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Sanders and UAW's Fain Call for AI Moratorium — Warn Manufacturing and Warehouse Jobs "Will No Longer Exist"

Federal AI & Workforce April 18, 2026 Source: Detroit Free Press

United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain joined Senator Bernie Sanders and half a dozen labor leaders — including heads of the AFL-CIO, American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association, and National Nurses United — at a Washington press conference to call for regulation of AI in the workforce. Sanders said that without substantial regulation, “in 10 years, the idea of a manufacturing job will no longer exist. The idea of a warehouse worker will no longer exist."

Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have authored a bill urging a moratorium on AI data center development “to ensure the safety of humanity.” Stellantis — parent company of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram — announced the same day it would sign a five-year deal with Microsoft to develop more than 100 AI initiatives across the company. UAW Region 1 Director LaShawn English will host an “AI workshop” on April 25 for members on AI threats to manufacturing.

What You Can Do

Attend the UAW Region 1 AI workshop on April 25. UAW Region 1 Director LaShawn English is hosting a workshop on AI threats to manufacturing jobs. If you're a UAW member or in a union-represented workplace where AI may affect your job, this is a direct opportunity to engage.

Contact your members of Congress about the Sanders-AOC moratorium bill. The bill urges a pause on AI data center development. Regardless of whether a moratorium is the right tool, the bill creates a legislative vehicle for the conversation. Ask your representative and senators where they stand — and whether they support requiring data center developers to assess workforce displacement impacts before construction.

Ask your union about AI contract language. Fain's call for workers to “have the right to negotiate how AI will impact their jobs” is already shaping contract bargaining. If your workplace is unionized, ask your leadership what AI-related provisions are being negotiated in upcoming contracts.

Community Takeaway

The labor movement is treating AI workforce displacement as an organizing issue, not just a policy debate. This joins the bipartisan federal push on data center energy costs and Maine's moratorium as a third track of political action: alongside energy costs and local siting, labor is adding workforce displacement to the list of community-level concerns. Communities with significant manufacturing or warehouse employment should be tracking both the legislative proposals and the union contract language emerging from these efforts.

Source: Detroit Free Press, April 18, 2026.

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