Data centers can power up employment in PA – if done right

For generations, union workers have built the infrastructure that keeps Pennsylvania moving, from bridges to energy infrastructure. Their skilled hands have helped build the commonwealth we know today, and they should have a central role in building what comes next.

At Union Energy, we believe that data center development should be no different. As Pennsylvania’s energy economy changes, that means supporting new investment while ensuring the workers building our future have good jobs, safe working conditions, and a real opportunity to benefit from growth in their communities.

House Bill 1834, which recently advanced through the Pennsylvania House, reflects an important step forward. As data centers create new energy demand, our families and businesses should not shoulder the cost. New development should bring new opportunities without unfairly shifting the burden onto the people already living and working here. That is the kind of commonsense policy Union Energy PA supports.

If these projects are coming to Pennsylvania, we should have a clear path forward that keeps workers and communities in mind. The electricians, laborers, plumbers, engineers and other skilled workers who build these projects are not outsiders who come into town and leave when the work is done. They are our neighbors, our friends and our family members, raising their children here and relying on the same roads, utilities and environment as everyone else.

That means we have a responsibility to make sure growth is done safely and responsibly, both on the jobsite and in the communities where these projects are built.

HB 1834 is now before the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee for further review, and we hope to see it continue moving forward.

Gov. Josh Shapiro’s Responsible Infrastructure Development Standards are another important step in that direction. They set clear expectations for major infrastructure projects: protect ratepayers, create good-paying jobs, strengthen environmental safeguards, promote transparency, and give local communities a voice. These are not competing priorities. They are the building blocks of responsible economic development.

For working Pennsylvanians, that matters.  We can support investment and protect our communities. We can build new energy infrastructure and create good union jobs. Pennsylvania has done this before. 

We built our cities with skilled hands and powered generations of manufacturing and energy development. The next generation of infrastructure will look different, but the need for skilled Pennsylvania workers will remain.

If data centers are going to be part of our future, let’s make sure the working class is part of that future, too. Let’s build these projects safely and responsibly and protect the communities we call home.

That is what a just transition should mean: progress that moves Pennsylvania forward while making sure working people move forward with it.