FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 16, 2023

Contact: Chelsea Connor | cconnor@rwdsu.org | 347-866-6259

RWDSU STATEMENT: ON THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR’S ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND WORKER WELL-BEING: PRINCIPLES FOR DEVELOPERS AND EMPLOYERS

(NEW YORK, NY) – Today, the U.S. The Department of Labor issued their recommendations on AI and ensuring worker protections entitled Department of Labor’s Artificial Intelligence and Worker Well-being: Principles for Developers and Employers. The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union contributed to the considerations of these principals. Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) issued the following statement:

“The RWDSU applauds the Labor Department's AI Principles for Developers and Employers and, particularly, the focus on ensuring workers benefit from and are protected against potential harms from AI technologies. The principles are aspirational, but they provide a useful framework for understanding AI and the scope of its impact on working people and guiding solutions for reducing its impact. That said, the successful application of these principles is only possible when workers' rights to union organizing and collective bargaining are respected and workers are able to negotiate how AI is used in their workplaces.”

# # #

The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) represents 100,000 members throughout the United States. The RWDSU is affiliated with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW). For more information, please visit our website at www.rwdsu.org, Facebook:/RWDSU.UFCW Twitter:@RWDSU.