Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1541535
2 PRODUCTION SOUND & VIDEO – Winter 2026 implementing AI. This blueprint outlines how employers can collaborate with unions to ensure that workers benefit from, rather than being harmed by AI. The eight principles published by the AFL-CIO are: 1. Strengthen labor rights and broaden opportunities for collective bargaining 2. Advance guardrails against harmful uses of AI in the workplace 3. Support and promote copyright and intellectual property protections 4. Develop a worker-centered workforce development and training system 5. Institutionalize worker voice within AI research and development 6. Require transparency and accountability in AI applica- tions 7. Model best practices for AI use with government pro- curement 8. Protect workers' civil rights and uphold democratic integrity President Matthew Loeb, Political Affairs Director Tyler McIntosh, Vice President and AI Chair Vanessa Holtgrewe, and I met collectively to provide input on these AI principles through the Department of Professional Employees, a coa- lition of unions affiliated with the AFL-CIO. Our feedback emphasized copyright and IP infringement issues, which were highlighted in the third principle on this list: 3. Support and promote copyright and intellectual property protections Workers in creative industries and sports face the continuing risk of seeing their works, their voices, and their likenesses stolen by generative AI. Without protections, AI may upend the livelihoods of professionals who rely on effective copyright and intellectual property rights to earn compensation and FROM THE PRESIDENT Let's talk about ... AI and Washington, D.C. This fall, I found myself in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, surrounded by policymakers, educators, labor advocates, and technologists as they debated the future of AI. Beyond the panels, the thread running through every room was the same: Workers need a real voice in how AI is built and deployed. In late September, I spoke at an academic collective help- ing college professors navigate AI in the creative sectors. I was surprised by how hesitant young artists are to integrate AI into their creative workflows. Some universities now require an introductory, freshman AI course. Other institu- tions are looking to the labor workforce and their collective bargaining agreements for guidance on how to support students, due to the lack of regulations at the federal level. Additionally, I was invited to attend the Bloomberg Beta [Going to Work] think tank, where leaders from the tech, labor, venture capital, and political arenas gather to dis- cuss real-world issues, including upskilling and reskilling, building a bipartisan pro-worker coalition, AI in primary school education, AI developments in China, and the chal- lenges of re-industrializing the US workforce, among other topics. Now more than ever, I have broadened my perspective and peripheral view on AI from our industry microcosm to the entire US labor force. Policy, as we know, can evolve fast. Earlier this year, Congress considered a provision in the budget reconcil- iation bill that would have banned states from enacting or enforcing AI protections for the next ten years. IATSE's Political Affairs department, led by Director Tyler McIntosh, mobilized members to contact their state senators and urge them to vote against this provision. On July 1, 2025, the Senate voted 99-1 to remove this provision from the legis- lation. This is just one of the many ways your PAC contribu- tions continue to establish a presence at the federal level. With the labor workforce having an authentic voice, Americans have the power to help shape the path forward to integrating technology safely and ethically. As published by the AFL-CIO, "AI should be about benefiting everyone, not just tech billionaires and corporate shareholders." On October 15, 2025, the AFL-CIO published Artificial Intelligence: Principles to Protect Workers, a set of guide- lines that prioritizes people and puts workers at the forefront of the research and development process for