NEW REPORT: ELECTRONIC SHELF LABELS THREATEN BILLIONS IN WAGE LOSSES FOR U.S. GROCERY WORKERS

AFL-CIO Tech Institute analysis reveals the massive costs imposed on consumers and workers 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the AFL-CIO Tech Institute released a new policy brief, Priced Out, Pushed Out: Electronic Shelf Labels Raise Prices and Shrink Paychecks, highlighting how widespread adoption of Electronic Shelf Labels (ESLs) in grocery stores is contributing to rising grocery prices and may threaten grocery store workers’ livelihoods. The brief contains a new Tech Institute analysis of ESL developers' own marketing materials, showing that universal adoption of ESLs in U.S. grocery stores could cost workers between $1.6 billion and $6.9 billion in lost wages annually and impact between 44,223 and 191,633 jobs. The brief – which includes state-specific analysis of economic impact – argues that policymakers must take urgent action to protect consumers and grocery store workers by banning ESLs.

While ESL developers publicly market their products as a win-win that frees up grocery workers to spend more time helping customers, the claim is unsupported by evidence. ESL makers are selling these systems to retailers explicitly as a tool to drastically cut labor costs, automate inventory tasks, and reduce hours. As the brief illustrates, the impact of widespread adoption of ESLs would harm workers and customers alike.

"Grocery workers are the backbone of our communities, yet the rapid, unchecked deployment of ESLs threatens to eliminate jobs and billions in wages, while potentially driving up families’ grocery bills," said Lauren McFerran, Executive Director of the AFL-CIO Tech Institute. "Policymakers face a narrowing window to stop retailers from implementing this technology to harm both workers and shoppers."

To prevent ESLs from stripping away crucial income and hollowing out the retail workforce, Priced Out, Pushed Out urges lawmakers to permanently ban the use of ESLs.

###

The AFL-CIO Tech Institute works at the intersection of technological innovation in the workplace, centering worker knowledge, expertise, and interests in our modern innovation-based economy and in public services, with the goal of ensuring that technological change benefits everyone.