A new report from the AFL-CIO Tech Institute warns that widespread adoption of electronic shelf labels in US grocery stores could eliminate tens of thousands of jobs and push food prices even higher, prompting the union to call for a nationwide ban. The labels, marketed to retailers as a cost-saving tool, are said to run on the same algorithmic pricing systems used for online "surveillance pricing", where costs shift based on shoppers' personal data, raising fears that supermarkets could adopt rapid, targeted price changes at scale.

The analysis, based on manufacturers' own marketing materials, estimates the labels could cost workers between $1.6bn and $6.9bn in lost wages annually and put between 44,223 and 191,633 jobs at risk, largely by cutting hours for staff who currently update paper price tags by hand. The findings arrive as US food prices have risen 33% over seven years, outpacing inflation and wages, and as states including Maryland, Connecticut and New Jersey have already passed laws banning surveillance pricing. A UFCW poll found 67% of Americans support banning digital price tags and surveillance pricing, with union officials warning the technology could erode decades of pricing trust between shoppers and stores.