OPSEU/SEFPO President JP Hornick says unions are already fighting at the bargaining table to protect families, workers and communities from the fatal hallucinations and mass job cuts that are real risks of large-language model AI technologies like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot.
“I think we can all agree that we don’t want to have AI hallucinating our hospital or lab results,” Hornick said on CBC Ottawa’s Metro Morning on Oct 21, 2026.
“We’re creating an AI bargaining guide for each of our tables because the people actually working with these AIs need to have in voice in the development and deployment,” said Hornick.”Transparency and regulation are essential to avoiding a future where AI servers markets and shareholders rather than working people.”
Hornick stressed that OPSEU/SEFPO is not calling for a ban on AI.
“We need regulation around this,” Hornick said. “We’re not talking banning AI. We’re looking at augmentation versus automation. These technologies, which could be used in everything from college course to medical imaging, these are things that need to augment what humans do, not replace the humans themselves.”
“Bargained protections are essential for democratic input on the use of AI in our workplaces that will underpin a just transition to ensure that good union jobs stay in our communities.”