The Tech Institute Outlines Worker Priorities at Economy Summit

AFL-CIO Tech Institute Executive Director Lauren McFerran recently joined policymakers, journalists, and industry leaders as a featured speaker at POLITICO’s 2026 Economy Summit.

During the summit, experts and leaders discussed the most pressing economic themes of the year, focusing heavily on how rising costs, affordability anxiety, and emerging technologies like AI are impacting household budgets and the American workforce.

AFL-CIO Lauren McFerran said such economic pressures don’t necessarily have to lead to displacement. 

“There’s a lot of conversation here again that seemed to suggest that this is all inevitable: It might be pushed faster by economic cycles, there might be technological roadmaps,” she said. “These are all policy choices that we’re making. They’re business choices.”

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