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
UC Berkeley Labor Center | UCLA Labor Center | UC Merced Community and Labor Center | UC San Diego Labor Center | UC Santa Cruz Center for Labor and Community | California Federation of Labor Unions | TechEquity | Working Partnerships USA
Labor Advisory Committee
California Coalition for Worker Power | California Conference Board of the Amalgamated Transit Union | California Federation of Labor Unions | California Federation of Teachers | California Nurses Association | California Teamsters Public Affairs Council | IATSE | PowerSwitch Action | SAG-AFTRA | SEIU California | UC Davis Labor and Community Center | UC Irvine Labor Center | UCR Inland Empire Labor and Community Center | UCSB Community Labor Center | UDW/AFSCME Local 3930 | UFCW Western States Council
This conference was made possible by the generous support of the Freedom Together Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation, and the Omidyar Network Fund.
