon Valley work. For every tech job, there are 3 supportive service jobs. They are the ones who need someone in the kitchen while others stay on campus to code, shaping the future of the world. They include security officers and those cleaning up after you.

What would the Fast Food Fair Work Ordinance do for these people who keep the fast food industry running?

Firstly, it ensures that every fast food worker is trained on their rights, addressing the fact that many in the Bay Area, as reported at 88%, are unaware of their entitlements. With this knowledge, workers can defend themselves against potential exploitation by their employers. Secondly, the ordinance mandates paid time off for fast food workers. Some have been employed for over 5 years without a single day off. This particularly affects mothers juggling multiple jobs, often unable to afford childcare. Instances like Maria Maldonado’s, who lost hours and income after taking a day off for her child’s health appointment, illustrate the need for change. Under this law, for every 30 hours worked, employees like Maria will accrue an hour of paid leave.

This initiative isn’t solely about the workers; it’s about supporting their families too. Fast food workers should have the ability to care for themselves and their loved ones without fear of job loss or financial strain, mirroring the benefits afforded to white-collar workers.

At the March 19 San José City Council, workers and community members showed up to voice support for the Fast Food Fair Work Ordinance. What impact did this have on the City Council’s decision?

On March 19, 2024, over 50 fast food workers, some with children, attended the 5-hour meeting, sharing powerful stories. It was an incredible show of power and solidarity from workers. In the budget, the city prioritizes ending homelessness and ensuring safety, but these issues are critically connected to fair wages for fast food workers who struggle with housing insecurity and the rising cost of living. In fact, 1 in every 9 unhoused people is a fast food worker, and we’ve heard so many stories of people being evicted from their homes too.

While some council members ignored workers’ concerns and echoed industry lobbyists’ talking points, others acknowledged the need for action. As someone with personal experience in the food service industry, I understand the challenges these workers face and the urgent need for change and it was disheartening to see workers’ urgent concerns were not seen as a priority despite the overwhelming evidence in favor of passing the law. Workers are simply asking to be treated with dignity and respect — and that day, many of our council members failed to do that.

It’s not just workers that want to see this law passed. Over 2,400 people signed a petition in favor of it. Why do you think this garnered so much community support?

Stories like Laura’s, who experienced a miscarriage and was forced to work while sick, missing important family events, resonated with the community. When people hear the harrowing stories from those who work in fast food, especially women, it’s hard to sit back and do nothing. The petition showed the San José City Council that residents see the importance of this issue. Making sure workers know their rights is a no-brainer for voters — and the broader San José community agrees with that — and this support is critical.

It shows workers they are not alone, and it reminds our elected representatives that we will collectively hold them accountable to protecting and supporting working people and regular San José residents.

This fight has grown into a movement. We are proud to collaborate with fast food workers, SEIU 1021, SEIU International, the Fight for $15 grassroots movement, and the California Fast Food Workers Union (CAFFWU).

Looks like we have strong worker and community support for this — so what’s the hold up?

Since fast food workers began advocating for this ordinance, the fast food industry has countered with a vigorous campaign to prevent its implementation. They’ve invested heavily in local elections, hired lobbyists to influence council members, and propagated misinformation to instill fear among small businesses. As a result, what should be a straightforward decision has dragged on. It makes you wonder – why should businesses that’s treating workers fairly be up in arms against their employees knowing their basic rights?

McDonald’s has been actively spreading misinformation and creating confusion about the ordinance. However, this ordinance will benefit small businesses that prioritize fair treatment of workers, enhance employees’ lives, improve working conditions, and elevate health and hygiene standards in over 600 fast food restaurants. All San Jose residents stand to gain from this — so I don’t see why it’s taking our leadership to recognize this.

Many hard-working people rely on the convenience of fast food. How will the Fast Food Fair Work Ordinance impact customers?

Happy workers create happy meals, so as customers, we’re all going to benefit from this. The fast food industry wants us to believe that this will increase the price of our burgers but the reality is that they’ve already been increasing their rates anyway, and way more than the rate of inflation— and that has nothing to do with fast food workers knowing their rights. Research has shown that fast food corporations can pay workers more, keep prices stable and still make profit — we know its possible because some fast food corporations like In-and-out do it.

Is it possible that businesses also don’t know about the rights? Would businesses have the opportunity to learn about rights?

It’s possible that businesses may not be fully aware of their employees’ rights. Some businesses are focused on the bottom line and profitability, so they may not prioritize understanding regulations. However, not all businesses are inherently evil; they may simply need more information. Programs like the Fair Workplace Collaborative (FWC) and Prosperity Lab offer training for small businesses on standards and minimum wage requirements. It’s crucial for businesses to do their due diligence to ensure that their employees are treated fairly, as one paycheck can make the difference between having housing and living in a car.

California recently implemented a $20 minimum wage for fast food workers, and we also have a statewide fast food workers union — how will the local San José ordinance add to this?

Working in the fast food industry is hard — long hours, grueling labor, and unpredictable schedules are currently the norm, and workplace harassment, gender based violence and unsafe and unsanitary working conditions are common.

Forming a fast food workers union and establishing a statewide minimum wage is a huge step for not just fast food workers, but also all Californians who San Jose’s workers must also benefit, but without awareness of their rights, they can’t — that’s why we need the ordinance.

Future of Workers

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