Labor unions have come out against the entertainment district and arena proposed for Alexandria’s Potomac Yard area that would create 30,000 jobs and be the new home of the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards.
NEWS: We join @va_labor in opposing the Monumental, JBG Smith Arena and Entertainment District plan pic.twitter.com/al5ijmwe2V
— UNITE HERE Local 25 (@UHLocal25) February 20, 2024
“Construction and hospitality jobs in the campus’ privately-owned entertainment district would be low-wage jobs because the developer would not accept any labor agreements,” said Virginia Diamond, president of the Northern Virginia AFL-CIO.
Opposition from the unions includes UNITE HERE Local 25, which represents hospitality workers, which called it a “bad deal for workers.”
Greg Akerman, president of the local Building Trades Union, said the developers have “refused to take the necessary steps” to prevent wage theft and exploitation of immigrant workers.
The $2 billion, 70-acre complex, which would sit behind the Potomac Yard shopping center and include its redevelopment, would feature a new campus for the headquarters for Monumental, an arena for the two teams, a state-of-the-art Monumental Sports Network media studio, the Wizards practice facility, a 6,000-seat performing arts venue, and an expanded esports facility. There would be new retail businesses, a conference center, and community gathering spaces.
Reaction from Monumental and JBG SMITH
Monumental Sports and developer JGB SMITH said they remain committed to continued talks with labor unions and said that it would be a “shame to walk away from such a tremendous opportunity for Virginia’s workers.”
The two released a joint statement: “We are disappointed and somewhat perplexed that the Northern Virginia AFL-CIO is expressing opposition to a project that will create tens of thousands of good-paying jobs, most of which would be union jobs, and offer some of the strongest labor and worker protections of any project in Virginia history, especially during the construction phase,” the statement said.
The statement went on to say: “During near daily negotiations over the course of several months, this development partnership gave labor nearly everything it asked for including strong wages, benefits, and training commitments, as well as efforts to prevent wage theft and misclassification. Our discussions went farther to specifically promote local hiring and opportunity for small, women, minority, and veteran-owned businesses.”
Youngkin’s Support
Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Tuesday said he continues to stand by the project.
“My administration and the partners in this project have worked in good faith over the last few months to give union workers a substantial role in this project. Today, labor leadership backtracked on that progress and announced their opposition to a project that creates 30,000 jobs, including 12,000 construction-trade jobs,” Youngkin said. “Virginia is a right-to-work state and unreasonable demands from union leaders will not derail this project. I will continue to work with the General Assembly to complete this opportunity and bring $12 billion in economic contributions that will fund shared priorities in Virginia.”
Feature image of proposed entertainment district courtesy JBG SMITH
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