New Coalition Examines Job Displacement Risks in Post-Automation World

Employers, workers, policymakers, and think tanks have begun raising concerns that the push toward automation is going to leave a lot of people without a job--raising loads of ethical and societal questions in the process. With these concerns in mind, a new coalition--co-founded by the National Restaurant Association along with the Littler Workplace Policy Institute and Prime Policy Group--is picking up momentum. The Emma Coalition will study what it calls "technology-induced displacement of employees," or TIDE, and develop ideas for how employers and employees can prepare for and adapt to the effects of increasing automation. "Government, industry, and policymakers all have an opportunity to examine TIDE issues today, and forge consensus around policies that can help us prepare in advance for the technology and workforce of the future," said Shannon Meade, the National Restaurant Association's vice president of public policy and the new coalition's executive director, in comments to Restaurant Business. The coalition is named for the granddaughter of one of the founders.