\u201cWe must be the ones who decide how technology is used in our workplaces, our schools, our hospitals, in our street \u2014 not corporations, not CEOs,\u201d Maria Noel Fernandez, executive director of San Jose advocacy group Working Partnerships USA, said at the rally. \u201cWe believe that by coming together, we can decide how technology makes our lives better, not worse.\u201d<\/p>\n
The coalition is demanding more control over workers\u2019 personal data, stronger guardrails<\/a> around AI tools in the workplace and guarantees that workers will have input into decisions around new technologies<\/a>.<\/p>\n As one of its first campaigns, the coalition is supporting state bills that aim to set guardrails around the use of AI management tools, Fernandez said. For example, Senate Bill 947, the \u201cNo Robo Bosses Act,\u201d prohibits the use of AI systems to make discipline or termination decisions without human oversight.<\/p>\n Over the course of the rally, a series of workers described other uses of new high-tech tools that they said are already changing their jobs for the worse.<\/p>\n Security officer Tajinder Singh, who serves on the board of SEIU-USWW, said security companies track guards throughout their shifts using mobile apps as well as cameras installed in their cars.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have no privacy. If you have a conversation in the car, they can listen to it,\u201d Singh said during the rally. \u201cThey can have such surveillance on us, it feels unsafe for the driver. They feel scared when driving. This is not freedom. It feels like being in jail. My officers need to feel safe, so we can focus on the safety of others. That\u2019s our job.\u201d<\/p>\n Organizers said the coalition will also aim its advocacy work<\/a> at technology concerns<\/a> raised outside of the workplace<\/a>. They pointed to data collection tools used to set rental prices, as well as the use of automated license plate readers<\/a> to surveil drivers, a controversial practice that has pitted law enforcement authorities against privacy rights advocates.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryday people are incredibly worried about the impact of AI and technology on their everyday lives,\u201d Fernandez told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cThey just don\u2019t know what to do about it. So the tech coalition is about talking to people, having conversations in our communities, in our workplaces, and then moving to action and actually demonstrating to our elected officials that they need to act now.\u201d<\/p>\n As protracted contract negotiations<\/a> drag on between San Jose administrators and several of the city\u2019s public unions, a key sticking point has been workers\u2019 demands that the city offer guarantees that new AI tools will not be used to downsize the workforce.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IMG_6985-1024x768.jpg\")
Maria Noel Fernandez, executive director of the South Bay chapter of Working Partnerships USA, said workers should have a greater say in how companies and public agencies deploy technology. Photo by Keith Menconi.<\/p>\n![\"In-line](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1788321970_517_interactive-321838904008.png\")
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