This story is part of California Voices, a commentary forum aimed at deepening understanding of California and shining a spotlight on Californians directly affected by policies, or the lack thereof. Learn more here.
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When the Industrial Revolution began in 18th century England and machines replaced manual labor in the production of goods, many affected textile workers resorted to attacking the machines and shutting them down.
The rebels became known as Luddites, after the legendary Sherwood Forest character “General Ned Ludd” or “King Ludd,” and over the past 200 years the term has come to apply to anyone who resists the introduction of new technology, especially in the workplace.
Over the past half century, digital technologies have driven a new industrial revolution, completely changing the nature of work by disrupting old economic sectors and creating new ones.
When I began my journalism career 64 years ago, I and other reporters wrote our stories on paper using cast-iron Underwood typewriters, then an editor would read the “manuscript” in pencil and sometimes make corrections. Then workers in the typesetter's office would typeset it into metal type, and other workers would mount it on giant printing presses to turn it into metal printing plates, which printed the newspaper.
I’m writing this column today on a Hewlett-Packard computer, and nearly all of the information cited in this column has been gleaned from online sources, including bill details on congressional websites and videos from CalMatters’ Digital Democracy archives.
Once written, the columns are passed electronically to editors who use the same digital technology, and the finished pieces are published electronically on the Internet.CalMatters exists because of technology, but print newspapers are struggling to compete for advertising with digital rivals.
California has played a key role in the new technological revolution, but it has also been a center of resistance.
The bill I mentioned earlier is Senate Bill 1446, which passed the Senate earlier this year but is currently embroiled in a standoff in the House of Representatives between labor unions and retailers, particularly grocers.
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In recent years, supermarket operators have been introducing kiosks that allow customers to check out themselves, without having to queue for a staff member to physically handle the contents of their cart.
Previously, cashiers had to figure out the price of items that didn't have a listed price or refer to a paper price list. Technology in the form of barcodes not only speeds up checkout for cashiers, but also allows customers to scan their own items and pay with a credit card.
Some stores are experimenting with scanners that calculate purchase totals without handling each individual item, or identifying customers by scanning their hand and linking it to a pre-specified credit card.
Supermarket technology has reduced the number of employees needed to process checkouts, and SB 1446 aims to protect union members' jobs by limiting the use of self-service kiosks and setting specific staffing levels. It would also require grocery stores and other retailers to give 60 days' notice before implementing new technology such as “self-checkout robots, wearable sensors or scanners that eliminate, automate or electronically monitor an employee's primary job duties.”
The bill's author, Sen. Laura Smallwood Cuevas, a Los Angeles Democrat and former union organizer, and sponsors of the bill argued in an online press conference Tuesday that the bill is necessary to protect employee safety from thieves and aggressive customers, but it is clearly intended to protect store workers from being replaced by machines.
Grocery stores, on the other hand, argue that the bill would limit customer choice and impose operating costs that would be reflected in grocery prices.
This isn't the first time such legislation has emerged: A recent port renovation budget, for example, includes a clause that would prohibit the use of labor-saving automation, and with the advent of artificial intelligence, such clashes are likely to become more prevalent.
Luddism, apparently, was not limited to the British textile industry in the 18th century.
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