New AFL-CIO Tech Institute Report Finds Electronic Shelf Labels Cost Workers Billions in Lost Wages

Workers in New Jersey could suffer over $300 million in lost wages annually, with over 7,500 jobs lost 

Data comes as the Garden State launches the nation’s first-ever moratorium on ESLs

TRENTON, N.J. – Yesterday, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), which represent 1.2 million essential workers across North America, including 800,000 workers in the grocery industry, released a statement in response to a new report from the AFL-CIO Tech Institute that finds the widespread adoption of electronic shelf labels (ESLs) would cost workers in New Jersey over $300 million in lost wages and hours and mean 7,500 fewer jobs for the Garden State.

UFCW International Vice President Ademola Oyefeso said: 

“Grocery giants like to claim that electronic shelf labels will free up workers to serve customers directly, but this report shows this is not the case. Using studies and marketing material from the manufacturers pushing the technology, we know ESLs could actually cost workers and their families billions of dollars in lost income.

“When grocery store workers lose income, that means less money to spend at other stores and businesses in the community. ESLs also pose a threat to consumers by enabling surveillance pricing practices that would squeeze household budgets to their limit. Banning this technology should be a top priority for lawmakers at every level, like New Jersey has done with a moratorium on ESLs and a ban on predatory pricing practices outright. More states should follow suit to protect both shoppers and workers.”

BACKGROUND

• Examining studies from ESL manufacturers, Pricer and Vusion Group, the AFL-CIO Tech Institute calculated the national implications of widespread rollout of ESLs in American grocery stores. Under Pricer’s marketing estimates, workers would lose $6.9 billion in wages, and with Vusion’s marketing estimates, workers would lose $1.6 billion. In addition, job losses due to Pricer’s ESLs would reach 191,000, and Vusion’s would top 44,000. The study breaks down this impact state by state.
• Earlier this year, the UFCW launched the “Affordable Groceries and Good Jobs Campaign” to ban surveillance pricing and ESLs that enable the predatory practice in grocery stores. In the U.S. Senate, the Stop Price Gouging in Grocery Stores Act, led by Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), was introduced in February, alongside a House companion bill, led by Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.-12) and Representative Val Hoyle (D-Ore.-4).

• New Jersey signed the nation’s first-ever ban on surveillance pricing and moratorium on ESLs into law in July, with the Fair Price Protection Act. Twelve other states have introduced the UFCW’s model legislation to target the encroachment of AI-driven technology in grocery stores and deliver fair prices for families while preserving good, union grocery jobs.

• Polling found that 65 percent of American voters think ESLs and 68 percent think surveillance pricing will cause grocery prices to increase. Sixty-seven percent of voters are in favor of banning this technology and practices in grocery stores, with support cutting across party lines. Seventy-two percent of respondents said they do not have faith in grocery stores to use this technology responsibly.

• ESLs enable retailers to change prices instantaneously, and corporations are racing to deploy them. Walmart, for example, plans to replace traditional paper price tags with digital ones across all of its stores by the end of 2026. The corporation also recently secured patents to use shoppers’ personal data to update prices at scale.

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The UFCW International is the largest private sector union in the United States, representing 1.2 million workers and their families in grocery, meatpacking, food processing, healthcare, cannabis, retail, and other essential industries. UFCW members serve our communities in all 50 states, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Learn more about the UFCW at ufcw.org.