Labor Shift
A fair ai economy requires empowering workers
Silicon Valley marketers and data center landlords hype AI as the most significant economic transformation since the Industrial Revolution. Whether that’s true or not, CEOs and corporations are acting like it is — and we’re seeing the consequences in how they treat their workers. 90,000 tech workers have lost their jobs in the first four months of 2026. Employers cited AI in nearly 28,000 announced job cuts in the first quarter of 2026 alone, more than double the same period last year. Companies from Amazon and Microsoft to Block and Oracle have explicitly tied their layoffs to AI deployment. And across industries, workers are being surveilled, scheduled, and judged by tools they had no say in choosing and have no power to challenge.
The bosses have new tools. Wisconsinites deserve some of their own.
No robo bosses
Humans must make employment decisions
Employees have the right to know when automated tools are being used to make employment-related decisions. All use of automated tools to make decisions about hiring, firing, and promotion require accompanying input from a human manager and disclosure to employees or interviewees. Employees have the right to request records associated with decisions, including tool output and management notes, or have their unions or labor associations empowered do so on their behalf.
Workers deserve privacy
Labor SHIFT strictly prohibits recording or automated surveillance tools from being used to monitor workers while they are off-duty or in “private areas” like breakrooms, restrooms, or locker rooms.
Ban survellance wages
Francesca Hong demands a ban on the use of automated tools to dynamically set wages or make scheduling decisions on short notice.
No layoffs on the public dime
Fran’s not going to fund ai layoffs
Employers that accept tax credits from WEDC or receive public contracts may not lay off Wisconsin employees due to the implementation of AI tools without providing for the creation of at least one job in Wisconsin at an equal or higher wage rate, unless that employer is subject to a Collective Bargaining Agreement in which automation implementation was a subject. Companies which fail to meet this standard will be subject to clawbacks of tax credits and contract recompetes.
Wisconsin contractors have responsibilities to wisconsin
Fran will prioritize “high road” procurement for public sector contracting and investment, where bids’ positive impact on the workforce is considered and given weight in scoring systems.
Bidders would receive higher scores if they provide a legally binding commitment to:
- Transition workers whose tasks are automated into new roles within the same contract.
- Provide a minimum of six months of severance and healthcare for any worker displaced specifically by the AI tools used to fulfill the contract.
Control the future for workers
Write a workers’ transition act
Labor SHIFT establishes a slate of pro-worker policies to: strengthen the safety net, build a robust base of public investment, and foster development of quality jobs rooted in Wisconsin.
Support worker-lead training and retraining
Fran will augment or reform the Wisconsin Fast Forward (WFF) retraining program to better support worker-led and designed programs in a post-AI future.
Invest in the long-term
Fran will move to create a Wisconsin Future Trust Fund that supports infrastructure projects and enterprises in Wisconsin. This fund would invest in local projects with long-term stable yields, bolstering the state economy and providing competitive returns for public employees. Work with other states to build interstate partnerships for regional infrastructure financing.
Workers at the table
Workplace technology requires worker input
Fran believes AI tools for monitoring, surveillance, scheduling, and wage-setting should be mandatory subjects of collective bargaining in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin has its workers’ backs
As governor, Fran will advocate for trigger laws authorizing the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission (WERC) and Wisconsin Employment Peace Act (WEPA) to assert jurisdiction over private sector labor relations in Wisconsin in the event that the NLRB ceases to do so. Extend the jurisdiction of WERC to appoint a mediator when FMCS cannot for private employers of all sizes. Explore resource pooling with Illinois, which has already established such a program to minimize excess costs to the state government.