August 29, 2025 Powering Communities Together: Cordia’s Union Partnerships in San Francisco, Minneapolis, and Pittsburgh
Reliable energy doesn’t just happen. Behind every warm hospital room, every safe university campus, and every business that stays open during a storm, there’s a team of skilled workers making sure the power stays on and the systems keep running. For Cordia, one of the nation’s leading energy providers, that team includes both union members and non-union skilled employees, working side by side with shared purpose. Together, they ensure Cordia’s systems operate with the highest levels of safety, reliability, and community impact.
In San Francisco, Minneapolis, and Pittsburgh, Cordia’s work with IUOE Stationary Engineers – Local 39, Local 70, and Local 95, has become a model for how labor and industry can come together to build stronger, safer, and more resilient communities.
San Francisco: Local 39 Keeps the City Running
In San Francisco, Cordia’s steam system serves more than 180 customers, from government buildings to local businesses that can’t afford to lose heat or power. At the heart of it all are the members of Local 39, the stationary engineers who operate and maintain the system every day.
For these engineers, the job isn’t just about keeping boilers running; it’s about protecting their city. When wildfires strain California’s electric grid or when storms threaten outages, Cordia’s partnership with Local 39 means San Francisco has a team of experts ready to respond. Their work keeps hospitals warm, businesses open, and residents safe.
It’s a story of quiet resilience. While most people never think about how their heat or hot water arrives, Local 39 members are there 24/7 to make sure the city doesn’t skip a beat.
Minneapolis: Local 70 Builds on Fifty Years of Reliability
In Minneapolis, Cordia’s district energy system has been serving the city for more than five decades. It heats and cools hospitals, universities, and downtown businesses. But the real story is about trust—trust built between Cordia and Local 70, the plant engineers and boiler operators who have kept the system running at an astonishing 99.99% reliability rate.
That reliability isn’t just a number. It means patients at Fairview Health Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center, can count on uninterrupted care. It means Augsburg University can focus on teaching and research, not energy problems. And it means Hennepin County’s central utility plant, integrated into Cordia’s system thanks to Local 70’s work, can serve government buildings and a trauma hospital more efficiently.
Local 70’s engineers are more than operators; they’re stewards of a system that has grown with the city. They’ve helped modernize controls, connect new customers, and expand services—all while mentoring the next generation of union engineers who will carry the torch forward.
Pittsburgh: Local 95 Protects Critical Care
In Pittsburgh, Cordia’s Uptown Plant stands as a lifeline for UPMC Mercy Hospital, one of the city’s most vital trauma and burn centers. When lives are on the line, there’s no room for an outage. That’s why Cordia turns to Local 95, the union that has long represented stationery and building engineers in the city.
Local 95 members helped bring the Uptown Plant online in 2018, and today they operate and maintain the system that supplies all of Mercy Hospital’s heating, cooling, and emergency power. Their role is as critical as that of the hospital’s doctors and nurses, because without reliable energy, patient care can’t happen.
Beyond the hospital, the Uptown system was designed to grow with the neighborhood. Local 95’s workforce helped build flexibility in the plant, enabling it to serve future customers, lower costs, and support the city’s economic development. For Pittsburgh residents, that means more than just energy; it means jobs, stability, and community growth.
A Shared Commitment to Community
Cordia’s partnerships with Local 39 in San Francisco, Local 70 in Minneapolis, and Local 95 in Pittsburgh demonstrate the benefits of collaboration between industry and labor. Together with Cordia’s non-union employees, they’ve delivered energy systems that keep cities safe, support critical institutions, and create lasting union jobs.
For Cordia, this isn’t just business; it’s about investing in people. By relying on a combined workforce of union and non-union skilled employees, Cordia ensures its systems are run by experts who live in the communities they serve. These workers take pride in their craft and in the knowledge that their work keeps hospitals open, classrooms running, and cities thriving.
As America looks to the future, toward cleaner energy, more resilient infrastructure, and stronger local economies, Cordia’s union partnerships offer a blueprint. They show that the path forward isn’t just about technology. It’s about people, community, and the belief that when we work together, we all stay stronger.