Skip to main content

Marriott, Alexa, & the Rising Fear of Automation in the Workplace



Automation in some industries has become a major talking point over the past few years as employers seek to offset rising labor costs by eliminating some jobs and replacing those workers with robots, machines, and other automated equipment.  It is worth noting that while manufacturing positions have a long history of automation, some positions (including in the hotel industry) have largely avoided being phased out by the increase in technology in the workplace. 

However, thousands of workers at Marriott have recently voted to authorize their union, Unite Here, to strike at locations stretching from Waikiki Beach to San Diego to Detroit and all the way to Boston.  Their reasoning?  In part, asking the hotel chain to adopt procedures to protect workers affected by new technologies.  This is likely due in part to an agreement that Marriott reached with Amazon to have the Echo put in hotel rooms across Marriott's properties.  For those unaware, the Echo is a voice controlled personal assistant device that responds to the name "Alexa".  This device can communicate with a person, play music, make lists, set alarms, and provide weather/traffic information, among other tasks.  It follows that the Echo could also be programmed to serve as a check in service, take room service orders, and make reservations at restaurant, among other tasks currently covered by hotel staff and concierges at hotels.

It is important to have some perspective here, as studies have found that each new robot deployed in the workplace cuts 5.6 jobs and reduces wages by .5 percent.  As well, last year the McKinsey Global Institute issued a report that projected technology would create a 30 percent decline in jobs in food service and lodging up to 2030.  That projected decline would be on par with the 38 percent decline in manufacturing jobs from 1960 to 2012 (although it is not clear that automation was entirely responsible for that 38 percent decline over that period of time).

With that being said, with the Echo gaining a foothold in the hotel chain, workers at Marriott (and elsewhere) are starting to take the threat of automation seriously.  Is there a solution that will make all parties happy?  Maybe, but maybe not.  For the time being, let this most recent example of automation in the workplace serve as a reminder to employers and employees alike:  More and more jobs are becoming vulnerable to automation.  As Unite Here's President put it, "The question is whether workers will be partners in its [the technology's] deployment or bystanders that get run over by it."



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NLRB: Discussion Among Employees About Tip Pooling is Protected Concerted Activity

  This Advice Memorandum from the National Labor Relations Board’s Associate General Counsel, Jayme Sophir, addressed whether employees which discussed and complained about tip pooling at work constituted protected concerted activity. In relevant part, an employer in New York operated a chain of steakhouses.  While tip pooling was in place at these steakhouses, some of the employees objected to it on the grounds that it was not transparent and improperly divided tips among the workers.  Employees were told not to complain or talk to each other about the tip pool and were told that doing so would endanger their jobs.  Despite the employer later attempting to provide some clarity as to how the tips were being divided, rancor still existed among some employees.  At one point, the employees were told by a general manager that some employees that had been talking about the tip pool were “cleared out” and the employer would continue to do so. In the Advice Memorandum,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Distance in a Non-Compete Agreement Measured "As the Crow Flies"

Ginn v. Stonecreek Dental Care - Court of Appeals, Twelfth Appellate District of Ohio Facts :  Dr. R. Douglas Martin ("Martin") sold his dental practice to an employee who worked there, Dr. David Ginn ("Ginn").  In doing so, Martin and Ginn signed a contract for the sale which contained a non-compete provision that prohibited Martin from engaging in business "within 30 miles" of the practice for five years starting from October 2010.  While Martin initially stayed on and worked with Ginn for a period, the relationship subsequently deteriorated between the two and Martin went to work for another dental office.  The new dental office was less than 30 miles away when measuring the distance in a straight line.  However, when driving between the offices, the distance was more than 30 miles. Ginn filed a claim against Martin on the grounds that Martin breached the non-compete.   At the trial court level, the court found that "within 30 miles"...
Post a Comment
Read more

Breaking: Labor Secretary Rumored to Be Leaving Administration

A few hours ago, word leaked out that Labor Secretary Marty Walsh (“Walsh”) is in the midst of negotiations to head up the NHL Players Union and leave his position at the Labor Department. Walsh, who has served as the sole Labor Secretary under President Biden, has taken part in a labor renaissance of sorts as support for organized labor has increased during his term as Labor Secretary (although the number of workers that have joined a union over the past two years has not grown as mush as some expected.)  He has also overseen the ongoing negotiations with rail workers over a new contract, although that matter is still on shaky ground and playing out as we speak. As for who might step into the vacant Labor Secretary role, there are already rumblings that President Biden should nominate Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su (a strong labor advocate) or even a progressive like Senator Bernie Sanders.  Until Walsh officially gives his notice, however, I would expect some/many potential...
Post a Comment
Read more