Can unions power the AI economy? AFL-CIO’s Liz Shuler thinks so |
Can unions power the AI economy? AFL-CIO’s Liz Shuler thinks so
In today’s CEO Daily: AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler on why business leaders must work with labor
The big leadership story: Melinda French Gates hikes her total investment in women’s health to $600 million
The markets: Asian markets drop as investors grow wary of tech
Plus: All the news and watercooler chat from Fortune.
Good morning. What if labor unions become catalysts for companies to win in the AI era?
I think they can after speaking with Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, a federation of 65 unions representing 15 million workers that’s holding its constitutional convention in Minneapolis starting this weekend. Like the Olympics and FIFA World Cup, this gathering of the United Nations of American labor happens once every four years. They’re meeting at a time when Gallup says almost 70% of Americans now support unions and U.S. companies spent $1.7 billion last year to stop them from being formed. I spoke with Shuler about why she thinks this is a critical moment for leaders to form productive partnerships with labor.
On AI: “If we’re going to chart the course for an AI future, it could be done pedal to the metal, slash and burn, no voice, no inclusion, imposing Silicon Valley’s will on the economy without any guardrails,” she told me, “or you could partner together, get workers in the lab and develop technology for a workplace with the input of the people who actually do the work.”
On partnering with Microsoft: Shuler says the December 2023 deal came about after she and Microsoft President Brad Smith met and found common........