Unifor school bus drivers ratify deal limiting AI surveillance

Unifor members have ratified an agreement limiting artificial intelligence (AI)-driven surveillance – the first in the sector.

The new collective agreement for school bus drivers at Stock Transportation offers HR professionals an early example of how unions are seeking to regulate algorithmic monitoring and discipline in the workplace.

Unifor Local 4268 members ratified a three-year deal that delivers wage increases and detailed conditions on the use of a new camera and monitoring system.

AI adoption in workplaces is creating risks for psychosocial working conditions, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), as it called for protections to address the impact of AI on the world of work.

AI surveillance framework in the new agreement

A key element of the deal is a new letter of agreement governing Stock Transportation’s move from its existing DriveCam system to the Samsara camera and monitoring platform. The letter sets rules on how AI-generated data and recorded footage can be used in managing drivers.

The letter states that automated alerts, risk scores and AI-generated driver ratings will not be the sole basis for discipline, and requires investigation and review of video footage before any action is taken. This embeds human review into the disciplinary process rather than allowing algorithms to determine outcomes on their own.

The Samsara provisions also prohibit the storage of biometric data that would allow facial recognition of drivers, set retention limits on video footage, restrict access to footage, limit live viewing, and confirm the union’s right to grieve. 

Tentative agreement

The Unifor members provide transportation in Toronto for the Toronto District School Board and Conseil scolaire Viamonde, including a significant number of students with special needs who rely on consistent, trained drivers. 

Members had voted 98% in favour of strike action on April 23 and were set to begin a legal strike at 12:01 a.m. on May 9 before a tentative agreement was reached. The ratification removed the immediate risk of disruption to student transportation.

The agreement provides across-the-board wage increases in each year of the three-year term, along with additional wage improvements for driver trainers. While specific wage figures were not disclosed, Unifor said the package responds to members’ demands for “wages that respect the work”. 

Debbie Montgomery, President of Unifor Local 4268, said bargaining centred on both pay and technology. 

“Our bargaining committee stayed focused on the two issues that matter most to our members, wages that respect the work and protection from being managed by an algorithm,” she said. “Our members made it clear what they expected at the table, and they delivered the mandate that got us there.” 

Unifor says the agreement sets a clear precedent on AI surveillance in the school bus sector, signalling to HR leaders across industries that collective bargaining over monitoring technology, biometric data and algorithmic discipline is likely to intensify as more employers adopt similar systems.

AI safeguards for workers

On Jan. 22 and 23, Unifor representatives joined academics and policymakers at the International Conference: Artificial Intelligence at Work, which examined how AI is being introduced into workplaces and what safeguards are needed to protect workers.

There, Valerio De Stefano of Osgoode Hall Law School warned that algorithmic management leaves essential parts of work invisible while expanding unnecessary surveillance. Researchers there also proposed a regulatory or negotiated floor of protections for workers facing algorithmic management, calling for limits on data collection, transparency around how worker data is used, bans on fully automated terminations and guaranteed human review of major decisions — principles that map closely onto what ended up in the Stock Transportation letter of agreement. 

Samsara, the platform being introduced, publicly markets the technology on safety-and-coaching grounds rather than discipline. The company says its platform leverages AI and data from physical operations to provide actionable insights and helps organizations improve safety, efficiency, and reliability, and points to a safety report showing AI-enabled fleets reduced crash rates by nearly 75% over 30 months. Samsara itself has not publicly commented on the Unifor agreement. 

Employees are not being very honest about their use of AI tools in the workplace, according to a previous report. 

Here are some employers in Ontario that have implemented AI-powered surveillance, according to separate reports: