Building trades leaders answer data center concerns
META-Bowling Green, Ohio
Members of the building trades were building the structural skeleton of a Meta data center in Bowling Green in December 2025. Data center construction throughout Ohio has created tens of thousands of jobs for members of the building trades.
Aligned Data Center-Sandusky
Building trades members are pictured setting a steel pad for an air handling unit at an Aligned Data Center in Sandusky.
Throughout Ohio, building trades leaders are working to overcome public misconceptions about
data centers and the growing “not in my backyard” (NIMBY) mentality of some Ohio residents.
Ohio is home to the sixth-most data centers in the country (232), with 137 located in central Ohio. There is the potential for more data centers to be built in the Buckeye State, creating thousands of good-paying jobs for building trades members.
However, as residents spread misinformation about data centers, the unsubstantiated claims may be reventing these facilities from being built in Ohio, resulting in the loss of future jobs, tax dollars and other community benefits.
Numerous media outlets throughout Ohio have reported instances of “NIMBY-ism,” over the past six months.
This has led to larger than normal crowds packing planning commission, city council or township trustee meetings, attempting to block construction of proposed data center campuses.
Further, a group of Southern Ohio residents are attempting to collect the more than 413,000 signatures needed from at least 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties by July 1 to get a constitutional amendment on the November ballot to ban certain data center construction.
The proposed constitutional amendment would prohibit building data centers with a peak electricity load of more than 25 megawatts per month, according to the Ohio Capital Journal.
Multiple state, regional and Local building trades leaders have urged members and their families not to sign the petition.
Promoting Facts
Now, building trades leaders are ramping up their push to educate the public on the truth surrounding data centers, which benefit communities and members of the building trades.
For affiliated members of the Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, data center construction has led to a boom in work hours, helping make Central Ohio one of the nation’s top construction markets.
Appearing on Fox Business Channel’s The Bottom Line on May 29, Dorsey Hager, C/COBCTC Executive Secretary-Treasurer, told host Brian Brenberg that 40 percent of the work performed within the Council’s jurisdiction comes from data center construction and maintenance.
“Since 2023, the hours worked in our nine-county jurisdiction by our 23,000 members has tripled,” Hager said. “The recent job creation and growth have been supported by the boom we have seen in data centers.”
East Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council President Brett McElfresh, who is also the Business Manager of UA Local 94, was joined by ECOBCTC Vice President and IBEW Local 540 Business Manager Erik Hann to discuss the construction of a proposed Amazon data center in Perry Township with the Canton City Council, according to an April report by the Canton Repository.
The project will create more than 1,000 jobs over the next four to six years for members of the affiliated members of the area’s building trades, according to Hann, who also stressed the importance of ongoing maintenance and upgrade work.
“Even after they’re done, we never leave,” he said.
DeWine Steps In
In addition to the NIMBY-ism and potential constitutional amendment, the data center building boom may also be impacted by an announcement by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.
On May 27, he suspended the ability of data centers to request new tax exemptions while the Ohio General Assembly’s Joint Data Center Committee studies the growth of data centers in Ohio.
DeWine stressed his decision to pause the tax incentive was not a ban on data center construction and that he fully supports the Ohio General Assembly’s work to study the issue and bring forward facts about data centers.
The goals of the committee are to, “determine data energy cost and availability impacts for other Ohio ratepayers; identify state and local community economics of data center development; determine the environmental impacts of data center development; identify public safety and national security considerations; and increase public awareness and sector knowledge.”
According to Affiliated Construction Trades (ACT) Ohio Executive Director Matt Szollosi, the building trades will have a strong presence at the committee’s hearings and provide testimony regarding the benefits of data center construction and maintenance.
During his appearance on The Bottom Line, Hager stated that the state legislature and municipal governments should not pass legislation to stop the construction boom. He also criticized the governor for his decision to stop the tax incentive.
“Gov. DeWine’s decision to end the tax incentive, without any input or warning, when he previously vetoed the effort, is a reactionary policy to the current backlash against data centers instead of forward-thinking legislation that we have seen in other states,” Hager said.
As an alternative, Hager suggested the creation of legislation that requires data centers to report on energy and water usage, plus regulates the type of energy used on these projects. He also suggested that Community Benefit Agreements should be required.
“If we work with them (data centers and developers) and provide good legislation, including community investment and behind-the-meter power generation, we can take some stress off the grid and help keep utility costs in check,” said Hager.
While Central Ohio currently leads the way in data center projects, other parts of the state are preparing for data center projects and possible opposition.
Dave Wondolowski, Executive Secretary/Business Manager of the Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council, said he advocates for sensible regulations rather than broad
data center bans.
“Thoughtful approval allows local leaders to negotiate community benefits and safeguards that align data center projects with public priorities,” he added.
Wondolowski also touched on the important role data centers now play in everyday life.
“Data centers are essential to Northeast Ohio’s healthcare, education, transportation, finance, public safety and industrial sectors,” he said. “Communities that block data center development will forfeit revenue, jobs and influence while still relying on data centers for essential digital
services.”
Wondolowski believes data centers should be constructed on decommissioned industrial sites and brownfields, as has been proposed in communities across Ohio, including Lordstown, Conesville and Portsmouth.
This, he noted, would balance the needs of Ohio’s agricultural and industrial sectors. He also addressed one of the data center safeguards already created by the Public Utility Commission of Ohio.
In 2025, PUCO required data center owners to pay for 85 percent of their electricity usage for at least the next 12 years.
Wondolowski stressed that responsible data center owners in Ohio need to invest in the research and development of self-sustaining data centers that alleviate burdens on local ratepayers.