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

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

“There are union agreements in place that provide a fair process for thousands of workers to decide on permanent union jobs that would dramatically raise living standards for low-income workers in our community,” said Virginia Diamond, president of the NoVA Labor Federation, AFL-CIO.

Diamond first voiced her union’s support for the casino during testimony before the Feb. 1 Virginia Senate Subcommittee on Resources.

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

One of the reasons Marsden gave for building an entertainment district anchored by a 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 revenue stream for Fairfax County, which relies too heavily on the real estate tax 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 Building Trades unions. “A PLA will guarantee that workers are paid family-sustaining wages and Fairfax County residents have the chance to get on-the-job training opportunities through apprenticeship programs.”

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

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

“This is an important opportunity to bring in more commercial tax revenue for schools and other county services, which is sorely 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 gaming floor, convention center, concert venue, restaurants, retail, and workforce housing,” according to the release. The entire development would take up 4 million square feet, with the casino only encompassing 200,000 square feet.

Patch reached out for comment from the No Fairfax Casino Coalition, a vocal opponent to the casino. Lynne Mulston, a spokeswoman for the group, provided this statement:

“Because momentum has begun to build and more and more Fairfax County residents are voicing their opposition to a casino in Tysons or anywhere else in the county, the company that stands to benefit has taken on a new strategy. Relying on union endorsements and a hospitality firm with ties to the developer, the casino they propose is being redefined as an entertainment venue to shift attention away from the negative aspects associated with casinos and gambling.

“Our members have been out for months taking the pulse of the community on this issue and what has become crystal clear to us is that the majority of people we meet are against the idea of a casino in the Fairfax County community. They are wary of the unsupported promises of overnight economic relief and doubt the claims that the casino sponsors have made.”

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

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

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