Dorsey Hager, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council Executive Secretary-Treasurer kicked off his March appearance on the America’s Work Force Union Podcast by talking about the EdgeConneX power plant.
Dorsey Hager, C/COBCTC Executive Secretary-Treasurer
The proposed 120MW gas-fired power plant is a significant project because it will be the primary power source for the company’s planned datacenters in the area.
EdgeConneX is projected to begin construction at the end of 2025.
Hager believes the more gas-fired plants built near data centers and other big projects, the more they will benefit the community by keeping electric bills low and creating more jobs for union construction workers.
“I’m really excited about it,” Hager said. “I’m trying to learn more about the process and I’m getting out and meeting with not only customers and end users but also potential contractors that have done this in other parts of the country that are coming here to Central Ohio looking to build these projects.”
Hager then told AWF host Ed “Flash” Ferenc he partnered with the Ohio State Building Trades and IBEW Local 683 to talk to guidance counselors from the largest school districts in Ohio about the opportunities available in the trades.
This initiative helped spread the word to high school and middle school students that the building trades can put them on a path to a six-figure income with a great benefits package and no student debt.
“We’re constantly working with our JATCs and we know they’re recruiting and teaching people that construction is more than just somebody in the middle of a field or on the side of the highway with a shovel,” Hager said.
Jobsite safety
America’s Workforce Radio Host Ed “Flash” Ferenc
Unfortunately, an IBEW Local 82 member went into cardiac arrest on a jobsite and passed away despite two apprentices administering first aid and CPR.
Since the incident, Hager said building trades officials have been talking about ways to improve safety, response time and communication.
“We have to make sure that we work with the customer and we work with the contractors and make sure that we have the proper people onsite who can handle this,” Hager said.
He emphasized the importance of not only working efficiently but safely and looking out for other workers on the jobsite.
Four new CBAs
To wrap up the interview, Ferenc asked Hager about the Columbus City Council’s $1.2 billion budget that covers four new projects to be done under Community Benefit Agreements.
One of the projects will be a police substation, two will be rec centers with pools and the fourth one will be the new safety campus for the city of Columbus.
“It’s quite a bit of work and it should employ everybody from all the building trades, which is great,” Hager said. “The impact it’s having on Central Ohio is incredible, obviously the building trades have worked on diversification, trying to represent the communities in which we live and work.”
Listen to the full interview here.
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