Organized labor could play a major role in this year’s midterm elections. The nation’s largest federation of labor unions — The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) — said it plans to mobilize 16 million voters with ties to the labor movement.Ahead of the midterms, many workers are dissatisfied with both political parties and grappling with questions about how artificial intelligence could affect their jobs. “Marketplace Morning Report” host Kimberly Adams wanted to learn more about how the AFL-CIO is approaching AI ahead of the midterms. She spoke with the federation’s recently reelected president, Liz Shuler.The following is an edited transcript of their conversation.Kimberly Adams: You told some world leaders at Davos that if we don't manage the transition to AI well, people could revolt. Say more.Liz Shuler: Wow, good research. We've been working on this issue of AI and how it relates to work for several years, and it's now starting to get more attention, thankfully. But if you see what's already happening to jobs and what AI is already displacing, and multiply that times infinity. That's going to create a lot of harm and a lot of disruption.Adams: When it comes to sort of the infrastructure behind AI data centers, in many ways, workers can kind of be on either side of this issue. There can be union workers helping build these data centers. At the same time, we have some of these job losses coming from AI. How do you think that workers and organizers should be thinking about striking this balance?Shuler: I think of AI and data centers as I do electricity, as I do building roads and bridges, and we want to make sure that we're doing it safely, responsibly, and creating good jobs along the way because there's also a low road future that could be created. It could be offshored. We want to build that infrastructure here with good union skilled workers, with benefits to the community, and with AI companies paying their way.Adams: Have you seen a good example of striking this balance?Shuler: Well, we actually have a partnership with Microsoft, which I will put out there as I think a way to include workers upstream in their planning, in getting workers in the labs, and in terms of their data center buildout. And working with unions to chart the course and make sure they're doing it with high wages and benefits and high road contractors, so that everybody wins.Workers and AI Adams: But some of these biggest tech firms are the ones that have had these headline layoffs of thousands of workers. So how do you plan as an organization to sort of navigate that path?Shuler: We want to be on the cutting edge. We want to be working with the firms that share our values to make sure that we're charting the course responsibly. But at the same time, if we have companies who are going to be reckless and irresponsible, we're going to fight them.Adams: What does that look like?Shuler: The legislation at the state and local level that we've been trying to pass in places like California and Illinois and Massachusetts and New York — where we have oversight over these companies — where we can say, “No, you shouldn't be surveilled in the bathroom when you're at work. No, you shouldn't be fired by an app.” These are the kind of guardrails we think are necessary so that people can actually have dignity and humanity at their work.Adams: So, a lot of these are policy solutions that require elected leaders, and we're headed into the midterms. Recently, there has been a major Supreme Court ruling that struck down a lot of campaign spending limits. How is the AFL-CIO approaching midterms with this ruling in mind, and in general, given what you just said.Shuler: The money in politics is off the charts, and especially when you think about what the tech companies are putting in now to these super PACs, they are actively looking to run against elected officials who want safety guardrails on AI. But we have people power. I mean, there is still the notion of organizing on the ground being more powerful than any money can buy. You have people actually talking to other people and knocking on doors and making phone calls and organizing in new and creative ways that get folks to send in their ballots and to show up at the polls.The role of AI in the midterms Adams: Where does AI sit in terms of how you all are prioritizing your spending and organizing around the midterms?Shuler: AI is a huge driver because we're already seeing the impacts in the workplace. We just saw GM, for example, introduce 50 new robots that displaced 1,000 workers. There are lots of examples, even in traditional industries. So I think this is going to be a huge motivator in the upcoming election, certainly in this midterm, but in the presidential election of '28, I believe it will be the issue that really drives people to the polls.Adams: The Trump administration has pushed a very deregulatory strategy at the federal level. Obviously, they're quite pro AI, crypto, a lot of these things. So, does that mean that more of your strategy is focused at the state and local level on some of these issues?Shuler: I've been alarmed at how little progress we've made federally, frankly, on the issues of AI and technology. We have focused more at the state and local level simply because people are closer to the ground, and those state and local elected officials are the ones really feeling the impacts from their constituents. The pressure that you build on the ground in local communities ultimately filters up to Congress. And as I said, in the midterms, and then certainly the presidential election of '28 is when we're really going to start to see the momentum build.Adams: I've heard from several folks that there seems to be an atmosphere of forced inevitability around AI. That you have tech leaders, in particular, making decisions that this is coming for all of us, whether you want it or not, and we don't have a choice. What choices do workers still have in this moment?Shuler: That's one of the biggest things we hear from workers: this feeling of powerlessness. But we do still have a window, I would say, of at least two-to-three years where we can come together and chart the course in a way that is going to benefit everyone. We don't just have to go along to get along. We can actually put those safety guardrails in place. We can pass legislation that makes this sane for actual human beings — and by the way, the last time I checked, we're a 70% consumer-driven economy. Those are the people that are going to be losing their jobs that aren't going to be able to afford to buy things. And this is going to have a ripple effect across the entire economy — it already is.Adams: So, how is that shaping the message that you at the AFL-CIO and your members are sending to lawmakers in the midterms?Shuler: We're doing a massive education effort and then a massive mobilization around it, so that locally we're building up committees, we're building up an army of folks who can go out and talk to their both you know state and local officials, but also their elected leaders in Congress. And certainly for the White House, we're going to follow you around. We're going to ask you: Are you putting workers at the center of your AI plan? Are you holding these companies accountable? Are you looking at policies that are going to make it safe for working people, make it economically feasible, not just for companies, but for the people who work for a living. We're going to be there, and so I keep saying, I don't care if you're Donald Trump or Gavin Newsom, worker-first AI policy has to be what you wake up thinking about in the morning.