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In addition to bargaining over the introduction and impact of new technologies, many union agreements include provisions for active worker participation throughout the technology decision-making process. These clauses embed union representatives and employees into various stages of technology development, acquisition, implementation, and evaluation. Such participation ensures that workplace technologies reflect operational realities and safeguard employee rights and interests.These agreements often establish joint structures or collaborative mechanisms that span the full lifecycle of a system, from early-stage design to post-deployment assessment. Section 5 provides a more detailed examination of these ongoing participation models and labor-management partnerships.

This section includes three key categories of participatory provisions:

• 2.3.a Participation in technology design, development, and acquisition: Provisions that involve unions in early-stage decision-making, including research, design input, vendor selection, and acquisition processes.
• 2.3.b Participation in technology implementation and post-deployment: Agreements that ensure unions have a role in the rollout of new technologies and the assessment of their impacts after deployment.
• 2.3.c Technology lifecycle participation: Provisions supporting union engagement across the full span of technology use, from development through maintenance, upgrades, and replacement.

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