Collaboration purpose and scope
Negotiating Tech: An Inventory of U.S. Union Contract Provisions for the Digital Age
Participation in technology governance
5.1 Collaboration purpose and scope
Union contracts frequently establish collaborative goals and activities to guide the governance of workplace technologies. This part of the inventory focuses on the specific purposes negotiated for joint committees, workgroups, partnerships, and other participatory structures. The examples are drawn from a wide range of agreements and reflect the varied approaches unions have pursued across sectors to shape technology-related decision-making at multiple stages of the technology lifecycle. Because original contract provisions are often lengthy, complex, or tailored to specific organizational contexts, they have been paraphrased to enhance clarity, highlight their core intent, and enable easier comparison across agreements.
The content is organized into the following categories:
- 5.1.a Technology system research and planning: Involvement in early-stage development, evaluation, and strategic planning around new or emerging technologies.
- 5.1.b Technological change planning and effects analysis: Review of how technological change affects job structures, work processes, and employment conditions.
- 5.1.c Technology training and retraining program development: Joint development of training, upskilling, and transition support to prepare workers for evolving roles.
- 5.1.d Technology health and safety assessment and oversight: Participation in identifying and addressing health, safety, ergonomic, and environmental risks associated with technology.
- 5.1.e Technology implementation and post-implementation evaluation: Collaboration to monitor technology rollout, gather feedback, and recommend improvements based on system performance and user experience.
- 5.1.f Technology system review and oversight: Ongoing monitoring, governance, and approval processes for technology systems, especially those with safety or data implications.
- 5.1.g Technology system problem resolution: Joint efforts to identify and resolve issues arising from the use of technology, including accessibility for workers with disabilities, usability, and the redistribution of work.
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