Ford Foundation
Building worker’s power to shape public sector AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies are rapidly evolving and complex issues that have wide-ranging implications across sectors and workplaces. While there are overarching concerns, union and policy responses are more effective when tailored to reflect the specific contexts of different industries, technology applications, impact on workers, regulatory regimes and ethical concerns.
Experience and evidence indicates that many existing resources and training materials for reps and unions are general and high level, causing barriers for workers and unions to translate them into their contexts. Especially at this uncertain and early stage of AI, there is a related need for more sustained support to catalyse the confidence and capacity of unions to fully engage members, negotiate with employers and to develop and advocate policy.
Supported by the Ford Foundation, this 12 - 18 month project co-led by Connected by Data and the TUC proposes to begin addressing this need.
Initially, through a capacity building effort focused on a single strategically placed sector and group of unions. Then, drawing from learning and momentum gained, informing the TUC and Connected by Data’s policy development, advocacy and the sustainable scaling of capacity building across the wider movement.
Education is selected as the initial sector because:
- There is demonstrable demand from education unions
- There is high union density in education
- AI, digital technologies and EdTech is increasingly present in the sector
- There are clear routes to impact on public policy
- There is high public and political interest in the role of technology in education
This project will be co-led by a proven partnership that serves as a gateway to a broad coalition of labour and civil society organizations committed to advancing worker-centered AI implementation. As the national federation of UK trade unions representing 5.5 million workers across 48 affiliated unions, the TUC brings significant reach and institutional credibility. Connected by Data’s role as a strategic convenor of the Data and AI Civil Society Network (regularly bringing together over 80 participants from digital rights organizations, research institutions, and community campaigns).
Resources
A joint statement made by 10 unions representing education workers, produced as part of the Connected by Data and TUC project ‘Building educator’s power to shape AI‘
We are ten unions representing millions of educators across the UK – teachers, specialists, support staff, school leaders, and workers throughout the education system. Every day we support, teach and lead in schools, colleges, and universities across all jurisdictions of the UK.
As AI is being rolled out rapidly in education, there is an urgent need to ensure this is shaped by the expertise and professional judgement of these educators. We recognise that AI and education technology (EdTech) can complement human-centred education. But we know that AI cannot solve the education system’s deeper problems: underfunding, teacher shortages, overwhelming workloads, or the social and economic pressures educators face every day. And without clear guardrails, these technologies risk making existing problems worse and undermining both quality of education and students’ best interests.
To realise the potential that AI in education can offer, educators and their unions must be central to every stage of AI adoption, from policy formation and design, through procurement and deployment, to evaluation. All actors and institutions must ensure that AI and EdTech strengthens, not replaces or undermines, the vital relationships between all education workers and students.
We set out here the ways in which educator voice must be empowered from end to end, from the highest levels of regulation to decisions at local levels.