A new report from the AFL-CIO Tech Institute finds that widespread adoption of electronic shelf labels (ESLs) could cost workers up to $6.9 billion in lost wages and hours, and result in as many as 191,000 fewer jobs. The report, titled “Priced Out, Pushed Out: Electronic Shelf Labels Raise Prices and Shrink Paychecks” urges policymakers to protect consumers and grocery store workers by banning ESLs.
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.
“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,” said UFCW International Vice President Ademola Oyefeso. “Banning this technology should be a top priority for lawmakers at every level, as New Jersey has done with a moratorium on ESLs and an outright ban on predatory pricing practices. More states should follow suit to protect both shoppers and workers.”
Earlier this year, the UFCW launched the “Affordable Groceries and Good Jobs Campaign” to ban surveillance pricing and the ESLs that enable it 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).
States have also proposed their own legislation, with New Jersey leading the way by signing the Fair Price Protection Act into law in July. The bill bans surveillance pricing and institutes a moratorium on ESLs. Twelve other states have introduced the UFCW’s model legislation to curb the spread of AI-driven pricing technology in grocery stores and deliver fair prices for families while preserving good, union grocery jobs.