Unions At War with Each Other Over AI

Here’s a fight you don’t see often: union against union.

Data centers are the flashpoint. The North America’s Building Trades Unions — 3 million members — are all in. They’ve partnered with OpenAI and Microsoft, and they’re fighting any slowdown. The IBEW sent members a memo last month telling them to lobby Congress against a moratorium.

Why? Jobs. Data center construction hit $50 billion in April, more than public transportation infrastructure. For building trades, that’s booked work.

On the other side: National Nurses United and the Flight Attendants stood with Bernie Sanders calling for a pause until AI guardrails exist. To them, the technology is the threat — surveillance, displacement, unsafe staffing.

The AFL-CIO is caught in the middle. Per one law professor, the climate arguments divided labor too — but this one’s “existential.”

I’m going to grab some popcorn and watch this union v union battle unfold. Who’s with me?