Contact Your Representative — Seattle

Subject: Oversight Needed on Hidden Labor Exploitation in AI and a Fair Labor Certification Framework

Dear Representative Jayapal,

I am a constituent in Washington’s Seventh District and write to urge congressional attention to the unregulated labor practices underlying artificial-intelligence development.

Investigations show that major AI developers outsource data-labeling and content-moderation tasks to low-wage contractors in the Global South. Workers are routinely paid the equivalent of one to two dollars per hour to review explicit and psychologically harmful material used to train U.S.-based AI systems. These conditions raise significant human-rights, occupational-health, and transparency concerns.

To ensure that U.S. innovation reflects national values of fairness and accountability, I respectfully request that Congress:
1. Direct the Department of Labor or another appropriate agency to study labor conditions in the global AI supply chain and report findings to Congress.
2. Require AI firms contracting with the federal government to disclose where and under what conditions their data-annotation labor is performed.
3. Explore creation of a Fair Labor AI Certification—an independent mechanism verifying that model developers pay living wages, provide mental-health protections, and allow worker representation.

Such measures would place the United States at the forefront of ethical technology governance while safeguarding the people whose unseen labor sustains the AI economy.

Sincerely,
[Your Full Name]
[Street Address]
Seattle, WA 981[ZIP]

Subject: Establish Federal Standards to Prevent Labor Exploitation in Artificial-Intelligence Development

Dear Senators Murray and Cantwell,

I am a resident of Seattle and wish to call attention to the absence of federal oversight concerning the global labor practices that support large-scale artificial-intelligence systems.

Evidence indicates that U.S. technology companies employ offshore contractors—primarily in Africa and South Asia—to label and moderate data used to train AI models. Many workers perform psychologically hazardous tasks for sub-poverty wages and without adequate safeguards. These practices conflict with the nation’s commitment to ethical innovation and fair labor.

I urge the Senate to consider legislation that would:
• Mandate transparency in AI data-sourcing and annotation labor, including disclosure of contractor locations, wages, and health protections;
• Direct NIST or the Department of Commerce to develop a Fair Labor AI Certification framework, administered by an independent body, to recognize compliant organizations; and
• Condition federal procurement and research funding on adherence to these standards.

By embedding labor accountability into AI governance, Congress can promote technological progress that is both competitive and humane.

Respectfully,
[Your Full Name]
[Street Address]
Seattle, WA 981[ZIP]