Unions Must Be at Forefront of AI Battle, AFL-CIO President Says

AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler called on the US labor movement Tuesday to put itself at the front of the effort to stop job loss to artificial intelligence.

“We better be damn sure that the benefits and wealth created are shared by all of us,” Shuler said in a pre-Labor Day speech at the labor federation’s headquarters in Washington. “Let it make our lives easier, let it make our jobs better.”

“That is not how it feels right now,” she continued. “We feel afraid that technology is going to make us earn less, it’s going to make our jobs worse. It’s going to dehumanize us.”

Shuler’s remarks came on the 46th day of tandem strikes by screenwriters and actors, who are at a stalemate with studios over concern that workers would be replaced by AI-generated content. The AFL-CIO represents SAG-AFTRA, the actors’ union.

But it’s not just Hollywood. An AFL-CIO poll released Tuesday found 70% of workers worry about being replaced by AI and 59% believe a union could help. There was a notable divide along gender lines, with 77% of women saying they felt threatened by AI compared to 63% of men.

Shuler told reporters that the labor federation’s technology institute is researching effective language in labor contracts to top AI from killing jobs, and to inform its lobbying efforts.

“The guardrails on the policy front are being developed as a labor movement so that we are in the position to go to the Hill and say, ‘You’re going to talk about AI legislation? Well here’s what workers need,’” Shuler said.

AI can also erode working conditions, Shuler said. She pointed to unionized hotel workers whose daily schedules are set by an AI algorithm, prioritizing pricey rooms and making workers’ shifts more strenuous and unpredictable.

“We want technology to work for us,” she said. “We want it to actually make our jobs better, and we want to have a voice at the table and the ability to influence it.”