Kenneth Broadbent: Unions built Pa.; now they can build America's future

In 1975, I was a college student, spending my days sitting in classrooms, counting down the minutes until I could leave. One Tuesday, I withdrew from college and enrolled in a steamfitters apprenticeship. Over the next three decades, I built a career as a steamfitter that I am incredibly proud of. Looking back, it was one of the best decisions I ever made. For decades, many union members watched jobs disappear, unsure whether the work that built Western Pennsylvania was gone for good. Today, data centers are changing that. They're bringing investment back to communities that too often watched opportunity leave, creating places where people can build careers. Nationally, the data center industry supported 5.5 million jobs in 2024, up from 4.7 million the year before. These facilities need skilled tradespeople to maintain and operate them long after construction ends, creating jobs for generations to come. In Western Pennsylvania, that work falls on the members of Steamfitters Local 449, who build and maintain the heating, piping and cooling systems running in the plants and facilities that power this region. This is not work that can be improvised or outsourced. It requires the training and experience that steamfitters have spent a century mastering, which means the growth of this industry runs directly through the hands of organized labor. Pennsylvania is uniquely positioned to compete due to its trained workforce and status as the second-largest natural gas producer in the country. Natural gas powers more than 40% of all data center electricity in the United States and is projected to remain the largest source through 2030. Reliable power is in such high demand that companies are building their own natural gas-powered facilities to keep up. Pennsylvania legislators need to act while demand is strong. Our natural gas resources and skilled workforce make these facilities possible, creating steady jobs and economic opportunity across the commonwealth. That opportunity extends far beyond Pennsylvania. China is racing to lead the world in AI, backing a reported $295 billion national data center buildout, and investing nearly $500 billion in energy in 2025 alone. This race will come down to who can actually build and power the infrastructure that AI runs on. That is where Pennsylvania, with its energy and skilled workforce, can help America take the lead. Building new facilities is only part of the challenge. Keeping them running requires a steady supply of skilled workers, and for years, this country failed to build that pipeline. Like me, many young people are told a four-year degree is the only path, and the trades are treated as a backup option. When I walked away from college and into a five-year apprenticeship, I found the opposite. I found a career that let me serve as a welding instructor for eight years and eventually be elected by my own members to lead this union. That is the kind of future the trades offer. As unions grow again, a new generation is stepping into this work. Investment in workers and infrastructure goes hand in hand, and the states and countries that understand this are pulling ahead. Ohio's data center industry supported about 95,000 jobs and added $12 billion to the state's economy in 2024, with projections showing it will grow to 130,000 jobs and $20 billion by 2030. Ohio made a deliberate decision to position itself as a data center hub, and it is paying off in jobs that keep workers in that state, as well as tax revenue that supports schools and communities, and an economy building toward the future. The same strategy is also at play between nations, and the stakes are far higher. China has made its intentions clear by investing $1.4 trillion to achieve global AI leadership by 2030, They are not waiting for anyone to catch up. Our legislators should be moving quickly to bring these projects to Pennsylvania and invest in the workforce behind them, because America's ability to keep pace with China depends on states like ours stepping up. I have spent over 51 years in this union because I believe in what the skilled trades can do for working families and the value union labor brings to our communities. Today, data centers are creating exactly the kind of sustained demand for skilled labor that this region needs. We have the workers. We have the energy. We have the expertise. We are ready to get to work.