Brothers and Sisters,
August was a busy month for Local 150, and it showed in a lot of different ways. We came together for another wonderful annual picnic, supported the Illinois Tollway fee hike that will fund road work for another 15 years; sponsored another Sweeney Classic, kept a close eye on energy and development issues that affect our work, and continued standing with workers fighting for fair treatment. The issues may be different, but the message is the same: when Local 150 stays engaged, people pay attention.
This year’s Sweeney Classic was one of our strongest outings yet, raising just over $1.2 million for the SEAL Family Foundation. Hundreds of sponsors stepped up, more than 600 golfers joined us on the course, and more than 700 people attended dinner to close out the day. Over the past 10 years, the event has now raised $8.4 million for the Foundation, which says a lot about the generosity and commitment behind it.
The turnout gave members plenty to be proud of and showed what we can accomplish together. From the course to the dinner program, the energy was strong all day as members and supporters took part in contests, raffles, and the evening program while helping support families who have sacrificed so much for our country.
The success of the day also belongs to the golf committee, officers, staff, business agents, organizers, volunteers, and everyone behind the scenes who spent months planning, coordinating, promoting, and pulling off an event of this size. Their hard work helped make this year’s outing another major success for the SEAL Family Foundation and Local 150. That same spirit of showing up matters on other issues too, including efforts in some places to limit or ban new natural gas lines in buildings. These proposals are often talked about like simple environmental policy, but they reach much further than that. They can affect construction costs, housing affordability, energy choice, schools, public buildings, small businesses, and basic reliability.
Recent storm outages across Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa made that concern real for many members and their communities. Families dealt with damaged homes, flooded neighborhoods, downed trees, which caused power outages that lasted for days — and in some areas, weeks. In many homes, gas and water service stayed on, which meant people could still cook, heat water, and get through the outage with some basic needs covered.
That is why broad natural gas bans are a real concern. Like our water service, natural gas is delivered by underground pipes. That is why those resources are more reliable than above-ground overhead powerlines. Communities should plan for the future and keep investing in cleaner technology, but we also need enough reliable electric generation, transmission, and distribution in place before taking other options away. PJM and other grid operators have warned about tightening power supplies, rising demand, and the need for major grid updates. Taking natural gas off the table without a realistic reliability plan would put families, businesses, and communities at risk.
This is not about blaming data centers or any one industry. Energy demand is growing across the board, and the grid needs serious investment and modernization. If policymakers want to electrify more of daily life, they need to be honest about what that requires: more generation, stronger transmission, updated distribution systems, and protections for families during extreme weather and peak demand.
Data centers are another issue moving quickly in Chicago and across Illinois. In Chicago, Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order on August 11 calling on the City Council to approve a temporary moratorium on new data centers and major expansions of existing facilities while permanent rules are developed. In the meantime, the order puts stricter interim reviews in place, including closer looks at diesel backup generator emissions, cooling equipment noise, water use, and electricity demand. Discussions are also happening in Springfield about what a statewide compromise could look like.
Part of the problem is that not all data centers are the same. Smaller urban or colocation facilities are very different from large hyperscale campuses, and policy should reflect that difference. Chicago already has approximately 39 data centers, so it is fair to ask why these questions are only being raised now. Planning, regulation, energy use, water use, and community impact all deserve serious review, but that review should lead to smart rules — not a blanket approach that ignores the facilities already operating and the differences between future projects.
The answer should be responsible growth, not shutting the door on development. Data centers are major infrastructure projects built by operating engineers, electricians, laborers, and other skilled tradespeople. When developed responsibly, they can create good jobs, apprenticeships, local investment, and new revenue for schools, first responders, infrastructure, and host communities.
That is why Local 150’s Fight Back Fund, as well as another group called the Coalition for Responsible Data Centers (CRDC) are working to bring a more balanced voice into the debate. Local 150 joined CRDC with IBEW Local 134 and LIUNA as lead partners to make sure workers, responsible businesses, local officials, and community leaders are part of the conversation. CRDC’s recent panel discussion and statewide digital campaign are helping highlight union jobs, community investment, and a fact-based approach to responsible data center growth.
That matters because too much of the data center debate happens without hearing from the people who build these projects or the communities that host them. A responsible framework can protect ratepayers, give host communities more transparency, use energy and water more efficiently, and still protect project labor agreements, prevailing wages, registered apprenticeships, and real opportunities for Illinois workers.
While those policy fights are important, Local 150’s work is not limited to what happens in City Hall or Springfield. We are also focused on what is happening directly to workers on the job, and the strike at QSL America/NASCO is one of the clearest examples of why that matters.
That fight remains important for members to follow because the recent National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) findings are specific and serious. The NLRB found merit to nine charges alleging that QSL unlawfully terminated five workers for exercising rights protected under federal labor law. The Board also found merit to an allegation that a QSL America/NASCO supervisor unlawfully spied on the picket line on the first day of the strike.
Those findings build on earlier NLRB merit determinations involving allegations that QSL and the International Longshoremen’s Association unlawfully assisted each other to block our organizing efforts at QSL facilities. Local 150 has said that kind of conduct undermines workers’ ability to make a free and uncoerced choice about representation. The NLRB also found no merit to a bogus charge against Local 150 alleging coercion of QSL employees.
Those labor concerns are being viewed alongside serious safety questions here and in New Orleans, where OSHA issued serious citations to QSL New Orleans following a fatality/catastrophe inspection. The unresolved disappearance of QSL dockworker Darius Clement while working at the Port of New Orleans continues to raise questions as well.
QSL and its investors have talked publicly about ethics and responsibility, but workers are still waiting for accountability. Local 150 has received strong support from elected officials and labor organizations, and that support matters as pressure continues on QSL, its investors, and public officials responsible for the Port of Chicago.
Local 150 will continue standing with QSL America/NASCO workers until they receive lawful treatment, safe working conditions, and the right to choose representation free from retaliation, surveillance, intimidation, or interference. This work also matters because the docks are exactly where our skills belong. Forklifts, cranes, loaders, and all kinds of heavy equipment keep port operations moving, and that is work Local 150 members should be doing. When workers are mistreated and safety questions go unanswered, silence is not an option.
At the end of the day, this all comes back to the same thing: Local 150 members need to be part of the decisions that affect our work, our families, and our communities. Whether the issue is energy policy, data centers, port work, or workers fighting for fair treatment, the people who do the work should have a say in what happens next.
That is why we keep showing up. We can support progress, but it has to be progress that makes sense — with reliable energy, smart development, strong labor standards, safe jobsites, and respect for the workers doing the job. When members stay informed and stick together, we are in a stronger position to protect our work, support our families, and keep our communities moving forward.
United We Stand. Divided We Fall.