California Labor President Lorena Gonzalez Responds to Governor’s AI Executive Order

Release Date: May 21, 2026

Media Contact: Shubhangi Domokos, [email protected]

California Labor President Lorena Gonzalez Responds to Governor's AI Executive Order

Mass job loss by artificial intelligence is not inevitable. California Federation of Labor Unions is fighting for strong AI guardrails to protect California jobs

Sacramento, CA - (Thursday, May 21, 2026) - California Federation of Labor Unions, AFL-CIO President Lorena Gonzalez released the following statement in response to Governor Gavin Newsom's May 21 executive order to prepare workers and businesses for potential AI disruption.

"We are glad that Governor Newsom is acknowledging the potential harm of AI on workers, but it's not enough to just study the issue, we have to take action now. Catastrophic job loss from AI is not inevitable, it's a political choice," said Lorena Gonzalez, President of California Federation of Labor Unions, AFL-CIO. "The one point of agreement we have with this EO, is that we can look at collective bargaining as a way that workers have bargained for protections on AI in the workplace. That database of AI provisions in collective bargaining agreements exists, and we have introduced bills that mirror those protections over the past few years, often being vetoed."

"As we recognize the existential threat AI poses, we must act with urgency to protect jobs and enact reasonable safeguards on AI for all workers before it's too late," President Gonzalez added.

The Governor's executive order calls for state agencies to identify how the collective bargaining process has produced positive outcomes for workers. The UC Berkeley Labor Center has developed a comprehensive database of provisions from over 175 collective bargaining agreements, drawn from a review of over 500 contracts, with protections on AI and tech in the workplace negotiated and won by labor unions.

While the Governor is calling for further study on how to prepare for AI-related job loss, the California Federation of Labor Unions is actively working to save those jobs, with a package of bills that, if signed into law by the Governor, would become the strongest AI guardrails in the nation, protecting workers and their jobs from the worst abuses of AI.

For more information, or to set up an interview with Lorena Gonzalez to discuss Gov. Newsom's executive order or the California Labor Movement's priorities on AI and the future of work, please contact Shubhangi Domokos, [email protected].

The California Federation of Labor Unions, AFL-CIO represents over 1,300 affiliated unions in California with over 2.3 million union members in trucking, retail, hospitality, janitorial, construction, health care, local and state government, education, arts and entertainment, warehousing and logistics, manufacturing, and a variety of other sectors.

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