Blue-Collar Workers Stick Up for Data Centers & Dyson’s $500 Toothbrush Flosses For You

**SPEAKER_1** (0:01)
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**Neal Freyman** (0:28)
Good morning Brew Daily show. I'm Neal Freyman.

**Toby Howell** (0:31)
And I'm Toby Howell.

**Neal Freyman** (0:32)
Today, meet the group of people going to bat in favor of data centers.

**Toby Howell** (0:36)
Then would you pay $500 for a Dyson toothbrush? It's Wednesday, September 2nd. Let's ride.

**Neal Freyman** (0:50)
Yesterday wasn't just any ol September 1st. It marked a major turning point, the official beginning of the late 2020s. If you break up the decade into three, the early 20s, the mid 20s, and the late 20s, the first of September, 2026 marked our entrance into the final third, the third period. Toby, getting a little nostalgic?

**Toby Howell** (1:12)
Late 20s, not a bad place to be. A lot of good stuff happens in your late 20s, although there's a tad more back pain than expected. But it also has me thinking, how will the history books remember these 20s? Were they roaring, Neal, or were they more whimpering? I think we're somewhere in the roaring section of the woods.

**Neal Freyman** (1:32)
We'll see. We got three and a half more years to go, so I think this book is still being written. And now a word from our sponsor, American Express.

**Toby Howell** (1:41)
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**Neal Freyman** (1:44)
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**Toby Howell** (1:50)
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**Neal Freyman** (1:55)
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**Neal Freyman** (2:16)
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These days, data center supporters are even more rare than genuine Stella Lefty fans, but there is one group that's swimming against the current and has recently spoken out in favor of data center construction, the blue-collar workers who build the data centers. As political candidates on both sides of the aisle embrace anti-data center positions, blue-collar unions and trade groups, a powerful block of voters, are saying, hey, you do that, you want to block this kind of construction? We're out. According to the Wall Street Journal, the steam fitters, UA Local 602, which installs mechanical piping systems in Greater Washington, DC., wrote in a memo to its members that it's drawing a clear line and won't support candidates who oppose data centers, calling it an existential moment for the chapter. Another union representing HVAC and railroad workers, this one in Kansas, typically endorses Democrats. But for the upcoming election, they threw their support behind the Republican candidate because the Democratic one is anti-data centers. The data center backlash and the backlash to the backlash is scrambling traditional political alliances and has emerged as one of the key issues heading into the midterms in November. While much of the public has negative views toward data centers in their communities, these construction workers are using their political sway to remind everyone these facilities bring jobs, wealth and economic growth to communities, and you'd be wise not to ignore that.

**Toby Howell** (3:51)
There's also some tension between the federal government's position and maybe some more local governments. Trump called data centers a golden goose and said, the only reason that communities throughout the USA should not want data centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor. The federal government's argument mostly centers around the fact that one, they do not want to lose the race to China and two, they think it is going to bring economic prosperity to big parts of America. But there is some nuance to this jobs argument. Again, these unions are saying that we need these high paying, good construction jobs. We are blue collar workers. This is like the new factories essentially. Yet, if you look at what happens to a data center, yes, a large number of skilled workers are required when you are building the thing, but it actually doesn't take a lot of people to keep these things running once they are finished.