OpenAI, SoftBank and Blackstone join US data center alliance

OpenAI, data center company QTS and investment and management firms SoftBank and Blackstone have joined unions to form the American Infrastructure Alliance (AIA), a group that aims to build support for new data centers in the United States.

The alliance plans to establish development guardrails in 2027. It says its initial effort will focus on Texas, Georgia, Ohio, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Indiana and South Carolina, where it hopes to address local opposition and calls for construction moratoriums.

Unions named as members include the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), the United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipefitters (UA), SMART, the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers (HFIAW), and the International Association of Iron Workers. The source says the coalition includes seven unions in total.

Michael Coleman, SMART’s general president, said American workers and communities should have a seat at the table as the infrastructure is built. IBEW international president Kenneth Cooper opposed blanket bans, saying they could set back the economy and threaten middle-class jobs.

Critics have raised concerns about environmental effects and lasting employment. Mitch Jones, policy and litigation director at Food & Water Watch, has called for a moratorium to allow further study. He told the DCNF that research found 23,000 people were permanently employed in US data centers as of 2024. The source also reports that Sen. Bernie Sanders is planning legislation to pause data center construction until guardrails are in place.