In 1971 my Uncle had a union which decided to hold a strike at Portion Pac to prevent automation.
As a result the three partners decided their best decision was to automate more than they had wanted to do, all at once. One of the three actually designed and built most of the equipment using off the shelf parts as much as he could. With the three of them wearing roller skates along with their wives, they were able to hire back only 1/3 of their striking employees.
This resulted in the remaining employees electing a different union which had a more intelligent view toward automation. So the three couples were able to hang-up their roller skates and hire back additional workers without a problem. I'm sure they could have automated in steps like you have to avoid lay-offs, but laying-off 2/3 of their employees was a strategic decision to get a different union.
1971 was a different era. I'd be surprised to find any union in the industrialized world today which opposes automation. Even Teamsters don't object to driving trucks rather than teams of horses.
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