What Artificial Intelligence Means for Education Staff

By Sarah Wofford

Artificial intelligence is here to stay, and as unionists, we should feel just as confident in harnessing the power of AI as we do in harnessing the power of our collective voices.

Every contract bargained reflects the mores, values and priorities of a union. As we look to broaden our subjects of bargaining, AI must be included. There may be skeptics thinking, “AI won’t change my work. Our priorities need to remain focused on bread-and-butter issues like affordability, student safety and staffing.”

I hear you, and while I understand that perspective, we cannot ignore AI’s impact on those values and priorities. AI will affect affordability, student safety and staffing, and it is our job to ensure any workplace changes are made with us and not to us.

Classified employees—or school and college support staff, as many call them—are increasingly encountering AI on the job. Often, AI is being incorporated without input from the workers.

• Affordability: As workers in Oregon, a major hub for tech companies, we’ve watched electricity costs rise for six consecutive years. A significant driver of these increases is the rapid expansion of energy-hungry data centers in our communities. These rising costs eat away at any wage gains we negotiate at the bargaining table.
• Student safety and advocacy: AI tools have been created to help draft individualized education programs for students with disabilities. While these tools may promise efficiency, they also introduce real risks. A system generating recommendations without ever knowing the student may miss critical context, undermining both privacy and the quality of support students receive.
• Staffing and workload: Across K-12 schools, colleges and universities, we are increasingly seeing employers point to AI as a reason not to hire clerical and other support staff. Instead of easing workloads, these tools are used to justify operating with fewer people, placing even more strain on already understaffed teams. Additionally, school cleaning ratios are now being decided by algorithm rather than actual custodial workloads driven by outbreaks of disease or infection that occur after large events or campus protests or because of high rates of transmission, as with measles. Cleaning staff are expected to adhere to strict ratios that do not account for extraordinary circumstances. Even our school and campus bus drivers — who do work often seen as “AI-proof” — are not exempt. Routes decided by AI rather than experience have left students in unfamiliar communities waiting for hours to be taken home.

AI’s impact is already being felt, and that reality can feel intimidating. But as a unionist, I know that the best response to fear is hope. Although AI can be confusing and even frightening, I see hope in its potential to make our lives and the lives of our students easier. In fact, I see AI in much the same way I’ve seen other technological shifts. The calculator, the television and the cellphone were all viewed as something to be feared rather than embraced with precautions. These tools, when used thoughtfully, improve our daily lives.

Artificial intelligence is at an important juncture. Will we, as organized workers, lead the way in shaping how AI is used to make our lives better? Or will we allow those decisions to be made for us?

Transforming AI from a potential villain into a helpful tool comes down to how we wield our power. In this new and confusing landscape, I don’t pretend to have all the answers. But I do believe there are clear first steps we can take together to maintain our power and productiveness.

1. Acknowledge reality.
   AI is not coming; it’s already here, and it is permeating nearly every aspect of our work and daily lives.
2. Build collective knowledge.
   We must educate ourselves about both the risks and the possibilities of AI. That means understanding not just how to use it, but when to question it and when to push back.
3. Demand a voice.
   Workers must have a seat at the table when it comes to how AI is procured, introduced, implemented, used and governed in our workplaces, especially when it involves our privacy and job protections.

We’ve already seen what happens when technology outpaces our ability to guide it. The rapid rise of social media reshaped how our students interact with each other and the world, often without foresight or guardrails. Now, schools across the globe are reacting with restrictions and bans, trying to manage the consequences after the fact. We should not make that same mistake in our use of AI.

This is a tool with enormous potential to improve our work and our lives, but only if it is introduced thoughtfully, transparently and with worker input at every step. As union members and leaders, we have both an opportunity and a responsibility to shape this moment.

We deserve proper training — not only in how to use AI, but in understanding its ethical implications. We deserve safeguards that protect our jobs, our students and our communities. And most importantly, we deserve a meaningful voice in determining how this technology becomes part of our work.

AI is here to stay.

The question is not whether it will change the shape of our future, but whether we will have a say in how those changes affect our future.