Members of DC-area building trades testified before a D.C. Council committee yesterday, asking council members to stand with the trades in calling on the Washington Commanders to commit to a project labor agreement (PLA) on all three parcels the city is giving the team to develop at the old RFK stadium site.
Ward 7 resident and IBEW Local 26 member Stephan Francis told the council he is a football fan and happy the Commanders are returning to D.C.
“However,” he testified, “as a D.C. resident, D.C. taxpayer, and D.C. union member, I am telling you that the deal needs to be improved.”
“The city is supporting the RFK project with a huge subsidy. In return for that, the city is only requiring a labor agreement on one of the three parcels that it is giving the Commanders to develop. Labor agreements need to be required on ALL THREE.”
– Stephan Francis, IBEW Local 26
“The city is supporting the RFK project with a huge subsidy. In return for that, the city is only requiring a labor agreement on one of the three parcels that it is giving the Commanders to develop. Labor agreements need to be required on ALL THREE.”
– Stephan Francis, IBEW Local 26
“Right now,” Francis continued, “the city is supporting the RFK project with a huge subsidy. In return for that, the city is requiring a labor agreement on one of the three parcels that it is giving the Commanders to develop. Labor agreements need to be required on ALL THREE – the Stadium District, plus the Plaza and Riverfront Districts.”
Greg Akerman, president of the Baltimore/D.C. Building Trades Council, testified that the building trades support the PLA covering the Stadium District, which is included in the term sheet between the city and the team.
“However,” he added, “it is the position of the building trades that we must have a commitment from the Commanders to building out the Plaza and Riverfront Districts with PLAs.”
Akerman told council members that building trades representatives had met with the Commanders recently and said their support for the project is contingent upon the use of PLAs in all three districts. He added that, at the time of the hearing, they were still awaiting a response from the team.
Baltimore-DC Metro Building Trades Council President Greg Akerman testifies on 6/4/25 before the D.C. Council Committee on Business and Economic Development.
Elishauntae Lindsay, a Ward 7 resident and 5th-year apprentice with Plumbers and Gasfitters Local 5, told the council that working as a union plumber has been “fantastic.”
“I earn great wages that allow me to support my family,” said Lindsay. “I receive health insurance that covers all of us, and I will get a pension when I retire. I enjoy driving by projects I worked on and telling my kids that ‘Mommy built that! It’s a great feeling.”
“As a city,” added Lindsay, “we need to keep expanding the number of projects built union so that all residents have a pathway to the middle class.” She also called on the D.C. Council to support a PLA for all three districts being developed by the Commanders.
“I am concerned that the requirement for a Project Labor Agreement is limited to just the stadium and garages,” said Lindsay. “The entirety of the proposed project, including the Plaza and Riverfront Districts, should provide opportunities for people like me to get into good union construction careers.
Plumbers and Gasfitters Local 5 member Elishauntae Lindsay testifies on 6/4/25 before the D.C. Council Committee on Business and Economic Development.