In Wisconsin to tout $3B data center, Biden praises union jobs, dismisses Trump policies

May 8 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden on Wednesday was in Wisconsin to tout a new $3.3 billion investment Microsoft is making for an artificial intelligence data center.

"I'm the most pro-union American president in history," Biden told the crowd .

"Middle class built unions but unions built the middle class," he said while saying he was in Racine to "talk about a great comeback story in America" as he outlined the city's pro-union past.

The White House earlier said Biden was set to announce the data center will create 2,300 union construction jobs and 2,000 permanent jobs once built. Microsoft also promised to train thousands more to take advantage of the tech jobs that will be open.

"And then came trickle-down economics," he said while calling it a "failed" policy which has dated back nearly 40 years.

"As a result, we hallowed out the middle class," the president said as he touted his administrations achievements in the area of infrastructure. Trump, he said, "didn't build a (expletive) thing" despite promises on infrastructure development in Wisconsin or the United States and outlined Trump's perceived broken promises that he made over the years on building projects.

Biden said that "instead of creating jobs," Trump had pushed them out of Wisconsin. He said his administration has helped created more than 178,000 new Wisconsin jobs, "and were going to create more here in Racine and big time."

The president touted his Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and claimed that "my Investing in America agenda" is creating a "historic boom."

Despite that, a July 2023 reported had indicated that local governments are finding roadblocks in federal infrastructure funding related to Biden's infrastructure bill.

"So far we've created $866 billion in private sector investment nationwide," Biden said, adding how it's a "historic amount" which "will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs...and so much more...here in America."

The new Microsoft data center, he said, will "operate one of the most powerful artificial intelligence systems in the world" and "will result in 2,300 new union construction jobs," he said while calling for things to be "made with American products, made by American workers."

On the area of artificial intelligence, Biden says his administration has taken the "most significant action taken by a government" on AI regulations.

Trump, Biden claimed, "made promises that he broke more than he kept," saying how "under my watch we make promises and we keep promises and we leave no one behind."

"We're doing what's always worked: giving people a fair shot," he said while adding how when people do that "everybody does well."

He said with construction of a new factor he wants people to have "pride in their hometowns, pride that we can get big things done in America still."

A "pipeline" is being created with Microsoft for job training, he added, through local partnerships. "It will be transformative worldwide."

"Folks are getting trained at new high-paid, high-skilled jobs that do not require a college degree," Biden said.

Biden invoked his Scranton, Penn. roots and working class background. "I know what it's like when your parents have to move in search of a job, what it does to your family's dignity," he told the crowd.

A local International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union official called the new project "Microsoft's crown jewel."

"Thanks to Joe Biden, manufacturing jobs are coming back," Nick Fick, membership development coordinator for IBEW Local 430 in Racine, told the crowd ahead of Biden's introduction while adding how he is recruiting new union members.

Additionally, Microsoft plans to train 1,000 people for data center and STEM jobs by 2030 through a partnership with Gateway Technical College.

"Microsoft is committed to creating good-paying jobs with growth pathways and comprehensive benefits such as paid family leave," the White House said.

The White House noted the new data center will be built on the grounds of a now fizzled $10 billion tech plant proposed by Taiwan's Foxconn six years ago that former President Donald Trump had celebrated as a win for his "America First" agenda.

"President Biden is delivering on that promise to create good jobs that will have a lasting impact on communities and families," the White House said.

Since Biden took office more than 4,000 jobs have been added in Racine, while 177,000 jobs have been added in Wisconsin overall, the White House said.

However, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics earlier this month showed that nationwide U.S. job growth slowed with 175,000 new jobs created in April, down from 303,000 in March.

The announcement also comes after the White House late last month touted governmentwide standards for AI developers to ensure AI tech developers manage the risk associated with the technology in the 180 days since Biden signed his executive order on AI.

It also adds to Microsoft's investment in AI globally after announcing it plans to invest $1.7 billion in cloud and AI technology in Indonesia over the next four years.