Multiple Republican politicians said Thursday that they would support construction of a more than $800 million Michigan City data center — but only if the developer hires local and union workers.
“It’s pretty simple to me,” said LaPorte County Commissioner Steve Holifield, R-2nd. “If we’re opening our doors as a community to your facility, and giving you massive tax breaks, you should at least be kind enough to repay the favor by employing our highly skilled workers who are right here in LaPorte County.”
Local 150, the international union of operating engineers, picketed outside 402 Royal Road in Michigan City — the site of a future data center. Local politicians joined union workers in protest, concerned that the project has hired out-of-state workers instead of union and local workers.
“You don’t have to go looking states away (for workers),” said Commissioner Joe Haney, R-3rd. “We have the workers, and we have the manpower. We have one of the best workforces here in the country, and there’s no need to send those dollars out of state.”
Holifield and Haney both said they’d be supportive of the data center if it used local and union workers, with Holifield adding that it could be “very useful” for the county’s tax base.
Local 150 members declined to comment while picketing, saying a media representative for the union would have to coordinate an interview. A media representative was unable to immediately respond to a request for comment.
A representative for Phoenix Investors, the company that owns the Royal Road property, was also unable to immediately respond to a request for comment.
In September, the Michigan City Common Council passed four resolutions that would allow the construction of a data center, which provided multiple tax abatements, designated the area as an economic revitalization area and approved a taxpayer agreement for “Project Maize,” also known as the data center location, according to Post-Tribune archives.
In July, Michigan City Mayor Angie Nelson Deuitch said her administration and council members entered into non-disclosure agreements to review the concept in a confidential executive session, and no formal agreement was reached at the time.
“They dropped the ball from the beginning,” Holifield said. “I mean, they gave massive tax incentives to this company, plus they didn’t inform the public on what was going on … which I think is a slap in the face to the public.”
According to Post-Tribune archives, Local 150 Financial Secretary David Fagan said union members met with Phoenix Investors on Aug. 29, and were told the company would make no commitment on who they’d hire for Project Maize. The developer has hired a local contractor, Fagan told the Post-Tribune, but the union believes the contractor has “no significant role in the overall project.”
“We look at that as nothing more than a lack of sincerity on their commitment to the Indiana construction industry,” Fagan previously said. “I think, overall, our position has been that if the state or subdivision of the state utilizes various incentives for businesses, the construction side ought to be part of the metrics and add value to the state of Indiana.”
La Porte County Republican Party Chairman Allen Stevens said Thursday that he believes in order for Phoenix Investors to receive tax incentives from the city, there should be provisions that require local labor to work on the site.
Stevens claims about 70% of project workers are from out of state, but that number has not been independently verified.
“I support data centers if they’re put in the proper location and if they’re done properly,” Stevens said. “They need local labor and they need organized labor involved.”
Porter County Commissioner Barb Regnitz, who previously announced her intent to run for the Congressional seat held by Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, also joined union members in picketing Thursday.
Regnitz is supportive of data centers in Northwest Indiana, she said, if they are in the right place, adding that they should not be near schools or residential areas. She would support Project Maize if the developers used local workers, Regnitz said.
“It’s mind-boggling to even imagine that we’re seeing Georgia license plates, we’re seeing Wisconsin license plates, and we’re seeing Illinois license plates,” Regnitz said. “It just doesn’t make sense that we’re not using our local talent when we have such incredible local talent.”
Kelley Smith, an administrator for the Michigan City Mayor’s Office, said Thursday that Project Maize is a private project and the city isn’t involved with the construction. Nelson Deuitch is supportive of the local workforce, Smith said.
Other unions are working at the Project Maize site, including Local 210 plumbers, Local 1485 carpenters and Local 531 electricians, according to a Thursday email from Smith.
“Neither the mayor nor any other city official can decide who gets hired to work at Project Maize,” Smith said. “The city does not have the authority to tell any private developer building a private project that they must fire their current workers and give those jobs to local people.”
Nelson Deiutch had a meeting with Phoenix Investors, Local 81 laborers and Local 150 operators, Smith said, where the unions expressed they wanted to work on the project but had not yet been included. The meeting ended with the unions and developer reaching an agreement, Smith said, and union representatives said “they would provide lists of all appropriate contractors from within 45 miles of Michigan City that could perform work.”
The city’s involvement with negotiations ended after the meeting, Smith said in her email statement.
According to Post-Tribune archives, Nelson Deuitch believes the Local 150’s claims are political theater and a smear campaign against the data center that has falsely blamed local government. The project is not city-led or taxpayer-funded, she previously said, adding that it didn’t receive approvals from the city until September.
“We’re not anti-union,” Nelson Deuitch said. “We’re pro-Michigan City, and we’re pro-Northwest Indiana.”
The data center operator has yet to be announced, but some Michigan City residents believe the end user will be Google. For months, residents have been vocal in their opposition to the data center, expressing concerns on environmental and public health and how it will affect local workers.
Ashley Williams, executive director of Just Transition Northwest Indiana, previously told the Post-Tribune that she supports Local 150’s concerns and that Project Maize doesn’t meet “Hoosier standards.”
“Good-faith development helps communities work together,” she said. “Bad-faith development has neighbors looking over their shoulders. That’s how we feel about Phoenix Investors at the Project Maize data center in Michigan City. Due to this and recent violations cited by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, Phoenix has demonstrated that it is not a good neighbor and must continue to be held accountable for its actions and those of the project’s suspected end user, Google.”
