AI in Unions: No, It’s Not Replacing Your Job. It’s Just Answering Questions at 2am.

The Labor Cloud Brief — Issue #2

If there's one thing that makes union folks skeptical (and rightly so), it’s hearing the word “AI” from a tech company. For good reason. Automation hasn’t exactly had a great track record for protecting jobs, improving conditions, or respecting collective agreements.

So let’s be clear: we’re not building AI to replace union jobs.

We’re building it because members have questions. Lots of them. At all hours. On everything from pension eligibility to dues rates to the fine print in a CBA to what the hell is a J&S 60%.

So, What Are We Actually Building?

At Union.dev, we’re designing AI-powered chatbots that help members get fast, trustworthy answers to common questions — without calling the hall, digging through binders, or waiting days for a callback.

The idea is simple:

• “How many hours do I need for my pension to vest?
• “What does this clause in my contract mean?”
• “Why did my dues go up this month?”
• "Can I file a grievance for..."

These aren’t ground breaking questions. They’re not complicated admin escalations. They’re routine, rules-based questions — and they’re exactly what an AI assistant can handle well.

“It’s like giving every member a pocket steward — without the steward having to work night shift.”

Built For Unions, Not Over Them

Our chatbots are being trained exclusively on your contracts, pension rules, and policies — not some generic internet knowledge base. That means members only get answers that apply to their plan, their agreement, their local.

And unlike most AI tools, we’re not just slapping ChatGPT onto a website and calling it a day. These bots are:

• Auditable: You can see what they said, when, and why
• Context-aware: They know if a member is early-career vs. nearing retirement
• Customizable: You control what they can and can’t answer

The Point Isn’t Fewer Jobs. It’s Better Service.

Let’s face it: no one wants to call in and wait on hold to get a copy of their work history. And no administrator dreams of manually explaining vesting rules for the 900th time. AI helps with that.

“This isn’t about cutting jobs. It’s about cutting repetition.”

The best part? It frees up your real staff to do the work that requires a human — advocacy, problem-solving, organizing, member support.

What’s Next?

We’re beginning to pilot AI support for:

• Pension Q&A
• Grievance triage
• Contract, CBA and union rule search
• Member portal guidance
• Dues and contribution breakdowns

Coming soon: tools to help staffers triage requests faster and route issues more intelligently.

Questions About AI?

Great. So do your members. Let’s answer them — with clarity, dignity, and yes, a bit of automation.

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