OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced a formal partnership with North America Building Trades Unions at a BlackRock infrastructure summit, committing $1.5 million over five years to support NABTU training and recruitment as the company projects it will need 20 percent more skilled tradespeople than currently exist to hit its 10 gigawatt compute target by 2030.
The 704 MW Revolution Wind offshore wind project has begun delivering power to Connecticut and Rhode Island after surviving two Trump administration stop-work orders reversed in federal court. Built by more than 1,000 local union workers, the 65-turbine project is expected to power over 350,000 homes and save New England ratepayers up to $500 million per year in wholesale energy costs once fully operational.
A proposed $272 million expansion of the Iroquois Gas Transmission System in Brookfield has drawn rare bipartisan opposition, with both Republican and Democratic local officials citing concerns over air quality, noise, and proximity to Whisconier Middle School. State Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding and other local Republicans have broken with national party energy priorities to oppose the project, which awaits final air quality permit approval from DEEP.
German consumer goods manufacturer Henkel has broken ground on a new 45,000 square foot Center for Research and Development at 9 Trefoil Drive in Trumbull, its largest non-manufacturing capital investment in North America in a decade. The $70 million project will consolidate the company's North America Consumer Brands R&D teams from three separate Connecticut locations into a single campus expected to open at the end of 2027.
Connecticut's Community Investment Fund 2030 board has approved nearly $63 million in grants for 38 community development projects across the state, spanning affordable housing, office-to-residential conversions, workforce training, and neighborhood revitalization. Highlights include $6 million each for demolition of the St. John Towers site in Stamford and conversion of the 111 Founders Plaza tower in East Hartford into residential apartments. Grants still require final State Bond Commission approval.
Charter Oak Communities, formerly the Stamford Housing Authority, is moving forward with the second phase of a $60 million renovation of Stamford Manor, an 11-story affordable senior housing development at 26 Main Street in downtown Stamford. The project will modernize units and building systems at the federally assisted property while keeping residents in place during construction.
Profile of Nscale founder Josh Payne, Australian former coal miner who raised $2 billion at $14.6B valuation for AI data center company, with Sheryl Sandberg joining board amid infrastructure boom
IBEW International Vice President Michael Monahan urges Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to stop promoting Gov. Janet Mills over Graham Platner in Maine Senate primary, citing Mills' fraught labor record
A union electrician is entering the congressional race on Staten Island, aiming to mobilize the borough's labor base in a bid for federal office.
Construction unions including the IBEW are celebrating approval of a major AI manufacturing facility in Independence, Missouri, calling it a generational win for union jobs in the region.