5 August, 2025In today’s world, the ground for workers is shifting fast. From artificial intelligence to the resurgence of authoritarian politics, we’re being asked to adapt to a future we didn’t choose and aren’t allowed to shape.
Here are five reasons why joining a union right now is more important than ever.
1. AI won’t negotiate with you, but we will
Across industries, from aerospace and mining to fashion and electronics, artificial intelligence is transforming how work is done. Predictive algorithms assign shifts. Machines perform tasks once done by people. Jobs are disappearing, or changing beyond recognition.
The tech industry likes to sell AI as “inevitable progress.” But who benefits from these changes and who bears the costs, is a political choice.
Unions are the only force fighting to ensure a Just Transition: one where workers have a say in how technology is introduced, are trained for the future and are not discarded in the name of efficiency.
IndustriALL affiliates are already negotiating with multinational companies to ensure that AI serves people, not the other way around. In the absence of rules, it’s the organized voice of workers that brings ethics into the equation.
2. Oligarchs are writing the rules. Workers must rewrite them
As political strongmen rise again, Trump in the US, Milei in Argentina, Wilders in the Netherlands, Meloni in Italy, the rhetoric is clear: blame the vulnerable, deregulate the economy and hand power to the rich.
This shift is not just rhetorical, it affects labour laws, union rights and public services. When right-wing populists attack collective bargaining and weaken unions, it becomes harder to fight for better pay, safety, or climate justice.
Meanwhile, corporate giants are consolidating their power. Today, a handful of billionaires control everything from supply chains to social media to artificial intelligence.
Joining a union is a way of saying: we won’t be ruled by algorithms or autocrats.
3. Your boss has an app. You deserve a union
In many industries, workers are now managed by software, watched by cameras, scored by customers and timed to the second. It’s efficient, for profits.
But where’s the dignity?
Whether you’re in a factory, a warehouse, or an office, if your work is dictated by a system you can’t question, then you need a collective voice.
Joining a union gives you the power to set boundaries, challenge unfair systems and demand transparency in how decisions are made. It’s not about resisting technology, it’s about demanding a human-centred future of work.
4. There’s no climate justice without worker justice
As the climate crisis deepens, industries are being forced to change. But too often, that change is chaotic, layoffs, plant closures, or greenwashing without real transition plans.
A true Just Transition means workers are part of the plan from day one. It means retraining, income protection and investment in communities, not just vague promises.
Unions are fighting for climate policies that protect both the planet and the people who power it. If we don’t organize, the transition will be done to us, not with us.
5. We work, and so do unions
In a time when disinformation spreads fast and democracy is under pressure, it’s easy to feel powerless. But there’s one thing that we know works: organizing.
Unions remain one of the few democratic structures that exist outside the control of governments or corporations. They are built by and for workers, regardless of nationality, gender, or background.
When you join a union, you gain more than a contract, you gain a community. You gain support when you’re in crisis. You gain the tools to fight back. And you help build a world where fairness, equality and solidarity aren’t just slogans, but realities.
The same reasons, and even more urgency
Back in more stable times, IndustriALL laid out five reasons to join a union: better pay and conditions, a safer workplace, dignity and equality, a collective voice and a better future. Those reasons are still true and they are more urgent than ever.
But in 2025, we also face a world where entire industries can be upended overnight by artificial intelligence, where climate chaos threatens livelihoods and where the very concept of democracy is under attack in many places.
That’s why joining a union today isn’t just about what you earn, it’s about what you stand for. It's about protecting yourself, shaping the future of work and defending the idea that workers have a say in how the world changes.
In the face of disruption, solidarity is not old-fashioned, it’s revolutionary. And it may be the only force strong enough to ensure that this new era is fair, humane and built for all of us.
Don’t watch history unfold from the sidelines.
Be part of shaping it.
Join a union.