The PLA Mandate: Guaranteeing Union Labor for EGV Data Centers
As we all know, Elk Grove Village is the epicenter of a local data center gold rush. Tech corporations and developers are spending staggering amounts of money—over $1.4 billion in recent transactions —to come to Elk Grove Village, tap into our power grid, and use our municipal infrastructure.
But as I wrote in my previous pieces (What’s Nexstar, What It Sounds Like, and Cans of Corn), this administration has a habit of rubber-stamping approval without bothering to ask any questions. The Trustees hand over fast-tracked approvals, no-comment extensions, and administrative assistance like Halloween candy (and not the good kind of candy). Meanwhile the people who live and work here eat last (or maybe not at all— at the time of publication of this note, I’ve heard from many that they haven’t received their “gift cards").
We Must Stop Negotiating Against Ourselves.
When I’m elected Trustee, in addition to more tightly limiting where data centers can potentially go, and instituting the “Truth in Data Centers Commission” for the Village Board and community to more intelligently understand what it means when a data center comes to town (specifics to come!), I will also move to institute a mandatory “Project Labor Agreement” (PLA) ordinance going forward for all data center developers seeking variances, annexations, and/or municipal assistance in Elk Grove Village.
I got this idea from Mayor Johnson, coincidentally. During Mayor Johnson’s interview with WGN, he linked "good union jobs" with data center construction. It makes for a fantastic soundbite when catching cans of corn from John Williams, but when I looked into the Village ordinances and resolutions, I realized: the law doesn’t match the PR.
Why haven’t the Trustees ever mandated a PLA?
So, first things first— what’s a PLA? A project labor agreement (PLA) is a “pre-hire collective bargaining agreement with one or more labor organizations that establishes the terms and conditions of employment for a specific construction project.”
Other cities in Illinois already mandate PLAs with their large projects. When the City of Rockford negotiated the massive new Hard Rock Casino development, they made sure it was backed by a Project Labor Agreement to protect their local workforce. The unions loved it, and rightfully so— it showed Rockford put its money where its mouth is. If Rockford can demand a PLA for a casino development, the Village Board can absolutely do the same when a tech corporation wants to put a data center in Elk Grove Village.
Right now, any union labor working on these data center sites in EGV is there strictly because a developer chose to use that particular labor union. And they made that choice because the state previously offered tax credits for union labor used to construct data centers. With those tax credits now suspended, there is currently nothing incentivizing data center developers to keep using local, human, union labor.
And to be sure, we all know this: the developers are not using union labor because the Village requires it. The Village grants access to our world-class infrastructure, exposes our community to various pollution and other nuisances, and gets zero labor guarantees in return. We (maybe) get $200 gift cards before every election, and that’s it.
The Village’s current policy leaves the door wide open for billion-dollar corporations to switch to cheaper, non-union labor—or to switch to automated non-human labor altogether— whenever it suits their bottom line.
Exceeding Exceptional Means Doing What’s Right, Even When It May Be Hard
The Mayor went on the WGN airwaves to take credit for bringing future union jobs to Elk Grove Village. But, let’s be clear—the now-suspended state-level tax credit brought those union jobs, not Village policy. Wishcasting and taking credit for state-level initiatives is not a governing philosophy for an “Exceptional Community.”
If a corporate developer wants the privilege of operating in the “Exceptional Community,” they must commit to using our exceptional local labor union tradesmen and tradeswomen.
When I am elected Trustee, I will not support a single data center zoning variance, annexation agreement, or municipal infrastructure connection or any other request that is not backed by an ironclad Project Labor Agreement. The Village is acting as a “market participant” in these scenarios and should take advantage of this role to the maximum extent possible.
A Village-level PLA mandate guarantees that the massive, highly technical footprint of these data centers is built by local union trades—the IBEW, Pipefitters, Ironworkers, Carpenters, Operating Engineers, and others. These men and women are the highly skilled middle-class workers who live as our neighbors and friends. They build our infrastructure right the first time. We must protect their ability to work in writing.
If the Mayor truly believes what he told WGN Radio a few weeks back about supporting union labor, he’ll agree.
And he needn’t wait for me to introduce this ordinance after I’m sworn in— he could direct the Village Attorney to draft a 'PLA for Data Centers' ordinance for the Board’s immediate review at the upcoming meeting. Make it robust and compliant with state and federal law. Tie it to the Village’s discretionary zoning, environmental rules, and/or financial incentives or other authorities. Make the Village Attorney earn his pay— he’s being paid $180,000 this Fiscal Year 2027!
And, I’m certain the ‘PLA for Data Centers’ ordinance will be listed under the Consent Agenda for the upcoming November meeting. Seems like a slam dunk. The Trustees should unanimously support it. It’s not like they ever have any questions anyway.
But if the Board refuses to follow through on this ‘PLA for Data Centers’ mandate, we will all know exactly who they actually work for.
And it isn't us.
