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Dorsey Hager, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Columbus\/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, joined host Ed \u201cFlash\u201d Ferenc on April 3 for his regular appearance on the America\u2019s Work Force Union Podcast. The conversation focused on winning the public conversation around the benefits of data centers, a record-breaking apprenticeship graduation and the explosive growth of building trades work stretching from Central to Southern Ohio.<\/span><\/p>\n Picking up from last month\u2019s conversation about data center pushback, Hager said the C\/COBCTC is taking an active role in getting out into communities to correct misinformation. He and Pat Hook, business manager for IBEW Local 683 and council president, joined members of the Grove City Council on a bus tour of an Amazon data center campus in Hilliard.<\/span><\/p>\n Hager said the tour helped put real context around the concerns he hears at community hearings. During the visit, he showed a council member photos of her kids stored on her phone and explained that every image\u2014like the scrapbooks of previous generations\u2014is stored in a data center. He also addressed noise concerns on the spot, pointing out that what one council member heard near the campus was the hum of power lines, not the facility itself.<\/span><\/p>\n He noted that data centers have been operating in Central Ohio for 40 to 45 years, pointing to an IBM facility built near the old Westland Mall nearly four decades ago. Despite that history, he said community opposition has spiked in recent months. He attributed the shift, in part, to rising utility bills, though he said those increases are largely driven by population growth rather than data center demand.<\/span><\/p>\n Hager said close to 40 percent of C\/COBCTC affiliated membership is currently working in the tech sector. In total, all affiliated members have grown from working roughly 4 million man-hours a year when he took the position 12 years ago to more than 18 million last year. This year, he said, they are on pace to exceed 20 million hours.<\/span><\/p>\n Hager pushed back on the common framing that data centers only create a handful of permanent jobs. He said the three Google campuses in Central Ohio generated more than 6.5 million building trades man-hours last year\u2014the equivalent of 3,250 jobs\u2014with many workers earning six figures, including wages approaching $175,000 annually plus benefits, pension and annuity.<\/span><\/p>\n He also highlighted a data center day at Johnstown-Monroe schools, where electrical and mechanical contractors joined Turner Construction to speak with high school students about career opportunities. Hager said the students were excited to learn that six-figure careers in the trades were available right in their own communities and would be for years to come.<\/span><\/p>\n Ferenc asked how long the data center construction boom is expected to continue. Hager said construction managers, general contractors and major mechanical and electrical contractors are projecting a strong backlog of work for the next six to 10 years.<\/span><\/p>\n He cited ongoing development in Marysville, Ohio, where he lives, including one Amazon campus already under construction, two more proposed, and a new customer\u2014Aligned\u2014with a campus slated to break ground in 2029 and complete in 2035. Across Central Ohio, there are approximately 185 data centers either actively under construction or proposed, he said.<\/span><\/p>\nMaking the case for data centers: bus tours, community education and 40 years of history<\/b><\/h2>\n
The jobs story: 6.5 million hours on Google campuses alone<\/b><\/h2>\n
How long will the work last? Contractors say a strong 6-to-10-year window<\/b><\/h2>\n
Power and behind-the-meter generation: two gas plants in the ground, three more proposed<\/b><\/h2>\n