Local 153 Executive Board Member, Lynn Brooks, meets with Governor Kathy Hochul to discuss the worrying expansion of AI in the workplace
(Left) Governor Kathy Hochul, speaks at a press conference with the women who participated in her workforce session, including 153 Executive Board member Lynn Brooks. (Right) Lynn at the NYC office of Governor Kathy Hochul. Photo courtesy Local 153.
This week on August 19, 2026, our Local 153 executive board member Lynn Brooks participated in an artificial intelligence workforce roundtable with Governor Kathy Hochul. This workforce discussion marks the beginning of conversations the Governor hopes to have with different women in the workforce about the impacts of AI. Lynn brought her perspective on AI to the Governor from her experience in the healthcare industry.
Lynn is a 23 year member of Local 153 where she works at a healthcare company, Highmark, helping members navigate benefits and claims. When she talks to members, she is helping them navigate difficult moments where someone might be receiving a cancer diagnosis. In that moment, she is both compassionate and empathetic. She treats the person on the other end of the phone as a member of her family as she is supporting them navigating their benefits. She further emphasized, AI cannot support people in some of their darkest moments, only human to human compassion can.
Lynn emphasized the need for the Governor to pass legislation around how AI will be implemented. This goes hand in hand with discussing how employers should be mandated to negotiate with unions about how AI will affect the workplace. She states “I see some benefits to AI, but I see it as a tool to assist our families and workers, it is not to do our jobs and replace us.” Local 153 is working with members like Lynn to highlight challenges in the workplace that can be combatted with strong union contracts and strong AI regulations.
Read more from Axios, “Kathy Hochul’s business-friendly data center plan” by Maria Curi. From the article:
“On Wednesday, Hochul held a roundtable with women whose jobs are being directly impacted by AI as part of a workforce development initiative to ready New Yorkers.
"You need human interaction in some things. You may get a phone call that someone just got the worst news of their life and they're crying and I'm trying to help them understand this cancer diagnosis. That they may need radiation," said Lynn Brooks, a claims processor for Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York and union steward.
"AI is a tool. I see the need for it. But I don't want it to replace the family," Brooks added, referring to her team.”
Stay tuned for more updates regarding Local 153’s plan to address the growing concern of AI in the workplace!