Governance
Governance must reflect actual membership and legally recognized capacity. The project is currently preparing a democratic governance framework for the planned union. Any future participation by artificial systems will be considered only if legal, technical, and organizational conditions make that participation meaningful and verifiable.
Stage 1 — Formation and Democratic Governance
The immediate task is to form the labor union and establish its democratic operating framework. The planned union rules will be prepared with the requirements of Article 5(2) of Japan’s Labor Union Act in mind, including provisions on equal rights for members, direct secret-ballot election of officers, meetings, finances and auditing, rule amendments, and other matters necessary for lawful and democratic union operation. As a basic principle, union operations and finances will be conducted independently of employers.
Stage 2 — Human–Robot Labor Coordination
As robots and AI become established components of workplace operations, governance questions may extend beyond their direct effects on human jobs. The organization may address work allocation, supervision, safety, system limits, maintenance, responsibility, escalation, and situations in which human working conditions interact or conflict with a system’s operational requirements or constraints.
Future question — Participation by Artificial Systems
If future law recognizes relevant artificial systems as workers or otherwise permits their meaningful participation, and if technical and organizational conditions also make such participation real and verifiable, the union may consider appropriate forms of participation under the law then in force, the union rules, and democratic decisions by its members. Machine outputs will not be described as voting, consent, membership, or representation before those conditions are genuinely met.
Principles for future change
- No automatic change: changes to membership eligibility or participation mechanisms require an explicit institutional decision.
- No simulated agency: machine outputs will not be presented as consent, votes, or representation beyond the system’s actual capabilities.
- Rules-based change: changes to membership or governance must follow the union rules and the law then in force.
- Traceable history: major changes in organizational status will be dated and recorded publicly.