Dorsey Hager, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Columbus Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to provide an update on a central Ohio construction season that is breaking records, and is now facing a policy threat from an unexpected direction.
Gov. Mike DeWine's surprise suspension of Ohio's data center sales tax exemption drew criticism from Hager, who argued it sends the wrong signal to developers at a moment when Ohio is second only to Virginia in data center concentration and on pace to nearly double the Central Ohio building trades work hours to 20 million in 2026.
He also delivered an encouraging Intel project update, described record apprenticeship applications across multiple affiliated Local Unions and capped the conversation with a fundraiser recap for Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin, who has been a consistent champion for Community Benefit Agreements that have created billions of dollars in union construction work.
Dorsey Hager described Gov. Mike DeWine's suspension of Ohio's data center sales tax exemption as coming out of nowhere and leaving labor leaders across the state disheartened. The exemption, which applied to materials used in data center construction, had been a meaningful factor in Ohio's rise to second place nationally in data center concentration, behind only Virginia. More than 200 data centers now operate in the state, and the economic ripple effects have been substantial, not just in jobs but in local tax revenue that is transforming communities, Hager said.
Hager pushed back on the argument that the exemption has cost Ohio $1.8 billion in tax revenue. The three Google campuses in Central Ohio alone — located in Columbus, Lancaster and New Albany — generated 6.5 million hours of building trades work in 2025. In local taxes alone, that activity generated nearly $14 million for the communities where those campuses are located. He also cited a proposed power center in Asheville as an example of what data center-adjacent development can do for a small community. It is projected to generate annual energy tax revenue of $11 million to $13 million for a village whose entire annual budget is $8.5 million.
Hager said most of the current data center projects had already locked in their development agreements and sales tax deals before the governor’s recent action. The suspension makes no difference for those projects. What concerns him more is the signal it sends. Large-scale developers who are deciding where to place multi-billion-dollar investments — companies like Aligned and Vantage, in addition to Google and Amazon — read the news. A perception that Ohio is pulling back on incentives could redirect projects to Virginia and other competing states before a single shovel breaks ground.
He stressed that Ohio building trades are not asking for special treatment, but asking that Ohio not undercut itself at the precise moment when the data center boom is producing one of the most significant workforce development stories in the state's history.
On the Intel semiconductor megaproject in New Albany, Hager delivered encouraging news. The project currently has approximately 1,600 tradespeople on site, including carpenters, pipe fitters, electricians and ironworkers, who are going vertical with steel and iron that will support the two fabrication plants on the site.
Over the past 36 months, Intel's stock has more than tripled. The company has cut its balance sheet by laying off workers and suspending construction projects overseas. It recently signed significant deals with Nvidia and Apple, the latter being the world's largest chip consumer. Bechtel, the contractor managing the build, has re-entered the supply chain after a period of pulling back, a signal Hager said carries real meaning given how specialized the supply requirements are for a facility of this complexity. He said that if he were placing a bet, he would predict that almost 4,000 tradespeople will be on site by the end of 2027. That leads to the possibility that a targeted opening date in 2031 could move up, he added.
Hager was careful to note that Intel is not the whole story. With data centers, healthcare construction and commercial work all generating activity simultaneously, the Central Ohio Building Trades Council is not dependent on any single project. There are plenty of opportunities for members regardless of how quickly Intel ramps up.
The volume of interest in the trades across central Ohio is at levels Hager said he has not seen before. Record numbers of applications are being received by apprenticeship programs at IBEW Local 1105, IBEW Local 683, Ironworkers Local 172, Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 189, Insulators Local 50 and others. Training centers are expanding their physical footprints to handle demand, and additional administrative staff is being hired to process applications.
A recent outreach event at IBEW Local 683 drew more than 1,000 attendees, with over 300 people in line before the doors opened. Local 189 held a similarly successful event the following week. In July, the council will join the state building trades council for an outreach effort during the Ohio State Fair, where Hager said the combination of high foot traffic and a captive audience of parents, grandparents and young people makes it one of the most effective recruitment environments available.
The core message he brings to every guidance counselor, every parent and every young person he speaks with is consistent: a career in the building trades offers a direct path to a six-figure income, no college debt and long-term stability. Given the scale of construction activity underway and projected in Central Ohio, such a career path can start right now.
Hager also described a recent fundraiser for Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin, whom he credited as a consistent ally of the building trades. Hardin's brother is a journeyman member of IBEW Local 683, giving the city council president a good understanding of what a union career in construction can mean for a family's financial future.
The Community Benefits Agreement Committee Hardin helped establish has been responsible for billions of dollars in union construction work in Columbus, with provisions that specifically prioritize opportunities for underserved communities, people of color, women and unemployed and underemployed veterans. Hardin, along with council members Nick Bankston, Lourdes Barrosa de Padilla, Melissa Green and Nancy Day Alcower, face reelection next year.
More information is available at columbusconstruction.org.
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