Helix Electric, a San Diego electrical contractor that has operated without a union since its founding in 1985, broke ground Tuesday on a $45.3 million fabrication campus in Hollywood after weighing sites in Tennessee and Georgia.

The company describes itself in its own job postings as “one of the most successful open-shop electrical contracting companies in the nation.” Founder Gary Shekhter, a Soviet émigré who built the business from a one-room office in El Cajon, California, told the San Diego Business Journal that the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers approached the company about representing its workers and that he never expected to let a union in.

“My philosophy is, I don’t need an intermediary between employees and management to help us protect employees,” Shekhter said. “We try very hard to treat our employees fair, with dignity.”

“The people we hire today will be with us 20 years from now,” he said. “It’s critical for us to maintain the culture we have.”

Alabama voters wrote the state’s right-to-work status into the constitution in November 2016 with nearly 70% of the vote. California has no such law.

The state put that status to the test in May 2024, when the United Auto Workers tried to organize the Mercedes-Benz plants in Vance and Woodstock weeks after winning at Volkswagen in Chattanooga.

Governor Ivey, the Business Council of Alabama and the Legislature fought the drive, and Ivey signed a law from State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) stripping state incentives from any company that recognizes a union without a secret-ballot election.

Mercedes workers voted 2,642 to 2,045 against the UAW.

RELATED: UAW crushed in union vote at Mercedes-Benz

Governor Kay Ivey called the project “a strong vote of confidence in our state’s workforce, infrastructure and business climate.”

“We are grateful to Helix Electric for choosing Alabama and for the confidence the company has placed in Jackson County,” Ivey said.

Helix COO Casey Long said the company evaluated locations across three states before choosing the Jackson County Industrial Park off U.S. 72, the Clarion reported.

“Several thousand people work with us building hospitals, airports, manufacturing plants, wastewater treatment facilities, high-rise buildings, data centers and other critical infrastructure across the United States,” Long said. “Today we’re kicking off what will be one of the most consequential investments Helix Electric has made in recent years.”

The campus is planned at 1.2 million square feet across multiple phases. The first phase creates 160 jobs for electricians, welders and CAD and BIM operators, with construction starting in January, according to Jackson County Economic Development Authority President Nathan Lee. The plant will manufacture underground duct banks, risers, hangers and modular electrical skids for shipment to Helix’s East Coast customers, the Alabama Department of Commerce said. Jackson County is a designated Target County under the state’s rural development strategy.

Helix opened its first fabrication plant in Goodyear, Arizona, in 2021 at 112,000 square feet. The Hollywood campus is ten times that footprint.

“Hollywood, Alabama, is exactly the kind of community where Helix Electric belongs,” CEO Boris Shekhter said. “The people here are hardworking, the region is growing, and local leaders have made it clear they want to build something that lasts.”

State Sen. Steve Livingston (R-Scottsboro) said the project “is proof that our industry recruitment strategies are working.”

“Helix Electric’s investment in Jackson County will benefit our citizens and our communities for decades to come,” Livingston said. “I’m proud to join Governor Kay Ivey in welcoming Helix Electric to Sweet Home Alabama.”

U.S. Rep. Dale Strong (R-Monrovia) said Helix “has spent more than four decades working on major electrical projects across the country.”

“And now we’re bringing that experience to Jackson County with a new major investment,” Strong said.

Lee said the recruitment took about two years and credited Strong, the county’s legislative delegation and the Jackson County Commission.

“This is the day that economic developers dream of,” Lee said.

Long said what is built in Hollywood will ship nationwide “to help power the buildings and facilities that drive American industry.”

“We will literally be building America from this property in Hollywood, Alabama,” he said.

Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.