• As data center construction buoys the job market for laborers, unions have thrown their weight behind Big Tech.
• A top business advocacy group says Indy shouldn’t shut out data center tax dollars while raising rates to fund government services.
• Indy councilors, set to vote on the pause Aug. 10, and data center critics say more time is needed to ensure protections and benefits for neighbors.

Contentious hearings over data centers in Indianapolis have all looked similar: Activists and neighbors who oppose the energy-guzzling facilities crowd one side of the city’s Public Assembly Room. Company executives and lawyers occupy a smaller section on the other side.

And seated behind the developers have been some of their only local allies: labor union members, often dressed in brightly colored shirts to signal their allegiance.

As people of all political stripes find a common enemy in data center developers, local labor unions hungry for hundreds of construction jobs have thrown their weight behind the projects. With the Indianapolis City-County Council set to vote on a moratorium on all new data centers Aug. 10, a major union and a top business advocacy group told IndyStar that city leaders should regulate rather than temporarily ban the facilities.

Jon Hooker, who represents more than 35,000 union construction workers as president of the Central Indiana Building and Construction Trades Council, noted that at bottom his position is simple: Union members need work, and data centers constitute an increasingly large part of the construction market. Data center construction spending has jumped nearly 50% from last year to an annual rate of more than $68 billion, according to a recent Census Bureau report.

“What we are in favor of is good jobs, good construction jobs, and the vast investment in these data centers,” Hooker said. “It’s a lot of work, and it’s a lot of money for construction workers. It’s just one of those things that we can’t not be in favor of at this point.”

While nationwide only about one in 10 construction workers are union members, labor unions have more leverage in Democratic areas like Indianapolis. For three data centers already approved here, developers have pledged to hire more than 1,000 union workers.

DC BLOX, the company building a data center near Irvington, says it expects to create 600 jobs at peak construction and has signed a project labor agreement to employ union workers. Sabey Data Centers, whose hyperscale campus was approved on the south side, and Metrobloks, which got the green light to build in Martindale-Brightwood, have each pledged to create hundreds of construction jobs and work with local unions.

Data center critics note that promises of massive local investments don’t always turn out as hoped, however. A major union representing operating engineers has accused Google of relying heavily on out-of-state and foreign workers to build an $832 million data center in Michigan City.

Several unions also criticized a planned $65 billion development in Sullivan County for holding out on labor contracts. A project representative told local media Aug. 6 that local unions had signed nearly $600 million in labor contracts to date.

The Indy Chamber also opposes the data center moratorium, saying city leaders should not close the door to billions of dollars in private investment and miss out on much-needed tax revenue. Rather, local leaders should take advantage of Big Tech’s rush to build out computing power and negotiate major community benefits.

Chamber leaders say local governments that face reduced property tax revenue forecasts under the 2025 Senate Enrolled Act 1 need the boost from data centers. The facilities offer a chance to garner millions to fund schools and roads, at a time when Indianapolis is weighing higher taxes on local residents to fund both.

“Right now those conversations are about asking our current residents and taxpayers to increase the share of their contribution, rather than having new companies come in, contribute to the tax base and help those assets and amenities pencil out,” Indy Chamber Chief Strategy Officer Taylor Hughes told IndyStar.

‘Very unsustainable’: Data center critics say slowdown is needed

Those who support a moratorium say governments need more time to develop strong regulations to limit data centers’ enormous impact on the environment, electricity demand and quality of life.

Marion County could join more than 20 other Indiana counties that have either approved data center moratoriums or outright banned the facilities, according to Citizens Action Coalition, a consumer watchdog group. If approved by the City-County Council, the final vote on a moratorium falls to the Metropolitan Development Commission, a body made up of real estate experts appointed by the mayor and the council that has approved three data centers in 2026.

Announcing Indy’s proposed moratorium, Council President Maggie Lewis, a Democrat, said the city needs to pause new data centers to create stronger regulations with the help of industry experts, the mayor’s administration and community members. The temporary ban replaced draft rules developed by city staffers that critics called too lenient on environmental issues and proximity to neighborhoods.

With the moratorium set to expire at the end of 2027, councilors will examine issues like maximum building footprints, sound levels, utility usage and building decommissioning plans. Lewis said the proposal was not about slowing economic progress, but about limiting harm to local neighborhoods.

“This isn’t about grandstanding or slowing down economic development,” Lewis said at a July 13 committee meeting. “This is not a cop-out … It’s about being humble enough to acknowledge that when something isn’t working, we should hit pause.”

What’s more, data center critics say governments need time to reevaluate the hefty tax breaks on offer to wealthy tech companies.

Data centers can qualify for decades-long sales and use tax exemptions thanks to state legislation passed in 2019 to attract technology investment. State exemptions saved data center developers, primarily Amazon, more than $655 million through 2025, a WTHR investigation found.