5K Union Jobs, Workforce Housing Among Benefits Of Casino: Union

FAIRFAX, VA — About 60 members of area unions rallied outside the Fairfax County Government Center Tuesday morning asking the Board of Supervisors to support legislation that would put a casino referendum on a future ballot.

“I’m able to afford my house and live in Fairfax County,” said Nelson Aguilar, a union carpenter from Alexandria. “That’s what we’re trying to provide. A good paying job, bringing this entertainment center here. It would be good for a lot of immigrants like me.”

Tuesday’s rally was organized by the newly formed Fairfax County Jobs Coalition, which represents workers from more than 25 unions.

“We’re out here advocating for working class residents of Fairfax County,” said Virginia Diamond, president of the Northern Virginia AFL-CIO. “ We want to ask the county board to support the notion of a referendum, so that citizens can vote on the potential entertainment center and casino.”

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In January, Virginia Sen. Dave Marsden (D-Burke) introduced casino referendum legislation that would give the board of supervisors the authority to put a referendum on a ballot so that voters could decide whether a casino would be built somewhere on the Metro’s Silver Line outside the Capital Beltway.

Virginia Diamond, president of the Northern Virginia AFL-CIO, answers questions from reporters at Tuesday’s rally. (Michael O’Connell/Patch)

However, the bill;s advancement halted when the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee voted to hold the referendum bill over for the 2025 legislative session.

.Marsden told Patch that he would reintroduce his bill next session provided the board of supervisors supported it. So far, only Supervisors Walter Alcorn (D-Hunter Mill) and Jimmy Bierman (D-Dranesville) have spoken on the record as opposing the casino referendum bill.

While the bill was under consideration, Board Chair Jeff McKay (D) wrote a letter to the senate appropriations committee saying that the bill was a bad deal for the county.

The way the bill was written, according to McKay, the state would receive the majority of the revenue generated by the casino, while the county would be left paying for the development’s impact on the surrounding area.

Related: Casino Bill Should Be Rejected By Fairfax Supervisors: Former Lawmaker

Patch first broke the news in September 2023 that Comstock Holding Companies was seeking to build a casino somewhere on the Silver Line in Fairfax County. The company is behind the mixed-use development at the Wiehle-Reston East Metro Station.

Although no formal plans have been released, Comstock seeks to build a 4 million-square-foot entertainment district in Tysons that would include a high-end hotel with gaming floor, convention center, concert venue, restaurants, retail, and workforce housing. In addition, 200,000 square feet of the district would be dedicated to a casino.

Related: Unions To Rally In Support Of Casino, Entertainment District In Tysons

To advance this effort, Comstock, its employees and allies have contributed more than $1.2 million to the campaigns of state and local elected officials and signed agreements with Thompson Hospitality, which runs the matchbox and Big Buns restaurants, and the Northern Virginia AFL-CIO.

“We have union agreements that will provide more than 5,000 good jobs for local residents, especially immigrants, workers of color,” Diamond said. “If you work in a union hotel, union convention center, you know you’re going to be making good wages where you only need one job to live in Fairfax County. You can afford to live here with health care and pensions.”

Nelson Aguilar, a union carpenter from Alexandria, tells reporters that the proposed entertainment district in Tysons would benefit immigrant workers like him by creating jobs and making living in Fairfax County more affordable. (Michael O’Connell/Patch)

Comstock’s plan to put a casino somewhere on Metro’s Silver Line has faced considerable opposition from residents of Tysons, McLean, Vienna and Reston.

“The casino is not what it’s promised,” said Linda Walsh, president of the McLean Citizens Association and member of the No Fairfax Casino coalition. “We’ve seen it over and over again in other localities throughout the United States. They are becoming oversaturated and they can no longer provide the income that they purport to. They have a very negative effect.”

To date, Comstock’s public advocacy for the entertainment district and casino has been limited to appearances before a few general assembly committees and setting up tables at community fairs around the area.

The union rally was the first large public appearance by casino advocates in Fairfax County. It was a chance for supporters to tell their side of the story, according to Diamond.

“We have hotel and restaurant workers here,” she said. “We have carpenters. We have electricians. We have stage hands. We have all the construction unions, and we have janitors, unions, and it’s basically the entire working class, and we’re advocating for these opportunities for good union jobs for all workers.”

No Fairfax Casino is hosting a community forum from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday at the McLean High School located at 1633 Davidson Road in McLean. State Sen. Jennifer Boysko (D-Herndon), who is a member of the Senate Finance Committee, will be the guest speaker. More information about the forum is available online.
Read all of Patch’s reporting on Comstock Companies’ plan to build a casino on Metro’s Silver Line in Fairfax County at Silver Line Casino.