Politico Union Challenges AI Deployment in Groundbreaking Dispute
Politico, one of the first newsrooms to secure a union contract including AI deployment rules, is now gearing up for a pioneering legal dispute with its management. The PEN Guild, representing Politico and its sister publication E&E News, alleges that the media outlet has violated the AI provisions in their contract, potentially setting a significant precedent for journalist input on AI usage in newsrooms.
Last year, Politico began publishing AI-generated live news summaries during major political events such as the Democratic National Convention and the US vice presidential debates. In March, it launched a suite of AI tools called Policy Intelligence Assistance for paid subscribers, developed in partnership with Capitol AI, a Y Combinator-backed startup. Politico executive Rachel Loeffler described the initiative as “seamlessly integrating generative AI with our unmatched policy expertise.”
However, Politico union members claim these tools breached their contract in multiple ways and are taking the dispute to arbitration this July. “The company is required to give us 60 days notice of any use of new technology that will materially and substantively impact bargaining unit job duties,” states PEN union chair and E&E public health reporter Ariel Wittenberg. The union asserts that it received neither notice nor an opportunity to bargain in good faith over Politico’s AI rollout, and that the tools perform work typically done by human staff.
“This isn’t just a contract dispute, it’s a test of whether journalists have a say in how AI is used in our work,” says Newsguild president Jon Schleuss. “With no federal rules in place, union contracts remain one of the only enforceable frameworks for AI accountability on a national scale.”
Politico maintains that it “takes the obligations under its collective bargaining agreement seriously” and “will continue to honor those obligations while also rapidly embracing transformative technologies such as AI,” according to spokesperson Heather Riley. The publication’s contract stipulates that AI must be used in accordance with its journalistic ethics standards.
Union members express concerns about appropriate human oversight of AI content. In one instance, an AI-generated live summary used language about immigration that human writers are not permitted to use, publishing phrases like “criminal migrants” during vice presidential debates coverage. “There were also factual errors that the AI inserted that night,” alleges Arianna Skibell, the union’s vice chair for contract enforcement. The AI incorrectly attributed actions taken by the Biden administration to Kamala Harris.
Union members believe the AI-generated posts were handled in a manner violating Politico’s correction and takedown policies. They also claim that one of Politico’s paid premium AI tools for generating policy reports has produced incorrect information in the past. For example, a March 2025 report on abortion rights generated by the Policy Intelligence Assistance tool was written as if the constitutional right was still in effect, despite Politico’s human reporters breaking the news in 2022 that the Supreme Court had overturned Roe v. Wade.
The dispute highlights the challenges faced by news organizations integrating AI tools. Politico’s parent company, Axel Springer, is among several news giants that have entered into multiyear licensing deals with OpenAI, alongside Vox Media, The Atlantic, and WIRED’s parent company Condé Nast. While AI has been used to produce award-winning journalism, it has also led to errors and controversy in some cases.
The outcome of Politico’s fight could have industry-wide implications. “AI decisions have been few and far between,” notes labor lawyer Alek Felstiner. “An arbitrator’s decision here could magnify the importance beyond what it would normally carry, as it’s one of the first on this critical issue.”
The entertainment industry has faced similar battles, with Hollywood unions securing AI protections in recent contracts. As media companies continue to integrate more powerful AI tools into newsrooms, often in collaboration with tech companies, the writers and reporters on staff frequently have little say over the technology’s adoption. The Politico dispute may help change this dynamic by setting a precedent across the industry.
