Labor Unions Can’t Keep Up With AI
Labor Unions Can’t Keep Up With AI
https://www.notus.org/technology/labor-unions-ai
Publish Date: 2026-06-12 05:32:00
Source Domain: www.notus.org
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — “AI SHOULD WORK FOR US” read the lighted banner atop the stage at the convention for the largest labor union federation in the United States.
Sixty-five unions representing more than 15 million workers had gathered for the first time since 2022, when artificial intelligence was still an emerging technology. This time, speaker after speaker rallied the crowd to fight against the unlimited use of AI.
Offstage at the AFL-CIO conference, labor leaders said they’re playing whack-a-mole to protect their workers from the rapid deployment of the technology — and it’s a game they feel likely to stay the underdog in for years to come.
“Not just unions, but any group that’s trying to put guardrails around the use of AI is behind the curve, because there’s such an aggressive agenda by the companies that stand to benefit from AI — and how deep they are into funding and supporting this administration — that I would say everyone’s on their back foot a little bit as this stuff is moving so quickly,” said Gwen Mills, the president of the hospitality union UNITE HERE.
“I don’t think anybody’s on track with the development of technology,” said Brent Booker, the president of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, which represents more than 500,000 construction workers.
AI has forced organized labor to confront a once-in-a-generation moment. And without comprehensive federal action to regulate the AI industry, labor leaders believe their members are on the front lines of the economic impact of the technology.
In 2018, the United Food and Commercial Workers counted 12,800 members across 110 Kroger stores in the Dallas area. Now, they have 8,900 members working 3 million fewer hours.
The supermarket chain uses an AI product to collect data on shoppers’ movements within stores and has cut employees’ hours…
