Foundational technology rights

One of the most common types of provisions related to workplace technology in collective bargaining agreements is the recognition of foundational rights when an employer plans to introduce new or modified technologies. Often outlined in standalone technological change clauses, these rights serve as preemptive safeguards to ensure that workers and unions are meaningfully involved in shaping how technologies affect jobs, working conditions, and organizational structures. While some agreements take a broad approach, others establish detailed procedural frameworks—including definitions of technological change (see Section 1)—that trigger specific timelines, disclosure requirements, and negotiation obligations.

These provisions commonly address the introduction of new technologies but may also extend to technology planning stages or modifications to existing systems, underscoring the need for continuous communication and governance throughout the technology lifecycle. In many cases, technological change clauses are linked to broader impact bargaining provisions that address employment and economic security, including organizational restructuring, retraining, and job transitions, topics further explored in Section 3. Many of these foundational rights are revisited in Section 4, which includes provisions related to specific workplace technologies such as electronic monitoring and surveillance systems and other job-task-related digital applications.

Some agreements also institutionalize worker participation in decision-making by linking these rights to broader engagement structures such as joint committees, labor-management partnerships, and consultative forums, which are addressed in more detail in Section 5. This section concludes with a list of contracts that feature comprehensive technological change agreements, many of which incorporate the provisions covered throughout this section.

This section is structured around core areas of contractual rights that commonly appear in technological change provisions:

2.1 Notification and information rights
Requires employers to notify unions about planned technological changes and provide relevant details through written disclosures, briefings, and updates.
2.2 Bargaining rights on technology changes
Establishes the union’s right to negotiate over the introduction and effects of new technologies, including bargaining procedures, timelines, and subject matter scope.
2.3 Participation in technology decision-making processes
Includes provisions that integrate union representatives or workers into technology-related planning, design, acquisition, implementation, and evaluation.
2.4 Union jurisdiction and work preservation
Protects bargaining unit work by affirming union jurisdiction over new or modified tasks, and by prohibiting the use of technology to displace union-covered jobs.
2.5 Examples of technological change agreements
Provides sample contract titles and references for complete technological change clauses drawn from a range of collective bargaining agreements.

2.1 Notification and information rights