Local 150 of the International Union of Operating Engineers claims that members had an anti-Project Maize banner, used as “part of a lawful protest,” confiscated near Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City.
State officials say that the union was not authorized to protest near the casino.
“The Indiana State Police was not involved in removing signs or returning signs to the owners in the incident in question,” said an Indiana State Police statement. “The Indiana State Police has not granted permission to anyone to place signs on state property. A trooper did speak with an individual at the location and explained the state statute regarding signage on state property.”
Indiana code prohibits unauthorized signs from being placed on state-owned properties and right-of-ways, including sidewalks and medians.
Local 150 members set up a sign that said, “Blue Chip Casino supports out-of-state contractors (and) workers at Project Maize” near the casino on Wednesday. David Fagan, the union’s financial secretary, said Local 150 became aware that the casino was allowing out-of-state contractors and workers to use their parking lot as a staging area.
“We looked at that as aiding and abetting the out-of-state workers that are, in our opinion, undermining the working conditions of various construction trades across Northwest Indiana,” Fagan said. “We contacted Blue Chip to ask them to support us, indicating to them that the people who come to your casino are not those who are using the parking lot. It is the people of Northwest Indiana, and many of those are small businesses that are being negatively impacted by the out-of-state workers.”
The union asked Blue Chip to stop using the property as a staging area, Fagan said, so the union chose to set up its banner near the casino. A Blue Chip employee, who identified themselves as a manager, then confiscated the banner, Fagan said.
The employee later returned the banner, and the union put it back up, Fagan said.
A spokesperson for Boyd Gaming, which owns Blue Chip, declined to comment on Wednesday’s incident in a Thursday morning email.
An Indiana Department of Transportation employee allegedly arrived later with the casino worker and confiscated the sign, saying that the union couldn’t be on a public right of way. The INDOT employee returned the sign, and Local 150 put it back up.
“INDOT is aware of the situation at the casino,” a department statement said. “As there are no concerns related to traffic safety, there is not a reason to ask that any signs or banners be removed at this time.”
The same casino employee returned with an Indiana State Police officer, Fagan said, who confiscated the banner again. Fagan said the union got the banner back and planned to return to the same location at noon Thursday.
Fagan believes that the casino should support Local 150 workers in their concerns about out-of-state workers constructing the data center.
“Making a decision other than that would be a sign of the lack of interest in the well-being of small businesses and workers in Northwest Indiana,” he added. “That would not be, in my mind, a good business decision for them to make. But clearly, they have the right to make whatever decision they think is best. … We are not looking for a battle with Blue Chip, but we are looking for them to support small businesses in this area.”
Fagan believes that Local 150 members had their First Amendment right to protest taken away Wednesday.
“We were doing nothing illegally, and we had a right to protest,” Fagan said. “INDOT and the Indiana State Police should not be involved, and we should be free to express our First Amendment rights.”
Michigan City Police Department Capt. Kevin Urbanczyck said in an email statement that city officers were also called and responded to a trespassing complaint at the casino at about 11:04 a.m. Wednesday. Officers learned that union members were protesting on Blue Chip Casino property.
“Officers informed union members of the casino property lines and instructed them not to protest on property owned by Blue Chip Casino, per the casino’s request,” Urbanczyck said. “Union members made sure the banner was not on property owned by Blue Chip Casino or obstructing an adjacent sidewalk. The banner was visible when officers arrived. Union members were cooperative and officers left the scene without any further action taken.”
In July 2025, Michigan City Mayor Angie Nelson Deuitch said her administration and council members entered into non-disclosure agreements to review the data center concept in a confidential executive session, and no formal agreement was reached at the time.
The Michigan City Common Council, in September, passed four resolutions that would allow the construction of a more than $800 million data center at 402 Royal Road, according to Post-Tribune archives. The resolutions provided multiple tax abatements, designated the area as an economic revitalization area and approved a taxpayer agreement for Project Maize.
The data center end user has yet to be formally announced, but residents suspect it to be Google. Documents list the operator as Lavender Fields Holdings LLC, and according to Indiana Economic Development Corporation sales tax exemption documents, Google is listed as an affiliate.
Ashley Williams, Michigan City resident and executive director of Just Transition Northwest Indiana, responded to Local 150’s claims in a Thursday statement. Williams has been outspoken in her opposition to the data center, citing both environmental and public health concerns.
“Exercising our fundamental, constitutional rights should not be criminalized, and we stand with Local 150 for defending those rights,” Williams said in her statement. “From the start, Google’s Project Maize data center and its developer, Phoenix Investors, have shown they are bent on suppressing dissenting voices.
Williams believes the incident at Blue Chip is reflective of “the iron grip that this project” has on Michigan City.
“It’s shameful,” Williams said. “We need good union jobs, as well as sustainable development that doesn’t undercut workers and community health and safety. Project Maize has shown it’s incapable of delivering either.”
A spokesperson for Project Maize was unable to immediately respond to a request for comment about Local 150’s incident at Blue Chip Casino.
Local 150 members have been concerned with Project Maize construction since late August 2025, according to Post-Tribune archives. On Aug. 29, 2025, union members met with Phoenix Investors, who told Local 150 they would make no commitment to hire union workers.
Local 150 and Michigan City residents have been concerned that out-of-state, non-union workers have been hired to construct the data center.
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 previously said. “We’re pro-Michigan City, and we’re pro-Northwest Indiana.”
