Using local labor is a casino win

When backers of a casino in Cedar Rapids unveiled its latest push to win a state license in 2022, the pitch included the signing of a memorandum of understanding with local unions to ensure local workers are used when Cedar Crossing Casino is constructed.

“For a decade, this is the team that has promised to bring a gaming facility to Cedar Rapids. We’re all in with Cedar Crossing, and local unions know it will be the best casino that can be brought here — and we’re proud that it will be constructed by local tradesmen and tradeswomen,” said Mike Sandler, president of the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Building and Construction Trades Council President Mike Sadler in 2022.

The casino project has been through a lot since then. There was a moratorium on approving any new casino licenses that stopped Cedar Crossing in its tracks. Riverside Casino & Golf Resort filed legal action to halt and nullify the license awarded to Cedar Crossing.

With the legal challenge behind it, Cedar Crossing is taking shape on the west bank of the Cedar River at the edge of downtown Cedar Rapids.

And after all the twists and turns, casino developers kept their promise to use local and Iowa labor.

“It’s basically a commitment to use all union labor on the project, and with that comes a promise from union labor to man the job and make sure it’s on time and on budget,” Sadler said recently. “It’s going to be big for local labor.”

According to reporting by The Gazette’s Grace Nieland, of the more than $40 million contracts that have been awarded so far for the $275 million project, 96% have gone to Iowa businesses.

The casino’s operator, Peninsula Pacific, also known as P2E, has hired Cedar Rapids-based Ryan Companies as the project’s general contractor. Ryan will be responsible for seeking bids for portions of the project.

The goal is to seek out Linn County labor and materials, and then to look for Iowa companies before any regional or national firms are hired.

The project is expected to provide work for 800 construction workers between now and when the casino is scheduled to open Dec. 31, 2026.

The labor commitment is welcome news as developers approach other obligations, such as providing 8 percent of net annual revenues to local nonprofits, the largest share offered by a casino in Iowa.

Those are wins for the community, no betting necessary.

(319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com