This audio is automatically generated. Please let us know if you have any comments.
Dive brief:
- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., a Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturing company engaged in a $40 billion advanced manufacturing project in Phoenix, reached an agreement last month with the Arizona Building and Construction Trades Council regarding labor, according to a joint statement shared with Construction Dive.
- The semiconductor giant had he pushed the opening of its Arizona chip factory until 2025 due to an “insufficient amount of skilled workers,” according to Mark Liu, president of TSMC. That prompted an outcry from the Arizona construction union, which suggested the measure was one TSMC ploy to save money by hiring foreign workers, according to Aaron Butler, head of the Arizona Building and Construction Trades Council.
- while manufacturing projects continue to move forward In the United States, concerns about whether there are enough workers to build them have persisted. Construction job openings up 10.3% in the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics report, as industry has failed to incorporate new workers to train.
Diving knowledge:
The labor shortage continues to pose a threat to the manufacturing boomdespite billions of both public and private investments pouring into onshoring construction.
For advanced manufacturing projects, this challenge is further compounded as many of these projects require even more advanced level of expertise for safe termination. As the largest foreign direct investment in Arizona’s history, TSMC will feature the most advanced semiconductor process technology in the US, according to the joint statement.
However, the agreement in Arizona between TSMC and the Arizona Building and Construction Trades Council shows signs of progress.
“Arizona Building and Construction Trades Council union members have the critical skills needed to help us complete our two advanced chip manufacturing plants,” said Brian Harrison, president of TSMC Arizona. “We look forward to embarking together on a new chapter of partnership and collaboration.”
The agreement consists of four main parts:
- The Arizona Building and Construction Trades Council will hire a sufficient number of skilled workers to meet TSMC Arizona’s contractor labor requirements for the project. TSMC will collaborate with the union in the development of union workforce training programs and curricula. The goal will be to create a construction workforce that can support TSMC in the short and long term.
- TSMC will maintain transparency with the Arizona Building and Construction Trades Council regarding safety assessments, audits, incident records and improvement plans.
- TSMC will focus on hiring workers locally in the United States, although circumstances may require TSMC or its vendors to hire foreign workers with specialized expertise.
- Meetings between TSMC and the Arizona Building and Construction Trades Council will be held quarterly, one of which will be an annual forecasting meeting to project future labor needs.
“Today’s agreement is a win for Arizona workers and TSMC Arizona’s construction schedule,” Butler said. “The Arizona Building and Construction Trades Council and TSMC Arizona have shown that when we come together to focus on our workers and develop the skills of the future, our state has a lot to gain.”
