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Comprehensive technology transition agreements

Negotiating Tech: An Inventory of U.S. Union Contract Provisions for the Digital Age

Employer commitments in technology implementation

3.1.c Comprehensive technology transition agreements

While other provisions in this broader section address individual protections—such as job security, income stability, or retraining—some unions have negotiated comprehensive transition agreements that combine these elements into cohesive, multi-layered frameworks. These agreements are designed to anticipate and manage large-scale organizational changes such as automation, restructuring, and modernization.

Rather than addressing issues in isolation, comprehensive agreements coordinate a wide range of workforce protections—covering planning, redeployment, training, and financial support—into a single, proactive approach. Many also reinforce the foundational technology change rights outlined in Section 2 by embedding concrete commitments that result from bargaining over anticipated impacts.

Although many of the clauses featured throughout this report are drawn from these agreements, it is worth examining them more closely. The full transition agreements often contain more detailed, interlocking provisions that reflect a higher degree of planning, specificity, and implementation coordination.

Components of comprehensive agreements

The list below outlines key elements that unions have negotiated as part of technology transition frameworks or broader restructuring efforts tied to technological change. Not all agreements include every element, but collectively they illustrate the scope and depth of protections available. Many of these same elements appear in the provisions presented in earlier sections. For a full understanding of how these strategies are implemented in context, explore the linked agreements below.

Planning and workforce assessment

  • Workforce and job forecasting
  • Databases of internal job opportunities
  • Reviews of insourcing options to preserve bargaining unit work
  • Procedures for restructuring job classifications and descriptions

Employment continuity and economic security protections

  • Guaranteed job offers or reassignment
  • Eligibility criteria for income and employment security benefits
  • Processes for informing employees about transition plans
  • Layoff and recall procedures 
  • Bumping rights and procedures 
  • Job transition pay schedules
  • Relocation procedures and moving expense allowances
  • Seniority protections in redeployment
  • Severance pay and other separation supports
  • Temporary hiring policy flexibilities for job security
  • Incentives for managers to integrate and retrain displaced workers

Training and reskilling infrastructure

  • Training program development procedures
  • Job displacement training seminars 
  • On-the-job training implementation
  • Train-the-trainer programs and pay differentials 
  • Replacement strategies to support employees during training
  • Technology implementation training and temporary staffing pools
  • Reskilling strategies tied to tech implementation

Job matching, placement, and support services

  • Job posting and bidding procedures
  • Guidelines for job offers, vacancy posting, and acceptance timelines
  • Prioritization for displaced workers in filling vacancies
  • Career counseling and job placement assistance
  • Outplacement services
  • Procedures for transitioning to positions outside the bargaining unit
  • Temporary employee eligibility and placement rules

Examples of comprehensive agreements

The agreements below, negotiated across a range of sectors, contain broad transition frameworks that reflect the multi-dimensional strategies listed above. Many combine job protection provisions with retraining, redeployment, and income stability supports:

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3.2 Training and workforce development for technological change