by Andrea Hsu, NPR's labor and workplace correspondent
With Labor Day approaching, I’ve been thinking about the work labor unions have done over the years to try to protect workers from all kinds of threats: hazardous working conditions, excessively long workdays and trade agreements that kill U.S. jobs. Some efforts have been more successful than others. Now, they’re confronting a force that all of us are reckoning with: the explosive growth of AI.
This is something that’s been front of mind for National Nurses United for several years already. Back in 2024, registered nurses were already holding rallies and speaking out against AI-powered software. They said hospitals were using algorithms to calculate how many hours of nursing care a patient needed based on their medical records and automating patient handoffs between shifts, without human involvement.
Julie Holder for NPR
The nurses argued that this technology was missing things that experienced nurses see and was undermining their work, putting patients in danger. In recent years, the union has gotten some hospitals to agree to negotiate over the use of AI systems, but it’s an ongoing issue. And they haven’t been able to stop hospitals from using those systems.
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler has made clear the labor movement is not trying to block AI. The federation’s members represent all kinds of workers — in office jobs, manufacturing, the service industry and more.
“We are not anti-technology. We are not anti-innovation. There are so many workers in our movement who are excited to use AI, who are already finding ways to help them do their jobs better,” she said in a speech at the National Press Club earlier this year.
What they oppose is the use of technology without worker input or control, Shuler said.
The AFL-CIO polled 1,200 workers, asking how they feel about AI. The sentiments were nearly universal, with 95% saying they wanted humans, not AI, to make decisions about hiring, firing and pay. Some 94% wanted to know if AI was being used to monitor their work, and yet only 7% of those surveyed said their companies had disclosed this to them.
The AFL-CIO has been pushing for laws that would establish such guardrails. Some states and cities have introduced laws and regulations that require companies to reveal if they’re using AI to make hiring or layoff decisions, for example. But AI regulation remains patchy.
There is one corner of the labor movement that is thrilled about the rise of AI — and specifically, the data center boom that’s come with it. The building trades unions, representing electricians, plumbers, pipefitters and other construction workers, are getting tons of work.
“We haven’t seen this kind of growth for skilled tradespeople in generations,” Don Slaiman, political coordinator for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 26, told me.
But now data centers are facing fierce backlash. At council meetings around the country, community members are decrying the massive amounts of energy and water data centers use, the pollution they create with backup generators and the constant hum they produce, among other issues. Local leaders have responded with moratoriums on new construction.
IBEW has called on its 900,000 members to ask their elected officials to oppose all moratoriums and instead support strong labor standards on construction sites.
“This is the opportunity now for blue-collar workers to get another crack at getting into the middle class,” Slaiman says.
No doubt employers — union and non-union — are rapidly incorporating AI into their workflows. And despite widespread fears, it’s not always to the detriment of workers.
One appliance manufacturer explained to me how AI is enabling the company to expand its operations and add jobs in the U.S. The founder of a legal startup told me AI is allowing her to help many more people clear their criminal records and find meaningful work.
How AI affects the workforce is an evolving story, one that NPR is following closely.
Check out more great reads from the NPR network you may have missed:
➡️ The U.S. Department of Education quietly released a massive dataset about public school students' civil rights. The Civil Rights Data Collection tracks public school metrics about which groups of students are being bullied, how students with disabilities are treated and more. The agency's deadline for the data to be published was at the end of last year, and education experts say that the data released this month under the Trump administration has been restructured, making it significantly harder to analyze, navigate and compare with previous years' releases. The data has historically been used by parents to advocate for their children at schools and has even inspired legislation.
➡️ Beachfront homeowners along Florida’s Panhandle are locked in a high-stakes legal battle over who gets to use the beach. To protect their interests, private property owners have taken measures into their own hands, installing physical barriers, putting up "Private Beach" signs and hiring private security guards to turn away beachgoers. The decade-long conflict is spreading to other coastal communities, and advocates for public beach access are calling for a Florida constitutional amendment to resolve the issue once and for all.
➡️ David Richardson made significant efforts to dismantle FEMA when he served as its acting administrator last year. Now, he says the agency isn't going anywhere, despite President Trump's repeated critiques. Richardson recently sat down with NPR for one of his first interviews since leaving the agency. He says he arrived at FEMA "reluctantly," and had no experience in disaster management. In the interview, he explained his mission during his time at the agency and when things started to change.
Newsletter continues after sponsor message
Pod Club
It’s Been a Minute
Thanks for tuning in last week to the Planet Money episode about their board game, Sell Me a Sasquatch. The hosts provided a behind-the-scenes look at how products end up on big-box store shelves, and shared their pitch to these retailers. “I read the transcript and pre-ordered a game,” NPR reader Janice Masterson said. “Very excited to buy a new board game for our collection. Sasquatch is huge where we live.”
Today, we’re listening to an episode from It’s Been a Minute about why it is healthy to eat your feelings. Former Bon Appétit editor Carla Lalli says that after the end of her decades-long marriage, she knew she had to do one thing: write about it. Her cookbook and memoir, Food is a Feeling, is a collection of stories and recipes processing this moment in her life. Lalli discusses the joy of making, eating and savoring one of life's most delicious necessities. Listen to the episode or read the transcript.
Love podcasts? For handpicked episode recommendations every week, check out Pod Club — a newsletter written FOR podcast fans BY podcast fans. Subscribe here!
It's time for the Sunday Puzzle! For this week’s on-air challenge, NPR Puzzlemaster Will Shortz is taking us to the spa. Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase or name in which the first word starts with “S” and the second word starts with “PA-.” For example, if you are given the phrase “Purchase of beer at a grocery,” the answer would be “Six PAck.” Test your skills here. Check the page later to hear the answers, or catch them live on Weekend Edition at 8:41 a.m. ET.
This week's online challenge comes from Michael Schwartz, of Florence, Ore. Think of a means of transportation in seven letters. Change the fifth letter to a U and read the result backward. You'll get a common Latin word followed by its English synonym. What words are these? Submit your answer here, and you could win a chance to play next Sunday's on-air puzzle.
You received this message because you're subscribed to Up First emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002
