{"id":2351,"date":"2026-06-13T14:34:25","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T14:34:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2351"},"modified":"2026-06-13T14:34:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T14:34:25","slug":"fiber-turns-corning-into-one-of-ncs-hottest-employers-as-union-vote-called","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2351","title":{"rendered":"Fiber turns Corning into one of NC\u2019s hottest employers as union vote called"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m Brian Gordon, tech reporter for The News & Observer, and this is Open Source, a weekly newsletter on business, labor and technology in North Carolina.<\/p>\n

Read more AA pilot declares emergency after lightning strikes London-to-Charlotte flight<\/a><\/p>\n

In 1966, around the same time IBM relocated its first northern workers to the fledgling Research Triangle Park<\/a>, a company from the other side of New York State opened its inaugural North Carolina campus. That would be Corning Inc., from Corning, New York, a 100-plus-year-old glass and materials manufacturer that started a Tar Heel State site in Wilmington.<\/p>\n

For most of the past 60 years, Corning was a steady if subtle presence \u2014 adding 5,000 employees across multiple facilities statewide. But that low-profile has recently been obliterated, much to the company\u2019s delight.<\/p>\n

Fiber optic cables are suddenly in high demand.<\/p>\n

The company\u2019s share price has more than tripled in the past year. It expects to hire 3,500 more North Carolina workers in the coming years after this week announcing a contract with a third Big Tech player. Its new deal with Amazon<\/a> follows contracts with Nvidia<\/a> and Meta. You can probably guess what\u2019s driving these multibillion-dollar agreements; artificial intelligence has created wild demand for data centers, and the GPU servers within them rely on Corning\u2019s fiber optic cables.<\/p>\n

Hyperscale data centers are swapping out copper cables for fiber, jumping from a material that transmits information through electrical current to one that carries data faster via light pulses. Nvidia\u2019s Blackwell chips need 16 times more fiber than traditional computing server racks, Corning vice president John McGirr (who lives in Durham) said late last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

North Carolina is key to the company\u2019s optical fiber supply chain. Corning manufactures the material in Wilmington and Concord, then bundles these glass strands into cables in Hickory. There\u2019s also a distribution center in Winston-Salem and a facility for its life sciences division in the Triangle. Charlotte is home to the company\u2019s optical communications headquarters.<\/p>\n

Through Amazon, Meta and Nvidia, Corning is responsible for three of the biggest North Carolina jobs headlines of 2026 so far. Its Tar Heel State workers have generated a recent headline, too, with employees at the Winston-Salem distribution center last week filing<\/a> for a union election.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, they get raises when management wants to give them raises, there\u2019s no guarantee,\u201d said Chris Salm, an assistant organizing director on the campaign with United Steelworkers. \u201cSo, I think that they would like some predictability.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that workers should be guaranteed benefits from the \u201ctremendous investment\u201d Corning is bringing to the state. Salm and other union leaders in North Carolina have accused the company of \u201cunion busting,\u201d and have filed unfair labor practices around management conduct at the 400-worker center in Winston-Salem.<\/p>\n

Read more AA pilot declares emergency after lightning strikes London-to-Charlotte flight<\/a><\/p>\n

Corning\u2019s Wilmington workforce is already unionized while workers two years ago voted against organizing a company distribution center in the Edgecombe County seat of Tarboro.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor several decades, Corning has had a relationship with labor unions, including a strong partnership with the United Steelworkers (USW), working closely with Union representatives to build relationships rooted in trust, respect, and shared success,\u201d Corning wrote in a statement Thursday to The News & Observer. \u201cWe prioritize our employees\u2019 well-being, professional growth and contributions, and we respect their right to choose representation.\u201d<\/p>\n

A union election date has not yet been set.<\/p>\n

In last week\u2019s Open Source, North Carolina House members suggested they might amend the controversial and uniquely strict<\/a> prohibition on downzoning in this year\u2019s state budget. This law, passed two years ago under some mystery, prevents local governments from reducing the number of uses in an area or from creating \u201cnonconformities\u201d by banning, say, future data centers while grandfathering in existing ones \u2014 unless property owners approve.<\/p>\n

\u201cImportant planning initiatives in cities and towns big and small across our state have come to a screeching halt,\u201d Durham council member Nate Baker said earlier this year. Durham is not alone in pausing its comprehensive rezoning efforts due to the law \u2014 though the Bull City may have actually inspired it<\/a> in the first place.<\/p>\n

Anyway, municipal leaders hoping for a legislative fix this year may be disappointed. In an interview this week at his General Assembly office, Sen. Bob Brinson (R-Craven) told me any comprehensive downzoning relief may not come until 2027.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have chosen specifically to address several topics in the short session, and the larger topics we\u2019re essentially kicking to the long session next year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In 2025, the state Senate unanimously approved a bill returning more downzoning authority to cities and towns. Brinson referred to that as a \u201cconversation starter.\u201d In lieu of statewide action, he cosponsored legislation<\/a> last month that would restore downzoning powers in the Eastern North Carolina “military counties\u201d he represents.<\/p>\n

Thanks for reading!<\/p>\n

Thank you for supporting local journalism. If you liked it, consider sharing it with a friend. If it was forwarded to you, sign up here to subscribe<\/a>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Read more Extradition hearing delayed in NC Sun Drop murders cold case<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published June 12, 2026 at 9:44 AM.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Corning is on a blistering pace in North Carolina, as Amazon. Meta and Nvidia fiber data center deals fuel job growth. 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