A coalition of Washington, D.C. Unions have reached an agreement with the National Football League’s (NFL) Washington Commanders to create hundreds of Union-protected jobs tied to the NFL team’s proposed stadium project.
The 190-acre RFK Stadium first opened in 1961 as a multi-purpose venue and hosted multiple professional sports teams, concerts and other events over the course of several decades. The stadium has been largely out of use since 2017, but now that ownership has been transferred over to the District of Columbia, there have been efforts to revitalize the space to bring the Commanders’ home field back to the Nation’s Capital.
Hours before the D.C. Council prepared to vote on whether to move the redevelopment proposal along, the Metropolitan Washington Council, the Baltimore-DC Metro Building Trades Council, 32BJ Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and UNITE HERE Local 25 announced they had reached a labor agreement with the team to ensure that the work created by this project are good-paying Union jobs with quality benefits.
“After several months of negotiations, our Labor Organizations have reached and signed agreements with the Commanders Ownership Team, ensuring that the stadium and adjacent hotels create quality construction and post-construction jobs for District residents,” the Coalition said in a joint statement. “We now have a truly transformative development project that will bring the Commanders back home to the District of Columbia and ensure that those who will build and who will work at these properties have decent wages, health insurance and a pension.”
