Tim Suitter, president of Local S6 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, knows change is coming to Bath Iron Works in Maine. Representing over 4,400 shipbuilders for the U.S. Navy, Suitter pushed for updated contract language during recent five-year negotiations with the defense company running the shipyard. The union now must be informed at the "conceptual stage" of any proposed technology, including AI and robotics, rather than at implementation.

"It was the union trying to force the company's hand about being more transparent when it comes to A.I.," Suitter said. Unions view AI as an existential threat, with AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler calling it "the single biggest threat to working people of our lifetime." Despite low private-sector union membership at 6 percent, labor leaders see AI negotiations as leverage to establish boundaries contract by contract.

The machinists union, representing 600,000 workers across defense, aerospace, railroads, and aviation, has crafted model contract language encouraging early dialogue. David Sullivan, general vice president for the union's eastern territory, urged locals to adopt proactive terms. Labor lawyer Joseph Bonomo at Pitta in New York noted companies increasingly discuss AI on earnings calls, signaling urgency for worker representation in technological deployment decisions.