New York runs on food service workers. This May Day, let’s commit to protecting them.

Food service workers are the backbone of New York. The work they do gets us through our days, provides some of our best moments, and carries us through some of our worst.

And, in a city often defined by its art and culture, food service work has often allowed New Yorkers the flexibility to pursue their dreams while paying their rent. Like the rest of the city, New York’s art scene has long run on food service work.

But while much of food service work has stayed constant, one aspect of food service work has become increasingly salient within the past few years: It is largely resistant to AI takeover. At a time when AI is eliminating an estimated 16,000 American jobs per month, with employment rates for new graduates and in countless sectors cratering, food service jobs continue to rise.

Robots still can’t cook very well, and people would much prefer to interact with a human than a piece of metal. Identifying AI-resistant careers will be increasingly important in developing a society that is resilient to the changes that AI will bring.

At the same time, food service workers are historically among the most exploited workers in America.

They work long, grueling hours. They are mistreated. They are more likely to have their wages stolen. And they are legally allowed to be paid less than minimum wage.

Food service workers are also historically, and uncoincidentally, mostly not unionized. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 1.8 percent of food services workers are represented by a union.

Exploitation in the industry can flourish because most food service workers do not have the ability collectively to bargain for fair pay and decent working conditions.

As AI takes over more of our workforce, workers’ financial precarity will only increase, and food service roles will continue to expand. With fewer professional alternatives and (even) less financial stability, these roles will be even more vulnerable to exploitation, making this moment a crucial turning point in the fight to protect and unionize food service spaces.

The AI-driven evolution of our labor force has the potential to exacerbate all of the issues faced by workers like those in food service, and we have an obligation to get ahead of that curve and ensure food service workers are protected under the law and by their union.

New York needs food service workers and food service work more than ever. As AI explodes, we need jobs that are durable in an AI era.

As New York becomes less and less affordable for re, we need ways for artists to be able to pay their rent. And, let’s be honest: sometimes we need a treat, made and served to us by a human.

This May Day, we must commit to making New York a state that works for food service workers. This means passing legislation that protects union organizers from retaliation, that cracks down on wage theft, that eliminates subminimum wage for tipped workers, and that protects workers from the employer surveillance panopticon.

It also means helping food service workers unionize with unions like UNITE HERE Local 100, which represents over 17,000 food service workers across New York and New Jersey, including workers from Barclays Center, to Madison Square Garden, all the way up to Yankee Stadium. Their work, like countless food service workers across the city, is as New York as it gets–and the New York State government needs to have their back.

It’s time more restaurants, bars, cafeterias, delis and venues unionized to protect their workers, and that elected officials follow the lead of union organizers in passing legislation to protect all of New York’s workers. And it’s time New Yorkers of all stripes who rely on food service workers to get through their day support their local restaurant, bar, or cafeteria union.

Happy May Day.