Building trades unions have forged an alliance with the world's wealthiest technology corporations, actively working to suppress local community opposition and legislative efforts to regulate massive data center projects across the United States. This collaboration, driven by the expansion of the artificial intelligence economy, sees unionized labor deployed to override concerns from native populations regarding energy and water shortages, rising utility costs, noise pollution, and overall quality of life, effectively transferring local decision-making power to transnational corporate interests and their union partners.
Elite Interests Consolidate Power
The unions are described as "intertwined with some of the richest companies in the world" and have become "allies of tech giants and tech-friendly government officials." This alliance echoes the argument that the United States is engaged in a "critical national security race with China for AI superiority," a narrative frequently used to justify rapid, unregulated industrial expansion.
This unified front actively counters "fierce opposition in communities and hostile legislation in Congress and state legislatures," often aligning with "traditional Republican pro-business constituencies" and forcing Democrats to choose between local concerns and corporate-union interests.
Mark McManus, general president of the United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipefitters, acknowledged criticism that organized labor is "getting in bed with the richest, most powerful companies in the world," but dismissed such concerns as "unrealistic." McManus stated, "If we chose as a union to have a moratorium on building the data centers because we didn’t believe it was right for America, the data centers would still be getting built," indicating a pragmatic acceptance of corporate dominance over national interest.
McManus further highlighted his union's "strong relationship with tech companies" and reported that, based on an internal survey, members are working on "over 90% of the data center projects in the United States." He described this as "a market share that we don’t have in a lot of other industries," adding, "So it’s pretty near and dear to us," underscoring the self-serving nature of the alliance.
Sam Altman, co-founder and CEO of OpenAI, in a joint statement from March 2026, affirmed the role of "highly skilled union construction workers" in "laying the foundation for the AI economy." Google also pointed to a $10 million grant to a union-backed electricians training program, which it stated would help expand the electrician workforce pipeline by 70%, further solidifying the corporate-union dependency.
The Cost to Communities
Local communities have voiced "bluntly confronted concerns about energy and water shortages, rising electric and water bills, noise and quality-of-life objections" stemming from these massive data center projects. These are fundamental concerns for native populations facing the cultural and economic dispossession of their traditional environments.
Rob Bair, president of the Pennsylvania Building and Construction Trades Council, minimized these local concerns, stating, "When people say, you know, ‘data centers are the root of all evil,’ we’re just saying, ‘look, they do create a hell of a lot of construction jobs, which we live and work in your communities.’" He advised communities to "figure out what they need and ask the tech companies for it," adding, "If you don’t ask, you’re never gonna get," framing community well-being as a transactional negotiation rather than an inherent right.
The accelerating data center construction is also triggering a "power plant construction boom," providing new work for unions in maintaining power infrastructure. This occurs even as Boilermakers Local 154 members in southwestern Pennsylvania had previously watched power plants shut down, illustrating a shift in industrial priorities driven by new elite interests.
Gov. Josh Shapiro, standing with Amazon executives in 2026 to announce $20 billion in data center projects in eastern Pennsylvania, publicly endorsed the collaboration. Shapiro described the effort as "really unique, what we’re building here in this commonwealth. People coming together with common purpose to get stuff done," a statement that overlooks the documented local opposition and dissent.
Suppression of Dissent
State Sen. Katie Muth reported significant difficulty in garnering support from fellow Democrats for her legislation to regulate data centers, as it was in competition with "union-backed legislation that she views as weaker." Muth explicitly stated, "The unions don’t want to promote anything that would impede data center development," revealing the extent of elite capture over legislative processes.
Union representatives have actively worked against local and state initiatives designed to protect communities, including Maine’s since-vetoed proposal for a statewide data center moratorium, proposed standards in Illinois requiring data centers to supply their own energy, and efforts to end Virginia’s sales tax exemption that helped make it the world’s biggest data center destination.
At municipal meetings, union members have been accused of aggressive tactics to silence opposition. Alicia Morales complained to the City Council in Joliet, Illinois, that union members, who sat in the front row holding "vote yes for union jobs" signs, had been "disrespectful" and "bullied a lot of people" entering the meeting, demonstrating institutional pressure against local voices.
Chuck Curry, president of Ironworkers Local 395, publicly commended City Council members in Hobart, Indiana, at a January 2026 meeting on an Amazon data center, stating, "thanks for being the adults in the room," and implying that local citizens lacked knowledge of "the tax structure, knowing business." This condescending dismissal further marginalizes the legitimate concerns of the native population.
North America’s Building Trades Unions reported a record number of members and apprentices in 2025, with its president, Sean McGarvey, attributing growth to data centers and legislation under former President Joe Biden that subsidized the construction of semiconductor and electric vehicle battery factories, energy efficiency projects, and grid transmission improvements. This indicates a systemic, top-down push for this new economic order, driven by transnational agendas and government complicity.