Artificial intelligence will change many people’s jobs, but unionized workers will have a voice in how the technology develops, Microsoft President Brad Smith said Monday in announcing a historic partnership with the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in the United States.

Microsoft President Brad Smith.

Standing alongside AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and other labor leaders, Smith said Microsoft will respect “the fundamental right to organize” by AFL-CIO’s 60 affiliate unions. Workers will also have a chance to give Microsoft developers feedback on how AI tools are created and train for new jobs in the AI-powered economy. The deal was announced at the AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, D.C., at an event billed as a conversation about AI and the future of work.