San Jose workers form tech coalition

Dozens of workers, union leaders and community organizers gathered outside San Jose City Hall on Tuesday to launch the People’s Tech Coalition, a new South Bay alliance aimed at shaping how artificial intelligence and surveillance tools are used at work. The coalition said it wants legal protections at the local and state level, with a focus on worker control over personal data, limits on algorithmic management and guarantees that employees have a say before new systems are deployed. The launch comes as San Jose continues to promote itself as a public-sector AI leader and as local labor groups press for binding guardrails in city contracts. ### Who showed up at City Hall, and what are they trying to build? The People’s Tech Coalition includes South Bay unions, community organizations, nonprofits, youth groups and residents, according to San José Spotlight’s Sept. 1 report on the launch. Organizers described it as an industry-spanning effort to respond to worker fears about job displacement and workplace disruption tied to rapid technology rollouts. (sanjosespotlight.com) Maria Noel Fernandez, executive director of Working Partnerships USA in San Jose, said at the rally that workers should be the ones deciding how technology is used “in our workplaces, our schools, our hospitals” and on “our street.” Fernandez said the coalition believes collective action can shape technology so it improves daily life rather than harming workers. (sanjosespotlight.com) ### What protections is the coalition asking for? The coalition is demanding stronger guardrails around AI tools in the workplace, more control over workers’ personal data and guarantees that workers will have input into decisions about new technology, Fernandez said. The group’s agenda also targets algorithmic surveillance, which organizers said is already changing working conditions in security, public service and other sectors. (sanjosespotlight.com) Tajinder Singh, a security officer and SEIU-USWW board member, said at the rally that security companies track guards through mobile apps and cameras installed in their cars. “We have no privacy,” Singh said, describing monitoring that he said can include in-car conversations. ### Why is San Jose part of this fight? San Jose has been an early adopter of generative AI in city government and started the GovAI Coalition in 2023 to help public agencies develop standards for responsible AI use. (sanjosespotlight.com) The city says the coalition’s mission is to enable public-sector AI to serve the public good through standards, resource sharing and advocacy, while also acknowledging risks tied to privacy, discrimination and accountability. The city also says it reviews AI-powered technology acquisitions for privacy, fairness and reliability, and that new AI tools must go through Information Technology Department approval. San Jose’s public guidance says the city aims to use AI to improve services while protecting privacy, equity and trust. (sanjosespotlight.com) ### How does this connect to union contract talks? AFSCME Local 101, which represents 3,400 city employees, said in March that it had introduced contract proposals requiring the city not to use AI to replace workers, limiting AI in hiring and performance monitoring, and creating a joint city-union oversight committee to review technical systems before deployment. Those demands were folded into broader labor negotiations over wages, benefits and working conditions. (sanjoseca.gov) Demetria Machado, chief of staff in the City Manager’s Office, told San José Spotlight in March that the city understood staff concerns and was taking what she called a “thoughtful and responsible approach” to artificial intelligence. That earlier dispute helps explain why labor organizers now want safeguards written into labor and procurement agreements rather than left to voluntary policy. (sanjosespotlight.com) ### What does the coalition want to change first? One of the coalition’s first campaigns is support for California Senate Bill 947, the “No Robo Bosses Act,” which Fernandez said would bar AI systems from making discipline or termination decisions without human oversight. Organizers said state legislation is only one track, and that local contracting and city labor agreements are another target. (sanjosespotlight.com) San Jose’s next public milestones on AI are already on the calendar. The city’s GovAI Coalition Summit is scheduled for Dec. 9-11, 2026, at the San Jose Convention Center, and local unions are continuing to press for worker protections as city AI procurement and contract discussions move ahead. (sanjoseca.gov) (sanjosespotlight.com)