Business · Fortune Technology
Unionized workers form alliance with rich tech giants on AI data centers, pushing back on local opposition and redrawing
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Building trades unions, long fashioned as the voice of the American worker, are now intertwined with the richest companies in the world as they create America’s artificial intelligence economy.
Key facts
- Data centers consume at least 40% of work hours done by members of the Columbus-Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, a top official, Dorsey Hager, estimated
- The umbrella North America’s Building Trades Unions said it hit a record number of members and apprentices in 2025
- I want to commend you guys, thanks for being the adults in the room,” Chuck Curry, the president of Ironworkers Local 395, told City Council members in Hobart, Indiana, at a January meeting
- They’ve also become an ally of tech giants and tech-friendly government officials, echoing the talking point that the United States is in a critical national security race with China for AI
Summary
Unionized workers are employed on several massive data center projects and scrambling to recruit new apprentices to feed the explosive demand. They’ve also become an ally of tech giants and tech-friendly government officials, echoing the talking point that the United States is in a critical national security race with China for AI superiority. Unions are a visible force in helping counter fierce opposition in communities and hostile legislation in Congress and legislatures, often aligning with traditional Republican pro-business constituencies and forcing Democrats to choose between them and progressives who want to take a harder line.