Abandoned hydrogen globes at the Science Technology and Advanced Manufacturing Park (STAMP) in Genesee County. The STAMP site has been targeted for a data center. Credit: Courtesy of Jess Cherofsky

Editor’s note: This story is part of CNY Decides, a collaboration between Central Current and WAER Syracuse Public Media to demystify the political process and bring you the stories and information you’ll remember in the voting booth in 2026. Click here to read, watch and listen to other installments in the collaboration.

Ahead of the primary elections in New York this June, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 43 sent a letter to Onondaga County legislators, state lawmakers representing the county, other labor leaders in the region, and Gov. Kathy Hochul. 

Their message was clear: oppose a series of legislative proposals that would impose environmental and financial regulations on data centers, or risk missing out on billions in economic development and thousands of union jobs. 

Since then, Hochul has imposed the nation’s first moratorium on the issuance of permits for hyperscale data centers in July. Yet, that has not stopped environmental advocates and elected officials in Central New York and the Finger Lakes from rallying in support for the four bills outlined in the IBEW’s letter.

Neither party is opposed to regulation of data centers, but union officials say the bills they have outlined would significantly restrict the developments, potentially spooking away an economic boom for the region.

“We always recognize that large scale data centers raise a lot of questions regarding, let’s face it, the electrical demand, the infrastructure investment, water usage, environmental impact,” said Alan Marzullo, the IBEW Local 43’s business manager and the author of the letter. “However, those moratorium bills, in our opinion, are not the solution.”

Above all, Marzullo and other union officials say they want to avoid talks of a permanent ban for data centers.

“If any politician feels that these moratoriums for data centers should be done in its entirety, meaning they do not want to see data centers ever, that absolutely will not work for the IBEW Local 43,” Marzullo said.

The deep unpopularity of data centers has local officials and union leaders engaged in a delicate dance: some unions see the proliferation of data center construction projects as a major boon to the region’s economy, while elected officials who often seek union support respond to the roaring constituent opposition to data centers. 

Elected leaders say those bills provide a better, more comprehensive framework for regulation that protects the environment, as well as tighter local control of subsidy dollars for data centers. Their efforts are running parallel to a wave of anti-data center sentiment across the country. 

Some Democrat candidates in the state do not see the opposing stances as a wedge that drives unions and Democrats apart. Union endorsements don’t always go to Democrats, but almost six of every 10 union members align with the Democratic Party, according to a 2024 report from The Pew Research Center. 

For some other candidates, they see their own opposition to data centers as a benefit to their political futures.

County Legislator Maurcie Brown, for instance, ran in a primary for a seat in the State Assembly’s 129th District against a 30-year incumbent and narrowly emerged victorious. His win is in part due to his anti-data center stance, Brown said.

“The public is not wavering in the middle. The public, especially here in Central New York, has a pretty firm anti stance,” Brown, who represents the 15th Legislative District in the county, said. 

Despite the differing stances, some elected leaders don’t see the disagreement as a fault line that will create a contentious environment between local leaders and organized labor. 

“It’s a split,” said Assemblymember Anna Kelles, who represents parts of Tompkins and Cortland counties in the 125th Assembly District. Local 43 does not cover Kelles’ district, but she said union representatives in her district are also split on data center regulations. 

Kelles is the primary sponsor of two of the bills outlined in the IBEW’s letter and is credited as one of the main authors of the “Responsible Data Center Development Act,” a one-year moratorium on data centers that was approved by both legislative chambers and awaits the governor’s signature. Environmentalists credit the bill as much more comprehensive legislation that directs environmental regulators to draft more stringent and holistic guidelines for data center developers.

“What I always say to them is no two people are ever going to agree about everything,” Kelles said. “But where we agree, I will fight like hell for you. And where we don’t agree… I will be absolutely upfront and honest.”

Jennifer Stromer-Galley — a professor at Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies who researches the intersection between artificial intelligence, politics, and democracy — said the construction boom for data centers is a real consideration for elected officials. She equated it to the megascale Interstate Highway buildout that spanned almost 40 years, starting in 1956. 

“Part of why they’ve been elected is to help bring jobs and opportunities to their communities, and data centers do pose opportunities. They do bring jobs, they do bring visibility,” said Stromer-Galley. 

The question has now become whether those economic benefits are worth the political and environmental price tags attached to them, she added. There are currently 38 large data center project proposals being considered by utility regulators in the state. One of those could arrive in the town of Lysander. Another would see a decommissioned power plant in the town of Lansing — in Kelles’ district — be turned into a hyperscale data center.

“Once you build it, the consequences are then, to some degree, fairly permanent. And so, let’s figure that out first,” Stromer-Galley said.

What is in it for the unions?

In the IBEW Local 43 letter to elected leaders, the union targeted the following bills, urging elected leaders and other unions to not back them:

  • “Responsible Data Center Development Act” — A one year moratorium that differs from the governor’s executive order in the agencies ordered to draft regulations, and  it includes all data center proposals set to demand more than 20 megawatts of electricity.  It also directs state regulators to review data centers’ impacts on electronic waste, farmland and public health. This bill was already passed earlier this year by the legislature, but has not been signed by Hochul.
  • “Stop Subsidizing Data Centers Act” — This bill, introduced by State Sen. Rachel May, caps financial incentives for data center developers at $25,000 per anticipated full-time job. It also denies assistance for data center projects capable of consuming more than 20 megawatts during normal operations.
  • Assembly Bill A10141A — Imposes a three year moratorium on data center permit issuance, and was Kelles’ first attempt this year in the State Legislature at regulating data centers.
  • “Homegrown Energy Act” — Provides a host community benefit for customers in a host community where data centers are expanded or placed. Provide discounts or credits on residential electric utility bills in the host community; or install heat pumps, rooftop solar, or battery storage systems in those communities.

Union workers, Marzullo said, supports responsible oversight of data center development, environmental accountability for developers, and fair treatment for ratepayers. The more stringent moratoriums and added layers of regulation on financial incentives and tax breaks, however, are not the solution to questions of affordability for ratepayers, environmental conservation for state regulators, and fiscal sustainability for local functionaries, he added. 

The state and localities, Marzullo said, already possess enough regulatory authority and ability to discern how beneficial projects will be for local communities. 

“Rather than improving outcomes, these bills risk driving billions of dollars in investment, thousands of skilled jobs, and critical infrastructure development to competing states,” he wrote. 

To address concerns about affordability for ratepayers, Marzullo proposed solutions not dissimilar from some of the proposals floated by environmental advocates and state lawmakers. Marzullo wants data center developers to pay for the requisite infrastructure upgrades that would be needed to satiate rising demand once data centers are plugged into the grid. 

He also called for increased investment in workforce development to train workers who can build and operate new and improved infrastructure.

The reliable and substantial increase in demand, Marzullo wrote, would also make investments in renewable energy economically viable. 

“Preventing data center development in New York will not eliminate the demand for these services; it will simply push development to states with less aggressive environmental standards and a greater reliance on fossil fuels,” Marzullo said.

The 38 projects being considered by utility regulators in the state would demand nearly double the energy of all New York households combined, according to a recent analysis.

New infrastructure buildouts and the actual construction of data centers are bound to bring in construction jobs, but experts have cast doubt on whether those are long-term, high paying jobs. A research brief from the University of Michigan released last year indicates that data centers create many “short-lived jobs.” 

“Once data centers are built, they require relatively few employees since the facilities primarily house computers and servers,” researchers wrote.

Brown, May and Kelles echoed the report’s findings. May told Central Current in July that the low output of long-term, high paying jobs is not worth the robust subsidy packages that some data center developers request from localities. 

“For the long term, almost nobody works in these,” she noted. “That it’s not a good investment of taxpayer money for us to be trying to attract these kinds of developments.”

Union leaders say building a data center will create an atmosphere of increased economic activity around the development beyond the initial construction. 

For instance, Marcus Williamee, the business manager for UA Local 81 Plumbers & Steamfitters, said UA workers will install and maintain cooling systems for data centers. 

“The long-term jobs for us are in the service industry, and every single HVAC system needs constant maintenance,” he said. 

Similarly, Marzullo said the initial construction will yield jobs. Beyond that, the need to beef out the state’s electrical grid will also generate long-term jobs. Data centers will create the demand necessary to build and operate new substations, transmission lines, energy storage facilities, renewable energy infrastructure, and other equipment, Marzullo said.

“These are prevailing wage careers that support families, strengthen local economies, and create apprenticeship opportunities for future generations,” he wrote.

Despite the disagreements in policy, Kristen Gonzalez, the state senator who sponsored two of the four bills highlighted in the IBEW’s letter, said there is no rift between union labor and environmental advocates. 

“I don’t see us on different sides,” said Gonzalez, who represents parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. “I think the trades will always naturally oppose moratoriums or pauses on the ability to get short-term construction jobs.”

Her bill, Gonzalez said, would actually help unions by establishing a prevailing wage standard, as well as protect and expand the pipeline of union jobs working in data center construction. 

Residents in Onondaga County who oppose the data center proposal in Lysander say unions should challenge the corporations behind data centers and consider the future of the county.

“Unions are in a unique position to ask hard questions and challenge infrastructure that may create long term harm, rather than focusing on the potential short-term gains,” said Johanna Bock, an organizer with Citizens for Lysander. “They have a real opportunity to think beyond the present to make sure the decisions supported are ones our children can live with. There is plenty of infrastructure that needs to be built, maintained, and/or improved without automatically turning to data centers as the answer.”

It remains to be seen if the consequences of elected leaders’ stances on data centers will lead to the loss of support from unions. Brown’s anti-data center stance has so far not cost him the support of UA Local 81, who announced their endorsement of the democratic socialist legislator on Sept. 15.  Brown will vie against former Republican County Legislator Shawn Fiato in November to represent the State Assembly’s 129th District.

“I can be friends with somebody who means well, but doesn’t have the full picture, and that’s kind of how I see it,” Brown said. “I think they’re making the best decision that they believe to be true. But as somebody whose job is to get the full picture, I disagree with [the IBEW’s] point on this.”

Similarly, Democrat Ian Phillips who has advocated for the “Responsible Data Center Development Act,” recently received the endorsement of IBEW Local 43. Phillips is challenging Republican Assemblyman John Lemondes this November in the 126th Assembly District, which includes parts of Onondaga and Cayuga Counties.

“I am supportive of every single one of their issues, save that one,” Phillips said. “There is room for difference of opinion on this issue.”

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Eddie Velazquez is a Syracuse journalist covering economic justice in the region. He is focused on stories about organized labor, and New York's housing and childhood lead poisoning crises. You can follow...