NATIONAL — From April 14 to 22, the AFL-CIO partnered with David Binder Research to survey registered voters across the U.S. with the purpose of gauging opinions of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the workplace.
Of the 1,588 total individual participants — including 1,224 registered voters and 364 union workers — 90% of working people said they not only favored job and privacy protections from AI but that they also trusted unions over Democratic and Republican parties to deliver them, according to a press release from the AFL-CIO on May 12.
David Binder Research — a research agency, which analyzes new technologies and techniques to provide to political, government and private sector clients, according to its website — collaborated with the AFL-CIO’s “Workers First Initiative on AI” to complete this survey. Established in October 2015, the Workers First Initiative on AI is a campaign, which was deemed as the first in-depth labor movement to launch and offer a blueprint for employers and political leaders surrounding AI implementation in the workplace, according to its website.
Results from April’s survey included union-favored conclusions in comparison to other categories with participants voting unions as the most credible messenger on AI for workers and the AFL-CIO’s Workers First Initiative on AI as a consensus.
Additionally, voters polled highlighted that unions were the only institution with a net positive trust, according to a press release from the AFL-CIO on May 12.
“The results make it clear: our Workers First Initiative on AI is not just a set of principles but a mandate to deliver,” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said in a press release, May 12. “The vast majority of America’s workers agree on how to move forward on AI and who they trust to do it, and it’s not Democrats, Republicans, Big Tech or their employers — it’s the labor movement.”
Concerns, which participants highlighted across this survey included the lack of transparency from their employers on AI usage in the workplace, including with training and monitoring of task completion. However, of those polled, this survey concluded that labor union careers were most likely to protect its workers from these concerns and potential harmful AI workplace usage, according to David Binder Research.
And while this poll focused on AI in the workplace, a majority of participants concluded that these concerns were not directly with AI itself, but rather, the ways in which their employers had used the technology within the company — and required its usage among its employees with improper training tools.
“We’re at the most important fork in the road our economy has faced in the last 100 years,” Shuler said in a press release May 12. “Workers are united in power; from now until the 2026 midterms and beyond, we’ll be organizing to protect our rights and fight for a future that is human made.
Julia Williams — a Kansas City native — is a reporter and digital producer for The Labor Beacon. A University of Missouri School of Journalism alumna, she previously served as the editor-in-chief of The Northeast News before joining The Labor Beacon staff.
Williams’s grandfather was a Claycomo Ford Motor Company retiree and avid UAW Local 249 supporter, allowing her to understand the union difference from a young age.
In her free time, Williams enjoys spending time with her family, traveling to see her friends and hanging out at home with her cat, Greta. She loves a good cup of coffee, seeing local, live music and shopping secondhand. With a passion for storytelling, she hopes to bring her knowledge of journalistic integrity to the Kansas City union community — giving union and labor workers a voice, while holding people in powerful positions accountable.
