(SYRACUSE, NEW YORK) - For two years, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 43 Business Manager Alan Marzullo was part of a small group working with New York State and civic leaders to convince Micron Technology to build a new semiconductor facility in the Syracuse Region.

Plenty was at stake.

Micron officials were considering making the largest private investment in New York’s history, especially if legislation in Congress to support the Microchip Industry was passed and signed into law.

"I'm not going to lie," Marzullo said with a laugh. "There were a lot of sleepless nights."

It paid off.

Micron, a leading Computer Chip Manufacturer based in Boise, Idaho, announced in early October that it will build a $100 billion facility in Clay, which is located about 15 miles north of Syracuse, over the next 20 years.

Work is expected to begin in either late 2023 or early 2024.

The facility will be entirely Union-built and employ about 9,000 Construction Workers.

About one-third will be IBEW Members, who will handle all the electrical work.

It follows up an announcement a few weeks earlier by Intel to build a $20 billion semiconductor facility in New Albany, Ohio, where electrical work during construction is expected to be done by IBEW Members of Newark, Ohio’s Local 1105.

Marzullo and other Members of the Central-Northern New York Building & Construction Trades Council had to show why the massive facility should be built with high-quality Union Labor.

On top of that, everyone involved was sworn to secrecy.

An ill-timed leak could have quashed the project.

There was little Marzullo could tell his Staff and closest confidants.

Signing any Project Labor Agreement (PLA) is a moment to cherish for any Business Manager or IBEW Representative, but the size and scope of this one is nearly unprecedented.

That wasn't lost on Marzullo: "I remember getting back to my office, shutting the door and sitting back and going: 'My goodness.’  It was very emotional.  We changed the lives of not just of all my Members, but everyone living in this community."

Just retired International IBEW President Lonnie R. Stephenson thanked Marzullo and everyone involved in bringing the facility to the area and ensuring the IBEW is part of it.

"The importance of this can't be overstated," Stephenson said. "A facility vital to this country's national interests will be built entirely with highly-skilled Union Labor.  This is a great moment not just for Local 43 and the Syracuse Community, but for all IBEW Members.  This has the potential to touch so many of our local Construction Unions throughout North America."

To Continue Reading This Labor News Story, Go To: www.ibew.org/articles/22ElectricalWorker/EW2212/Micron.1222.html

 Project Rendering Courtesy Of IBEW News.