Building unions threaten to withhold political support over data center fights

Building trades break with longtime allies on data centers

The data center build-out, key for AI companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic to support more powerful models and meet growth targets, has become a major economic driver. But the politics around it have shifted as resistance broadens. Politicians in both parties have halted approvals or tightened oversight of data center construction, citing public concerns over electricity costs, water consumption and noise. Building trades unions are now entering the fight from the other side, warning that such actions endanger thousands of construction jobs and threatening to withhold campaign financing and volunteer canvassing from candidates who oppose the projects.

The AFL-CIO’s affiliated unions in June passed a resolution calling for guardrails on AI and data centers, acknowledging that data centers employ tens of thousands of union members while pledging to fight to keep AI from degrading job quality. Bridging the divide between construction trades eager for the work and unions representing white-collar workers who are less supportive of the build-out will be challenging for the federation, said Todd Vachon, director of the Labor Education Action Research Network at Rutgers University. Politicians are in a bind, he said: many need labor support, but that could require backing data centers that face growing voter resistance. “How’s that going to come on Election Day?” he asked.

The political realignment has produced concrete breaks with longtime allies. In Kansas, a union representing HVAC and railroad workers broke decades of precedent to endorse Republican state Sen. Ty Masterson for governor, in part because of the Democratic candidate’s opposition to data center construction. In other races, Democrats have criticized their opponents for supporting the data-center boom, and some Republicans have adopted the tactic even if they previously supported the facilities.

Sidney Bonilla, treasurer and business manager of the Steamfitters UA Local 602, said his members knock on doors for candidates and help finance campaigns. Though the union has historically tended to back Democrats, Bonilla said those dollars and organizational support are now on the line. The union will scrutinize politicians’ records on the data-center issue before offering support, he said, and he expects other unions to follow suit. “We are dependent on these jobs,” he said.

Local 602, whose members install mechanical piping systems in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., told members in a memo that the union is drawing a “clear line” against politicians who oppose data centers, calling it “an existential moment for Local 602.”

Electricians in IBEW Local 26, a union representing workers in Washington, Maryland and Virginia, worked 28 million hours last year on data center projects, compared with 14 million a decade prior, according to the local’s political coordinator, Don Slaiman. Members are showing up at public hearings and planning-commission meetings to speak in favor of the projects, Slaiman said; at one this week, he arrived at 7:30 p.m. and stayed until just before 1 a.m. “You’re not a friend if you’re taking away great career opportunities,” Slaiman said. “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to really get in the upper-middle class.”

In Wisconsin, Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Crowley, the son of an electrician, has won support from some building trade unions and been attacked by Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany for being in the pocket of labor groups and the companies building data centers. Crowley has supported some restrictions on data centers but stopped short of backing a ban or pause.

President Trump has continued to support the build-out despite growing opposition from within his own party, saying that data centers make sense if built in proper locations with appropriate guidelines. “If I were a community, I would want the data center. It means jobs, it means income and it means lower taxes,” he said last week.

The build-out has pushed Meta Platforms and other tech companies to invest in training skilled workers. OpenAI, Alphabet’s Google and Microsoft also have partnerships with unions and have highlighted worker shortages as a key bottleneck for the U.S. in the AI race. In some cases, the unions are working alongside companies building data centers and running artificial-intelligence models in their advocacy, the Journal reported. Data-center companies are contending with a slowdown in approvals for new construction, according to the Journal.