Updated April 16, 2026, 7:04 p.m. ET
- UAW President Shawn Fain joined U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders to call out artificial intelligence and the companies that develop the technology.
- Fain said that unions can negotiate for AI protections, and called for regulation of the tech.
- Sanders recently introduced a bill calling for a moratorium on the development of AI data centers until the technology is regulated.
United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, took a loud, public stance on Thursday, April 16, against the integration of artificial intelligence into the manufacturing economy.
Fain joined Sanders at a news conference in Washington, D.C., with about a half-dozen other labor leaders from unions including the American Federation of Teachers; American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO); the Association of Flight Attendants; the National Education Association, and the National Nurses United.
The conference was another step in Sanders’ ongoing fight for regulation on the development of artificial intelligence. He has said the technology will have harmful impacts on the environment, mental health and wealth disparity.
Now, Sanders and some of the most prominent labor leaders in the nation are saying AI may have disastrous consequences on the labor economy.
If AI development, led by companies like OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI, continues without substantial regulation, Sanders said, “in 10 years, the idea of a manufacturing job will no longer exist. The idea of a warehouse worker will no longer exist.”
Fain took the podium to join Sanders in a call for safeguards against AI at both the legislative level and on the floors of union shops.
“Workers must have the right to negotiate how AI will impact their jobs,” Fain said.
The union is becoming more and more vocal about the impact of AI on the manufacturing workforce. On April 25, UAW Region 1 Director LaShawn English, who represents UAW workers in Detroit and surrounding areas, will host an “AI workshop” to inform members on the threats and use cases of AI in the manufacturing industry.
Automakers who employ union workers have been eagerly adopting AI technology.
Stellantis, the parent company of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram, announced the same day of Fain’s appearance that it will be signing a five-year deal with Microsoft to develop more than 100 AI initiatives across the company. The automaker did not say it would be bringing AI tools to replace the workforce in manufacturing facilities.
But Fain thinks it could happen without regulation. The union president, who represents workers in other fields like higher education, law, aerospace manufacturing and even child care, said AI without democratic regulation “is a nonstarter,” saying it would wipe out American jobs.
Sanders is pushing for that regulation.
In a bill authored by Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, the lawmakers urge for a moratorium on the development of AI data centers — the buildings and infrastructure in place to make AI computing possible — “to ensure the safety of humanity.”
Liam Rappleye covers Stellantis and the UAW for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him: LRappleye@freepress.com.
