Working-Class Voters Say AI Threatens Jobs — They Want Retraining, Taxes on Firms That Replace Workers, and Limits on Data Centers

Working-class Americans are increasingly worried that artificial intelligence will eliminate jobs — including their own — and want aggressive government action: large-scale retraining programs funded in part by taxes on corporations that replace workers with AI, notice requirements before job cuts, and a share of AI’s economic gains for workers.

Key Findings From the Poll

The results come from a new poll commissioned by Working Families Power and the Justice Research Fund that contacted 2,511 working-class registered voters, oversampling in swing districts. The survey uses a detailed working-class definition that factors in household income, education, occupation, homeownership, and financial resiliency — a more precise approach than simply looking at college attainment.

What Voters Fear

• 73% are concerned AI will cause job losses in the United States.
• 62% worry AI could affect their own job, household income, or people close to them.
• 58% believe AI will harm working-class families overall.

Which Jobs Are Seen As Vulnerable

Majorities named occupations they believe will be hurt by AI, including truck drivers, retail and service workers, office and administrative staff, and writers, designers, and other creative professionals.

What Voters Want

Voters expressed broad support for policy responses:

• More than 80% back government-funded retraining and education programs for workers displaced by AI.
• Strong majorities want corporations to give notice before replacing workers with AI and to pay taxes or fees that help finance retraining and transition supports.
• Many voters also favor sharing AI’s benefits through higher pay, shorter workweeks, and stronger benefits; 73% agreed that “AI should work for working people, not just make billionaires richer.”
• 60% support a pause on new data center construction to study local impacts, especially energy and utility costs.

“AI might be the biggest political realignment issue of our lifetime,” said Ravi Mangla, spokesperson for Working Families Power. He noted the unusual level of cross-ideological agreement and said candidates and officials are not yet addressing these concerns.

Policy Context and Expert Views

So far, policy responses at the federal level have been limited. A few lawmakers — including Senators and Representatives on the left — have proposed plans addressing data centers and AI’s economic impacts, and the Congressional Progressive Caucus has included AI-related measures in its New Affordability Agenda. The Center for Shared AI Prosperity has also floated tax ideas, such as levies on fortunes derived substantially from AI and stronger employer contributions to worker supports.

Professor Alondra Nelson, director of the Science, Technology, and Social Values Lab at the Institute for Advanced Study, urged transparency and argued that the costs of AI transformation should not be passed to the public while profits flow to shareholders. She and others warn against federal preemption that would block state-level experimentation on AI regulation; many state legislatures are already moving faster than Congress on related questions.

What This Means Politically

The poll suggests a significant political opening: large segments of the working class want proactive, nonpartisan protections tied to AI’s rollout. Voters do not generally want to halt AI innovation, but they do expect its benefits and costs to be distributed more fairly. For Democrats and other political actors, the survey highlights a potential electoral advantage if candidates offer clear, practical proposals for retraining, corporate contributions, worker protections, and sensible limits on data-center expansion.

Bottom line: Working-class voters are not only worried — they have specific policy preferences: retraining, notice and contribution requirements for firms, and measures to ensure AI’s gains are shared. Lawmakers who respond concretely to those demands may find broad support across the political spectrum.