Filed in July, Initiative Petition 41 is backed by the Oregon AFL-CIO, a coalition of labor groups representing about 300,000 Oregon workers.
“We have been consistently concerned about the impacts of technology and automation on the livelihoods of working people, especially when they have no voice in how technology is used in their workplaces,” Graham Trainor, president of the Oregon AFL-CIO, said in a statement. “You can see the expansion of self-checkout machines in stores across the country and in Oregon.”
He said jobs are lost as a result.
The AFL-CIO contends self-checkout kiosks make customers feel socially isolated, particularly elderly people, and that the kiosks let stores rely more on part-time workers and leave workers “feeling devalued.” They also say self-checkout stands make it easier for minors to buy alcohol and for people to steal from stores.
But these days, there are cameras everywhere, and most self-checkout kiosks are monitored by floor employees as well, so Big Labor's arguments are just silly. The kiosks I've used flag alcohol purchases, which must be approved by a floor employee before you can proceed with checkout. So Big Labor's argument in that regard is fallacious as well as silly.
What are their next targets - ATMs and machines that sell postage stamps?
