Can unions power the AI economy? AFL-CIO’s Liz Shuler thinks so

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• In today’s CEO Daily: AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler on why business leaders must work with labor
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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 ground on priorities for preparing workers for the next wave of innovation. Now, she told me, they partner in areas like training and policies for responsible AI.  “I wish more CEOs and more leaders would take that leap of faith that working people actually know what we’re doing,” she said. “Who knows best how workplaces function and how work gets done than people who work for a living?”

On challenges to organized labor: AFL-CIO has been fighting the Trump Administration on its union-busting executive order, DOGE cuts, ICE raids, Labor Secretary appointments, cuts to healthcare coverage, and the ongoing attacks on the right to bargain, strike and organize. As corporate profits soar, U.S. workers are taking home a record-low percentage of GDP. “This transition has been brutal. I won’t lie about that,” she told me. “We are essentially catering to—let’s be honest—the tech bros that are running things at this moment.” 

Lessons of history: “I don’t think we can point to one industrial transition that’s gone well. The last time, when trade laws basically offshored most production, we did not have a plan. We did not include workers’ voices, and we left them behind. Now look where we are today. Why are we not learning from that?” she said. “Workers are the most important stakeholder in this debate. We’re talking about work. We’re talking about people.” In other words, this is us.

Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at diane.brady@fortune.com

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com