Unions prepare for battle over AI in 2028 elections
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Illustration: Allie Carl / Axios
MINNEAPOLIS — The nation's most powerful labor unions have a message for potential 2028 contenders for president: It's us or the machines.
Why it matters: AI anxiety dominated much of the conversation at the AFL-CIO's national convention here last week, as leaders from the group's 65 affiliated unions called on politicians to impose significant AI regulations.
- Those planning a run for the White House are likely to have trouble satisfying both business-friendly Democrats and the party's progressive base, which is increasingly wary of or hostile to AI.
State of play: Unions see opportunities for union labor to build data centers and other AI projects, but believe that both parties are falling short in plans to protect workers from the consequences of AI.
- "You're either with workers or you're with millionaires," AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler told Axios. "There's just been a dearth of leadership in terms of elected officials really prioritizing this and putting workers at the center."
The AFL-CIO didn't invite potential 2028 candidates to the convention to avoid overly politicizing the event, but union leaders had plenty of criticism of their AI policies.
- Chrissy Lynch, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, said California Gov. Gavin Newsom's recent executive order on AI was "not helpful."
- "It says the right things, but it's just more research, and what we need is action," she argued.
But Lynch and others made clear they don't support a moratorium on building data centers that's supported by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
- Building trade unions in particular see constructing data centers as a way to provide good-paying jobs, and believe that a moratorium would hurt their members.
- Lynch also argued that "we can build data centers responsibly. These data centers I think are going to be both fueling the hospitals and the universities that need this stuff. It's part of our digital infrastructure."
Zoom in: On Tuesday, union leaders spoke under a large banner declaring "AI should work for us" as they railed against AI-powered technology such as surveillance pricing, "bossware" programs, digital replicas, synthetics, data harvesting, discriminatory algorithms, and more.
- Jamie Brown, president of National Nurses United, told the convention that "for far too long, workers have been promised that new technology will make our workplaces, our lives and our work easier, not harder. But that promise has rung hollow, made by billionaires with no interest in our well-being, and every interest in de-skilling and replacing us."
- The unions easily passed a resolution declaring "Our message to elected leaders is clear and unequivocal: You can either stand with Big Tech's drive to maximize profits at all cost, or you can stand with working people in supporting responsible and careful technological change. But you can't do both."
Between the lines: Many Democrats eyeing 2028 runs have been calling for more AI regulation, as polls indicate that voters are increasingly anxious about AI.
- That's been a reversal for some governors who previously had embraced many AI-related projects, and the jobs and business they could bring to their states.
AI is dividing Republicans as well.
- Although the Trump administration has been largely hands-off toward AI companies, potential GOP White House contenders such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley have been increasingly critical of the technology.
