Are you pushing your union to engage with AI? (Or do you know someone that is?)

Over the last two years, I’ve met many individual staff members at many different unions and union centres who are stepping up to be AI champions. They're experimenting with tools, having conversations with managers and leaders, formulating policies, and helping their organisation figure out how to use AI responsibly to better support workers. But too often, they're doing this work in isolation.

That's why Unions 21 created the Union AI Ambassadors Community in early 2025. We wanted to support a global network of union staff who are actively working to understand and implement responsible AI in their organisations.

And we’re now looking for more members.

Who are the AI ambassadors?

Our ambassadors come from unions around the world, representing diverse sectors and at different stages of AI adoption. The community includes staff from:

TUC • Australian Council of Trade Unions • ITUC • UNISON • Service Employees International Union (SEIU) • IndustriALL • Royal College of Nursing • FNV • Fórsa • SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania • ACV-CSC • UNI Global Union • Financial Services Union • Union of Education Norway • ABVV-Metaal • British Medical Association • IATSE • Canadian Labour Congress

Whether they're communications staff who are using AI for translation and content creation, industrial relations staff analysing collective agreements, or dedicated AI labs building custom tools, these ambassadors share a common commitment: using AI to strengthen unions while staying true to our values.

What we do together

Every month, our ambassadors connect to share real experiences, practical solutions, and honest challenges. Recent discussions have covered:

• Tools and use cases: From Microsoft Copilot implementations to custom AI platforms for analysing workplace agreements

• Handling AI mistakes: How to manage when AI gets things wrong and maintaining member trust

• Training approaches: Strategies for educating staff with vastly different AI knowledge levels

• Policy development: Sharing draft AI policies and governance frameworks

• Leadership engagement: Tactics for getting buy-in from senior leadership and management boards

We don't just talk—we create shared resources like databases of use cases, policy templates, and training materials that everyone can adapt for their own organisations. We have access to an online community where we can build shared knowledge. Our key goal is to avoid reinventing the wheel by sharing first what we learn, as we go.

Why having AI champions matters

In every organisation – including unions! – change happens because dedicated individuals step up to champion new approaches. With AI, I think this process is more critical than ever.

Unlike other technological changes, AI transformation requires people, processes, and infrastructure to change at the same time. And they have to do it really quickly. Add the political and reputational challenge unions face around AI - which impacts workers directly – and it becomes clear why having committed champions is absolutely essential.

Unions 21 even runs a whole training programme on how unions can handle this AI transformation: we call it “Managing and Leading AI-driven change in Unions”. (Interested in this for your union? Get in touch!)

AI ambassadors are the bridge-builders for unions. They help to investigate and connect technical possibilities to union values and ways of working. They help colleagues see opportunities rather than just threats. They help understand and ensure AI adoption happens thoughtfully, rather than haphazardly.

Ready to join?

If you're a union staff member working on AI we want to connect!

Maybe you're:

• Experimenting with AI tools in your daily work

• Tasked with developing your union's AI strategy or policy

• Trying to convince leadership that AI use in your union deserves attention

• Wanting to share your experiences with others facing similar challenges

Or maybe you know someone in your union who fits this description.

The Union AI Ambassadors Community works is a chance to learn together, share generously, and support each other through both successes and setbacks. We're building the movement's capacity to lead on responsible AI adoption, and not to fall behind.

Interested in joining the Union AI Ambassadors or know someone who should?

Contact me at [email protected]

Image credit: Hanna Barakat & Archival Images of AI + AIxDESIGN / https://betterimagesofai.org / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/