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People Storm the Streets to Protest Monday’s Data Center Vote

The people keep the pressure on newly elected Democrats by protesting the upcoming vote on the data centers bill in the Senate.

Sarah Jones's avatar
Sarah Jones
Nov 08, 2026

The people can never rest if they want the justice required in a democracy.

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This story shows the importance of using the protest structures built by the people over the last several years to keep pushing lawmakers, especially after the country made their contempt for Republicans and Trump well known in Tuesday’s midterms.

Screen capture from Status Coup coverage of protest outside of Sen Chuck Schumer’s home

Demonstrators rallied outside Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s home in Park Slope, Brooklyn, to demand that he block a vote regarding the “Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA)”, a bill that would fast-track infrastructure like gas pipelines and AI data centers.

It’s become obvious in many communities, where data centers have been built or are being built, that the rate of water and electricity bills skyrockets for the people so that Amazon (AWS), Meta, Google, Microsoft et al can pocket the profit.

The people have had enough of Big Tech socializing the losses, costs, and risks while privatizing the profit.

The vote is scheduled for Monday. 

Watch the protests outside of Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s home below:

It’s become obvious in many communities, where data centers have been built or are being built, that the rate of water and electricity bills skyrockets for the people so that Amazon (AWS), Meta, Google, Microsoft et al can pocket the profit.

The people have had enough of Big Tech socializing the losses, costs, and risks while privatizing the profit.

The Moral Argument

One way to successfully mobilize to push “friendly” lawmakers while not undermining their political capital to make the change we seek is to give them the leverage they need to act while protecting them from opposition attacks.

We do this by making a moral argument for the change.

The main moral argument against data centers is distributive injustice.

The framework governing how resources are used is so obviously flawed in the current data center model that it’s offensive to hear lawmakers and AI proponents tell people to calm down about it.

I’m betting they don’t live near a data center. I’m betting they can afford for their water and electricity to go up 3 times as much in a year, even as gas and grocery prices skyrocket. But most Americans can’t.

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