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An image of the TSMC chip plant project in Phoenix, Arizona
Construction on the TSMC chip plant in Phoenix, Arizona. Photo courtesy of TSMC.

New chip plant megaprojects continue to create jobs for SMART sheet metal workers across North America – including in Arizona, where huge projects have led to unprecedented job growth and a boom in the membership of SM Local 259 (Phoenix, Ariz.)

“We’ve been able to increase our membership. In 2017-18, we had 500 members, and we currently have about 850, so it’s created a lot of organizing opportunities for us,” said Jeff Holly, Local 359 business manager and financial secretary-treasurer, during a recent interview with SMART News. “All of our funds are super healthy – health and welfare, pension funds, down to general fund activity at the hall. … It’s helped out the membership a lot.”

In Chandler, Ariz., an Intel chip plant is expected to employ more than 300 sheet metal workers at its peak and continue for two to three years. And in Phoenix, Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) – the world’s largest manufacturer of advanced microchips – is building its first major U.S. production site, more than tripling its initial planned investment. The project currently employs over 400 sheet metal workers and is expected to last for three to five years.

Watch Jeff Holly’s interview on the Arizona chip plant projects on SMART News.

These chip plant projects specifically benefit SMART sheet metal workers, Holly explained.

“Everything’s got to be super clean, there’s a lot of filtration that goes into [chip plant construction] – a lot of scrubber work, exhaust, so they’re fairly labor intensive for sheet metal workers,” he said. “Most of the duct they’re using is rather large, so it ends up [requiring] more people than we used to use.”

The chip plant projects in Arizona mirror similar developments across the continent, including in Ohio, upstate New York and more. Like in Arizona, such projects provide opportunities not only for SMART sheet metal workers, but for locals aiming to organize, grow their membership and expand their market share. And while the Arizona chip plants were underway before the passage of labor-friendly legislation like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act, Holly told SMART News that such laws will benefit SMART members moving forward.

“Since the CHIPS Act was enacted,” he said “we’re looking at the possibility of having our first large-scale project labor agreement being signed out at the TSMC project, which is something that the Arizona State Building Trades has never had really any success [with]. Even though these weren’t planned when these acts were enacted, I think they’re going to pay dividends in the very near future.”

Whether chip plants, data centers, electric vehicle battery plants or infrastructure jobs, megaprojects are expected to continue breaking ground across the United States and Canada in the near future. Members interested in traveling to work these jobs should visit the Sheet Metal Job Bank for more information.

Megaprojects in the News

Kentucky’s Blue Oval SK (BOSK) Battery Plant will be union-built and require the services of hundreds of SMART sheet metal workers.

In recent months, accompanying a rise in union organizing and the passage of the CHIPS and Science Act, we have seen what could be the return of American manufacturing. In January 2022, Intel announced plans to build a $20 million chip hub in Ohio, while Ford recently insisted that its new electric vehicle factory in Stanton, Tenn., be entirely union-built. And that’s just the beginning of the good news for SMART sheet metal workers: To complement its EV factory, Ford will also build several new buildings in Glendale, Ky., entirely union, expanding its battery manufacturing capabilities and providing hundreds of jobs for SMART members during construction (as well as the possibility of future ongoing work).

“This is an opportunity to really build up our apprenticeship program and increase our membership.”

“This is by far the biggest project to come through Kentucky,” said SM Local 110 (Louisville, Ky.) Organizer Jeremy Waugh. “The new facilities will add over 7,000,000 total square feet of new battery manufacturing facilities and impact approximately 1,400 acres of the existing greenfield site. The scope is inclusive of, but not limited to, construction of the following project components: two new 43 gigawatt battery plants, along with their proposed ancillary facilities, as well as administration, canteens and testing facilities.”

He added that the two new mile-long battery plants will mirror one another. Ford will likely construct one of the buildings first, rather than both simultaneously, to start manufacturing more batteries right away — allowing workers to seamlessly transition from the first BOSK jobsite to the second one. That means more work hours for Local 110 members, new members and SMART journeypersons.

“This is an opportunity to really build up our apprenticeship program and increase our membership,” Waugh pointed out.

While the project has been delayed by three months, Ford will likely try to make up that time during site work — meaning SMART members could arrive at the jobsite as soon as January, with work expected to reach a consistent peak in spring or summer 2023. That means the time is now for Local 110 to ramp up recruiting and organizing efforts (and, given the amount of work on the horizon for sheet metal workers across the country due to federal infrastructure legislation, the same goes for SMART locals everywhere). Waugh explained that Local 110 plans to deploy a variety of marketing and recruiting tactics, both evergreen and specific to the BOSK project, to grow its membership, including a billboard near the jobsite, trade shows in the area and print brochures to pass out at jobsites or career fairs, and a new digital database that replicates job listings at the union hall.

“We’re open to ideas from anyone in SMART who might have some out-of-the-box recruiting ideas that they may not be able to try at their local,” he added. “We’re leaving no stone unturned, no idea will go unconsidered.”

Like Ford’s Tennessee project, BOSK is a union project in a so-called “right-to-work” state. That’s significant not only due to its potential impact on union organizing and density during construction, but also as an ongoing opportunity for local SMART members. For companies that engage in large, complex projects, Waugh said, it’s hard to return to the nonunion shop after experiencing the skill and expertise of organized labor.

“The initial need is huge, but we’re looking at the long game” he said. “We have to be successful in the beginning to reap the rewards after.”