Unions Urge Senators to Remove Ban on State-Level AI Accountability Laws from Budget Reconciliation Bill

On Wednesday, the AFL-CIO and 32 national labor organizations called on senators to remove a dangerous provision from the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act that would ban states from passing or enforcing laws protecting workers from the threats artificial intelligence (AI) poses to their rights, jobs and safety.

In a new letter, the AFL-CIO and labor organizations urge the Senate to remove a reckless provision included in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation’s text of the reconciliation bill that would overrule state and local laws passed to protect their workforces from the harm of unchecked AI and ban states from taking any further legislative action for 10 years.

The unions write: “[This provision] would endanger progress in the states and silence local voices responding to real-world harms from worker surveillance and algorithmic firing, to automated price and wage manipulation that undermines economic fairness, to deepfakes and disinformation that undermine safety and public trust, and to dangerous experimentation with AI-enabled automation systems. [...] With Congress failing to enact meaningful AI regulation, states remain our last line of defense. We urge you to oppose this dangerous provision and allow states to do their jobs.” Read more here!