Local 5 members gathered with representatives of community groups and other unions in front of San Jose City Hall on September 1 to announce the launch of the People’s Tech Coalition. The group will advocate for legal protections at the state and local level to shield workers from displacement and other workplace disruptions that result from the haphazard rollout of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence.

For UFCW retail members, the primary concern is the expansion of self-checkout technology and its negative impact on workers as well as consumers. Store employees are often required to oversee as many as ten or more self-checkout stations while also tasked with assisting customers, monitoring the front of the store, and in some instances, dealing with suspected theft.

The Coalition will demand standards around safe staffing in stores that will protect workers and maintain adequate customer service, particularly for seniors, people with disabilities or others who need or prefer a staffed register and a worker who has the time to help them.

Richard Barnes, a Local 5 member from Safeway who was at the event, explained that while his initial focus was on self-checkout issues, he was moved by the impact of new technology on workers in other industries.

“This is a wake-up call, not just for the unions, but for our communities,” Barnes told the San José Spotlight news publication. “We need those guardrails put up. We should have been way ahead of this, and now we’re playing catch up.”