Google announces new data center in Hermantown, trades show support
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
St. Paul, MN: Jobs for Minnesotans welcomes Google’s announcement to build a data center in Hermantown, an investment that will support long-term, family-sustaining construction jobs in northeastern Minnesota. The tech company’s decision to locate in the state reflects a vote of confidence in Minnesota’s tradespeople, communities, and willingness to work together to create new business.
“With Minnesota lagging in key economic growth metrics and facing significant outmigration, the state’s future stability is currently at a critical turning point. To protect family livelihoods and revitalize the tax base, Minnesota must aggressively attract and retain new industries like data centers that foster job creation and long-term opportunity,” said Dave Lislegard, Executive Director of Jobs For Minnesotans (Jobs). “Google’s commitment to develop in our state is a textbook example of the progress that Jobs, labor, business, and communities support—high-standard, well-paying development that yields upfront jobs and lasting careers. It’s also a win for clean energy as the project pushes Minnesota closer to a clean-energy future by powering the site sustainably and keeping local utility rates stable, by law.”
The over 200-acre site could include over one million square feet of new construction, a multi-year project employing every discipline across the trades. After its construction, the operation will employ administrative, operational, and maintenance staff on a long-term basis. Union and trades leaders throughout Minnesota welcome the activity.
“Our highly trained, skilled trades are ready to work, but without new projects, stagnant wages will continue to drain the local economy and drive our youth elsewhere,” said Tom Dicklich, Jobs board member and Executive Director of the Minnesota State Building and Construction Trades Council, a co-founding organization of Jobs. “By embracing data center development, the state can leverage its superior labor standards to build world-class infrastructure that offers long-term job security for workers across all industries. Answering this call now ensures that paychecks stay within our communities, securing Minnesota’s economic future—and the future of our industry.”
“One data center can mean hundreds, sometimes thousands, of construction jobs. Those are more than numbers; those are my members. Those members are our friends and family getting steady hours, a young person envisioning and building a future in our region, and in the trades. These are union, family-sustaining jobs. Work that allows people to raise families, buy homes, and spend their paychecks locally. And beyond that, it is about pride. Pride in the opportunity to build the infrastructure of the future. Pride in knowing that when tradespeople drive past a school, a hospital, and soon, a data center, they can say: we built that,” said Jack Carlson, President of the Duluth Building and Construction Trades Council.
The announcement reinforces the recently launched YesMN! Initiative by Jobs, a campaign encouraging Minnesotans to pause, learn, and consider the facts before saying no to developments in our communities.
“Minnesota has always built what matters–and our skilled trades can do it better than anyone else. Today, that means building the infrastructure that builds everything else. Large-scale projects require resources like land and utilities, and they generate a circular return by expanding the budgets that sustain our schools, transit, and public spaces. Though our business climate presents challenges, we can shift that narrative together by prioritizing the development of projects like data centers,” said Andy Campeau, Jobs Board Chair and President of the Minnesota Pipe Trades Association.
More details about the project are expected soon.
###
About Jobs for Minnesotans
Jobs for Minnesotans is a coalition of business, labor, and community organizations working together to advocate for responsible job creation and growth to improve economic opportunities across Minnesota. Jobs for Minnesotans was co-founded in 2012 by the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council, representing over 70,000 workers, and the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, representing 2,300 members and 500,000-plus employees. For more information, visit jobsforminnesotans.org, and engage with the coalition on Facebook.com/Jobs4MN and LinkedIn.com/Company/Jobs-For-MN.
Press Contact
Samantha Hanson, samantha@giantvoices.com, (218) 576-7236