Ashton Adams, a 19-year-old first-year apprentice and Crossland High School CTE graduate who worked on Templeton and Robert Frost Elementary Schools, noted: “Those PLAs help create a pathway for me to go from CTE classroom into a registered apprenticeship… I am living proof of what can happen when CTE, registered apprenticeships and PLA job opportunities are connected.”

Hospitality and service workers represented by UNITE HERE also called for binding labor protections.

“We’re here to support a PLA and a labor peace agreement,” said Margaret Sharp, an Organizing Director with UNITE HERE Local 23. “I’m glad to hear that the Sphere has a positive relationship with unions. And, in that case, it should be no problem to have these agreements in place before there’s any TIF financing.”

Representing the developer, Paul Macchia, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Social Impact for Sphere Entertainment, detailed the project’s scope — a $1.4 billion, 6,000-seat venue expected to generate $1.3 billion in annual local economic activity and over $60 million in annual county tax revenue.

Addressing union concerns, Macchia underscored the company’s resistance to signing a mandatory PLA in Prince George’s County. He claimed that “all of the companies in the Madison Square Garden family of companies, including Sphere Entertainment, are exceptionally union friendly.” He noted that during the construction of the Las Vegas Sphere, “over 97% of the full-time employees on that project were union members, without a PLA.”

Union speakers pushed back on non-binding assurances, arguing that formal agreements are necessary to protect local labor standards.

Lamar Mutts, a Representative for the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, directly challenged the developer: “MSG and Sphere Entertainment: If you want to be our partner, then be a partner. Invest in Prince George’s County contractors, workers and young people and put that commitment in a PLA.”

Vegas Sphere Faced Millions in Wage Complaints

Beyond wage and hiring commitments, union advocates pointed to past contractor issues in Nevada as a key reason for establishing binding rules early in the process.

Mutts from the Carpenters’ Union noted that “public records from Las Vegas Sphere show that 14 contractors became involved in payment-related claims and disputes involving millions of dollars.”

While acknowledging that MSG has disputed those claims, Mutts stressed that “when that many contractors are involved, it raises legitimate questions and concerns,” arguing that a binding PLA is needed up front so local workers, responsible contractors and workforce groups are fully protected before ground is broken.

Building trades workers also emphasized that public investments must help build long-term middle-class careers.

“By attaching prevailing wage, registered apprenticeship programs and local hire guarantees to this TIF,” said Britton Loftin, a Representative with the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), “you protect taxpayers, ensure top-tier safety and efficiency, and guarantee local workers build this project.”

Retired glazier Carl Paige of IUPAT Local 963 concluded: “It is my hope and my prayer that the Sphere at National Harbor will create meaningful opportunities for this next generation of skilled tradespeople here in Prince George’s County.”