Unions rally in support of Tysons casino and entertainment district

FAIRFAX, VA – A coalition of unions including the Northern Virginia AFL-CIO and the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers will gather outside the Fairfax County Government Center Tuesday morning to declare their support for a Tysons Entertainment District and Casino.

The newly formed Fairfax County Jobs Coalition issued a news release Friday saying the casino and entertainment district would create more than 5,000 jobs.

“Union agreements exist that would provide thousands of workers with a fair process for securing permanent union jobs, which would dramatically increase the living standards of low-income workers in our community,” said Virginia Diamond, President of the NoVA Labor Federation, AFL-CIO.

Tuesday’s rally is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m., an hour before the start of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meeting.

Read all of Patch’s coverage of plans to build a casino on Metro’s Silver Line in Fairfax County at Silver Line Casino.

The rally comes less than three months before the start of the January 8, 2025 Virginia General Assembly session and two weeks before the general election.

Virginia Sen. Dave Marsden (D-Burke) told Patch in September that he planned to reintroduce his casino referendum bill after the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee voted in February to pass it on to the legislative session to be postponed until 2025.

One of the reasons Marsden gave for building an entertainment district and casino would be to create 5,000 union jobs. He and other supporters, including Virginia Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-Alexandria), promoted a casino as a new source of revenue for Fairfax County, which relies too heavily on property taxes to fund county programs.

“The developer has agreed to a project labor agreement for the entertainment district and casino,” said Greg Akerman, president of the area’s construction union. “A PLA guarantees that workers are paid family-friendly wages and Fairfax County residents have the opportunity to receive on-the-job training opportunities through apprenticeship programs.”

Although neither Akerman nor the press release name the developer, Patch broke the news in September 2023 that Comstock Holding Companies wanted to build a casino somewhere on the Silver Line in Fairfax County.

Since then, Comstock Holdings, its employees, companies and allies have donated more than $1.2 million to the campaign committees of members of the Virginia Legislature to advance their casino plans.

“This is an important opportunity to generate more business tax revenue for schools and other county services that are desperately needed,” said David Walrod, president of the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers.

In addition to a casino, the entertainment district would include a “high-end hotel with arcade, convention center, concert venue, restaurants, retail and workforce housing,” according to the release. The entire facility would cover 4 million square feet, while the casino would only cover 200,000 square feet.

During a Jan. 24 hearing of the Senate General Law and Technology Committee, several people spoke in favor of Marsden’s bill, including Julie Coons, president of the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce, and Benita Thompson-Byas, vice chair of the Thompson Hospitality Corporation Chamber of Commerce.

“The creation of a mixed-use, transit-oriented complex that would include not only a casino but also a state-of-the-art conference facility and performing arts venue is estimated to bring an additional $2 billion to the region and bring “thousands of new jobs to Fairfax County.” “Coons told subcommittee members.

According to Thompson-Byas, Thompson Hospitality was a minority partner in the casino project. The company manages several regional restaurant chains, including Big Buns, Matchbox and Milk & Honey.