Western Pa. coal towns are ground zero for AI data centers
Trade union ads on Pittsburgh Pirates radio and apprenticeship drives signal a blue‑collar revival as AI data centers move into former coal country.
If you listen to a Pittsburgh Pirates game on the radio, nearly every other ad is a local trade union looking to recruit apprentices. It’s the clearest signal yet of a once-in-a-generation blue-collar resurgence sweeping western Pennsylvania.
But the force behind the boom is controversial.