Arizona labor unions and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) have reached an agreement to resolve labor disputes that have dogged the chipmaker’s construction site in Phoenix, Arizona, they said in a joint statement.
The new accord is the result of months of negotiations between the world’s leading chipmaker and the Arizona Building and Construction Trades Council (AZBTC), a coalition of unions with 3,000 members on site — about one-quarter of TSMC’s total construction workforce.
Under the agreement, TSMC — which is investing US$40 billion in Arizona — plans to partner with unions to develop workforce training programs and maintain transparency on safety issues.
Photo: An Rong Xu, Bloomberg
Representatives of both sides are forming a new committee that is to meet quarterly to ensure compliance, including at least one meeting to project workforce requirements.
The joint statement said that TSMC is committed to hiring locally, but that “circumstances may require” the firm to tap foreign workers with “specialized experience.”
TSMC had upset union members this summer by saying a lack of skilled labor in the Phoenix region left the firm with no choice but to bring over workers from Taiwan.
“Today’s agreement is a win for Arizona workers and the construction timeline of TSMC Arizona,” trades council president Aaron Butler said.
“AZBTC union members have the critical skills necessary to help us complete our two advanced-chipmaking fabs, and we look forward to embarking together on a new chapter of partnership and collaboration,” TSMC Arizona president Brian Harrison said.
The accord achieves one of the union’s key goals: getting something on paper before the US Department of Commerce disperses the first round of funding from the Chips Act, with TSMC widely expected to be among the initial recipients.
The Chips Act sets aside subsidies worth US$100 billion to bring manufacturing of critical electronic components back to the US after decades of production abroad.
TSMC was one of Washington’s biggest targets for US investment and the company broke ground on a sprawling facility in Phoenix in 2021.
The firm originally planned to begin mass production next year, but in July announced a delay to 2025 due to what they said was a shortage of skilled labor, rankling the unions.
TSMC chief executive C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in October affirmed that the company plans to start production in Arizona in the first half of 2025.
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