Microsoft Fairwater Atlanta
Microsoft's Fairwater AI datacenter site in Fayetteville, Fayette County, Georgia, within a 615-acre campus developed by QTS. Microsoft said the site went live ahead of schedule in late 2025.
Key facts
- Capacity
- 173 MWBuilding 1 (Cleanview); Buildings 2–4: 260, 158 and 268 MW
- Estimated cost
- Not available
- Building size
- 1,000,000 sq ftMore than 1 million, within the QTS campus
- Construction start
- Not available
- Expected completion
- Oct 2025Began operations
- Last verified
- Not yet re-verified
Companies and roles
Unions
No union agreement was found in the sources reviewed. This does not mean the site is non-union.
Locals with jurisdiction over this site
Local with jurisdiction over this site (not confirmed on the job)
- Electricians
- Plumbers & pipefitters
- Ironworkers
- Sheet metal & HVAC
- Operating engineers (heavy equipment)
- Carpenters
- Insulators
Prevailing wages (government minimums)
Minimum hourly pay the U.S. Department of Labor sets for federally funded building work in Fayette County, by trade. It is a floor, not what this project pays: data center jobs often pay above scale, and non-union survey rates can be many years old.
| Trade | Wage /hr | Overtime 1.5× | Double time 2× | Benefits /hr | Total comp /hr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ElectriciansUnion rate · IBEW Local 613 · effective Mar 3, 2025ELECTRICIAN (EXCLUDES LOW VOLTAGE WIRING)Overtime 1.5× $57.98 · Double time 2× $77.30 · Benefits /hr $12.75 | $38.65 | $57.98 | $77.30 | $12.75 | $51.40 |
| Plumbers & pipefittersUnion rate · Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 72 · effective Aug 1, 2025PIPEFITTER (HVAC PIPE INSTALLATION ONLY)Overtime 1.5× $61.77 · Double time 2× $82.36 · Benefits /hr $17.01 | $41.18 | $61.77 | $82.36 | $17.01 | $58.19 |
| IronworkersUnion rate · Iron Workers Local 387 · effective Jan 1, 2025IRONWORKER, STRUCTURALOvertime 1.5× $48.00 · Double time 2× $64.00 · Benefits /hr $15.05 | $32.00 | $48.00 | $64.00 | $15.05 | $47.05 |
| Sheet metal & HVACUnion rate · Sheet Metal Workers Local 85 · effective Jul 1, 2025SHEET METAL WORKER (INCLUDING HVAC DUCT INSTALLATION)Overtime 1.5× $57.44 · Double time 2× $76.58 · Benefits /hr $17.40 | $38.29 | $57.44 | $76.58 | $17.40 | $55.69 |
| LaborersNon-union survey rate · effective Apr 15, 2021 · old rateLABORER: COMMON OR GENERALOvertime 1.5× $21.90 · Double time 2× $29.20 · Benefits /hr $0.00 | $14.60 | $21.90 | $29.20 | $0.00 | $14.60 |
| Operating engineers (heavy equipment)Union rate · Operating Engineers Local 926 · effective Aug 1, 2025OPERATOR: FORKLIFTOvertime 1.5× $49.40 · Double time 2× $65.86 · Benefits /hr $16.08 | $32.93 | $49.40 | $65.86 | $16.08 | $49.01 |
| CarpentersNon-union survey rate · effective Apr 15, 2021 · old rateCARPENTER (FORM WORK ONLY)Overtime 1.5× $27.03 · Double time 2× $36.04 · Benefits /hr $0.00 | $18.02 | $27.03 | $36.04 | $0.00 | $18.02 |
| InsulatorsUnion rate · Heat and Frost Insulators Local 48 · effective Apr 1, 2025ASBESTOS WORKER/HEAT & FROST INSULATOROvertime 1.5× $50.85 · Double time 2× $67.80 · Benefits /hr $18.80 | $33.90 | $50.85 | $67.80 | $18.80 | $52.70 |
| PaintersNon-union survey rate · effective Apr 15, 2021 · old ratePAINTER (BRUSH AND ROLLER)Overtime 1.5× $24.21 · Double time 2× $32.28 · Benefits /hr $0.00 | $16.14 | $24.21 | $32.28 | $0.00 | $16.14 |
| Plasterers & cement masonsNon-union survey rate · effective Apr 15, 2021 · old rateCEMENT MASON/CONCRETE FINISHEROvertime 1.5× $15.00 · Double time 2× $20.00 · Benefits /hr $0.00 | $10.00 | $15.00 | $20.00 | $0.00 | $10.00 |
- Wage:
- the hourly pay in the worker's paycheck, before taxes, at straight time.
- Overtime and double time:
- the wage × 1.5 and × 2. Federal contracts require time and a half after 40 hours a week; when double time applies (for example Sundays, holidays or after 10–12 hours) is set by each union contract.
- Benefits:
- paid by the employer on top of the wage into the worker's health insurance, pension and annuity, and apprenticeship training funds (sometimes vacation and holiday pay). Not in the paycheck.
- Total comp:
- wage + benefits for one straight-time hour.
Journeyman rates only; shift premiums and per diem are not included. Source: Davis-Bacon general wage determinations on SAM.gov.
Apprentices: rates above are for journeymen. Apprentices are usually paid a percentage of the journeyman rate, typically starting around 40–60% and rising about 10 percentage points every 6 months to a year until they reach the full rate. Exact steps vary by trade and local.
- U.S. Department of Labor wage determination GA20260313 (SAM.gov) (opens in a new tab)sam.gov · Government filing
Sources
Every fact on this page comes from these public sources:
- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (opens in a new tab)ajc-ajc-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com · News
- DatacenterDynamics (opens in a new tab)datacenterdynamics.com · News
- IBEW inside jurisdiction map (GA) (opens in a new tab)ibew.org · Other
- U.S. Department of Labor wage determination GA20260313 (SAM.gov) (opens in a new tab)sam.gov · Government filing
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution (opens in a new tab)ajc.com · News
- Cleanview (tracker) (opens in a new tab)cleanview.co · Other
- RoadDog Jobs (opens in a new tab)roaddogjobs.com · Other
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