For decades, the auto industry has fought over wages, benefits, and plant closures. Now, a new battle is emerging on factory floors across America, and it might be the most consequential one yet. As automakers race to deploy artificial intelligence, collaborative robots, and increasingly automated production systems, the UAW is warning that the technology revolution could come at workers’ expense.

 

Speaking at the UAW Constitutional Convention in Detroit, UAW president Shawn Fain highlighted AI and robotics as growing threats to manufacturing jobs, according to The Detroit News. His concern isn’t necessarily the technology itself, but who benefits from it. As factories become more productive through automation, labor leaders argue that workers should share in those gains rather than watch jobs disappear.

AI should work for working people, and we need a voice at the table to decide how it is used on the job.

America’s unions are organizing to protect workers, and we’re fighting for an AI future in this country that works for ALL of us, not just big tech.https://t.co/5xjY9l01xx

— AFL-CIO ? (@AFLCIO) June 15, 2026