Good Jobs First

NEW ANALYSIS: Federal regulatory agencies charged with enforcing wage and workplace safety conditions are taking drastically fewer actions against companies, and proposed rule changes by the administration will give workers even fewer protections. 🧵 goodjobsfirst.org/worker-prote...

The Sierra Club Georgia Chapter calls for a statewide moratorium on new data center construction in Georgia, to add guardrails and citing runaway tax breaks impacting state and local budgets. www.sierraclub.org/georgia/blog...

I’ll be doing an AMA tomorrow all about our reporting on the AI weapons manufacturer Anduril’s new Ohio factory. We’ll chat about tax breaks that impact a needy public school, its connection to a controversial data center, and how an Anduril lobbyist quashed a farmer-led ballot initiative

GA has the money to fund free school meals statewide, if it stops giving billions in data center tax breaks. One program alone deprives K-12 schools of ~$300M, yet UGA finds 70% of DCs would build anyway. Lawmakers must reconsider these costly programs. NEW FROM US: goodjobsfirst.org/georgia-data...

States are giving data centers billions in tax breaks while communities lose revenue for schools and other public services. What can states do differently? Join @GoodJobsFirst and @_ClimateXChange TODAY at 3 p.m. ET to explore policy solutions. join.climate-xchange.org/a/state-poli...

States are handing data centers billions in tax breaks while promising jobs and growth. Weak transparency makes it hard to know what communities are getting in return. Join us to discuss how states can protect public budgets, jobs, and essential services. join.climate-xchange.org/a/state-poli...

We're joining Florida State Rep. @AnnaForFlorida at a town hall Oct. 12 at 8 p.m. ET. Discover how data centers and AI impact your community, where local and state moratoriums stand, and how you can take action today. Register: bit.ly/eskatownhall

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s new executive order adds accountability standards for data center development. But it leaves intact the industry’s biggest and costliest taxpayer benefit, which cost state and local governments > $1.9 billion in FY 2025. goodjobsfirst.org/virginia-dat...

NYC just announced its largest settlement to date: $131m from DoorDash for underpaying or failing to pay its drivers. State and local wage enforcement has now surpassed that of the federal WHD by more than ten-fold. States must continue to pick up the slack. goodjobsfirst.org/states-beat-...

"I’m being told data centers are supposed to be good for my students because they might generate money for schools. I don’t buy it. I have a simple question: Why should funding for my classroom and students depend on Nevada building more data centers?" nevadacurrent.com/2026/09/21/d...

Opportunity Zones, which gives federal tax breaks to wealthy investors and companies, became permanent under the Big Beautiful Bill. But states and localities can help offset the lost revenue, and proposed legislation prohibits data centers from participating. ⬇️ goodjobsfirst.org/new-opportun...

The CHIPS Act’s 48D tax credit was projected to cost $24B. Instead, it will likely cost >$205B, more than 8x that. W/CHIPS grants, the program costs over $1M+ per job. And it’s “as of right,” so we don’t even know who gets it. @chipscommunities.bsky.social: chipscommunitiesunited.org/news/million...

Millions of people work, many full time and including at Walmart, yet still rely on assistance like food pantries because the company refuses to pay its workers living wages. goodjobsfirst.org/corporate-su...

“Let me tell you what is actually expensive...to take off work, paying for emergency room visits and watching children struggle to breathe. I do not want to hear that public health is too expensive, while rubber-stamping data centers that dodge CEQA.” calmatters.org/environment/...

Raise your hand if lately you've seen ads telling you how data centers make sure you can online bank, watch your movies, and scroll videos. But that's not why they're building. #AI

I'd be mad if I helped pay to build a billionaire his stadium but then couldn't afford tickets. Actually, I'd just be mad if I had to help a billionaire pay for his stadium.

Tax abatements can cost cities millions of dollars, but this form of spending rarely makes it into budget debates. Instead, it's disclosed *after* a fiscal year ends. It's time this spending got the same scrutiny as everything else. Our latest: goodjobsfirst.org/the-budget-s...

States have given billions in tax breaks to the richest companies in the world to bring in their hyperscale data centers. Many states are now cancelling them, leading industry execs to threaten to shift projects to states such as IN, WV & WY that have retained favorable tax regimes.

I also can't imagine that the secrecy around data center tax breaks is remotely sustainable in today's political environment. @goodjobsfirst.org finds in its recent report that 14 of the 37 states with tax exemptions don’t publish their official revenue losses in a timely manner.

Tax policies under the second Trump administration have mostly asked more from working families and fueled wealth inequality. The combined impact of tariffs, ending health care tax credits, and OBBBA results in a tax increase for most Americans except the richest 5%.

Great use of our Violation Tracker Global database to show how fines and fees do little to deter bad corporate behavior, even when it leads to death. violationtrackerglobal.goodjobsfirst.org

Love seeing more journalists citing the great research from @goodjobsfirst.org on how much money states lose in the form of tax breaks for data centers.

The EEOC is shrinking enforcement of racial and gender identity workplace discrimination cases. The disregard for these cases contrasts with how the agency has long operated to promote equal opportunity, risking the loss of the agency’s core mission. goodjobsfirst.org/the-eeoc-fol...

When Pennsylvania’s sales tax exemption took effect in 2022, an analysis projected it would cost $88.6 million in fiscal year 2026-27. The latest estimate for the same year is now $188.4 million – an increase of 113%. And it'll keep climbing. goodjobsfirst.org/pennsylvania...

Anduril: Two Ohio farmers twice gathered signatures to put local zoning changes to popular vote. Each time developers intervened and local officials blocked ballot measures. @tkbarnes.bsky.social @inkstickmedia.com bit.ly/44Q6p7D Is this happening with data centers? @signalohio.bsky.social

"A 2024 state audit estimated Dominion may spend $16 billion to $18 billion by 2040 on transmission tied to data centers. Under the current setup, residential customers would cover 55% of that total, compared with 26% for data centers." www.thecooldown.com/green-busine...

"Among other things, the city asked the team whether it would be willing to make a private financial contribution, cover any cost overruns, pay annual rent, and agree to labor, community benefits and good-neighbor agreements." The team refused to answer. katu.com/news/investi...

NEW: Trump’s coziness with AI oligarchs is a defining feature of his admin. But the AI companies reshaping our lives are also betting on the support of Democrats. We tracked close to 100 former Biden officials to their new jobs working in the AI industry:

Our friends at @goodjobsfirst.org & @violationtrackeruk.bsky.social have uncovered that big tech & pharma giants with long records of misconduct are still winning major NHS contracts - and current legislation isn’t protecting the public. Read & share 👇 goodjobsfirst.org/nhs-procurem...

A new GAO report confirms a defining feature of the low-wage economy: Millions of people work yet still rely on Medicaid and SNAP to get by. The companies include Amazon, Walmart, Dollar Tree and other Big Biz, which have received billions in public subsidies. goodjobsfirst.org/corporate-su...

"The number of Amazon workers relying on the federal programs for the poor nearly tripled between February 2020 and September 2025... Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Grubhub and Instacart collectively ranked among the top three employers with workers receiving aid." www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

How data center lobbyists kept Virginia's lucrative sales tax intact, and their plans to keep the public money flowing, in @bloomberg.com news.bloombergtax.com/daily-tax-re...

New peer-reviewed research finds NY school districts serving more students of color tend to bear heavier losses from tax breaks. Yet school districts have no power to say no to the deals giving away their revenue. More about this new research: goodjobsfirst.org/ida-tax-abat...

We sat down with IBEW Local 24's Rico Albacarys to discuss data center construction jobs, tax breaks, community benefits, and what a more accountable data center deal should look like. Read our 5-question interview: goodjobsfirst.org/data-center-...

Why does all this matter? Like I wrote up top... the whole premise of economic development "incentives" are that they "incentivize" a company to come to town. But according to the records and the American First Policy Institute, Anduril is still negotiating more well after setting up shop in Ohio

Serious question re Anduril in Ohio: If the purpose of subsidies is to "incentivize" a company to set up shop, why are they finalized 1.5 years after it did so? "This deal + accompanying incentives are said to be finalized sometime in the summer of 2026" www.americafirstpolicy.com/issues/from-...

cc @goodjobsfirst.org, which has done great reporting on Anduril and its Ohio package of tax breaks/ grants/ subsidies in Ohio nearing a billion dollars and vaulting it to the category of "megadeals" subsidytracker.goodjobsfirst.org/megadeals

The EEOC has historically enforced discrimination based on protected characteristics such as race and gender. But under the Trump Administration, it has shifted to a focus on enforcing anti-DEI practices and "anti-Christian bias." goodjobsfirst.org/a-new-era-at...

New from @gaigedavila.bsky.social: Even before its first workplace death, SpaceX saw 427 injuries and 9 respiratory illnesses between 2022 and 2025. These injuries included concussions, burns, partial finger amputations, hernias, dislocations, crushed hands, and broken ribs, legs, and ankles.

And stop by @goodjobsfirst.org's table to learn more about all our databases and work, including education and data centers. Say hi to @arlenemartinez.bsky.social, and meet our new Executive Director Allan Freyer! goodjobsfirst.org/dr-allan-fre...

Thanks to @inthesetimes.com I just rec'd this in the mail & noticed my occupation on the cover. I finally feel seen! 🙏

4 states now report losing $1 billion+ to data center tax breaks. Costs keep rising; 14 states still fail to disclose what these subsidies cost. Residents deserve to know what it's costing them to subsidize Big Tech *before* another deal is approved. ➡️ goodjobsfirst.org/even-cloudie...

Tuesday's Most Read # 2 - Urban Development Without Subsidies Is Possible, and Cleveland Has a Chance to Prove It link.theoverheadwire.com/knv9t @goodjobsfirst.org