Posts tagged American Guild of Variety Artists
The Medieval Times Union Campaign Is Over
March 14, 2024 // Workers at the California castle went on an unfair labor practice strike last February, saying the company was refusing to bargain in good faith. The strike was meant to pressure Medieval Times into reaching a contract. The company flew in replacement knights — “scabs,” in union parlance — to fill in for those who’d walked off. Zapcic said it was hurtful to watch so many customers — including one she remembers with his union logo tattooed on his neck — crossing their picket line each night.
Buena Park Medieval Times Employees Request Vote to Banish AGVA Union Bosses from Castle
November 28, 2023 // “It’s becoming increasingly clear that the AGVA union’s reign over Medieval Times performers resembles a ruthless tyrant more interested in promoting union bosses’ power than what is best for rank-and-file employees,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “If AGVA union bosses really do have the support they claim they do among Medieval Times employees, they should simply let them exercise their right to vote as opposed to engaging in legal maneuvers to stop it from happening.”
Medieval Times Workers End Their Strike
November 27, 2023 // The workers’ union said it had submitted an unconditional offer to return to work and that Medieval Times had accepted. The castle’s show cast and knights first walked off the job back in February after accusing the company of committing unfair labor practices, including trying to silence them on social media. Workers at the Buena Park castle have been trying to bargain a first contract since joining the American Guild of Variety Artists more than a year ago. The union said in a statement that the call to end the strike was “a decision we did not make lightly,” and thanked “the thousands of guests, union members, and community allies” who showed their solidarity.
NJ Medieval Times Employees Appeal to National Labor Relations Board in Ongoing Joust with Union Officials
September 21, 2023 // he Request for Review notes that AGVA union officials were “secretive, self-interested, and divisive,” and “regularly advocated that the [Medieval Times] employees go on strike, something that had no support among the unit employees.” After waiting out the statutory one-year bar on union elections that follows a union’s certification, Morley filed the petition requesting a union decertification vote. According to the Request for Review, instead of processing the petition as NLRB rules dictate, NLRB Region 22 issued a complaint against the employer and dismissed Morley’s petition based on unproven “blocking charges” AGVA union officials filed against Medieval Times management. The Request for Review argues that the hasty dismissal violated NLRB election rules, the Administrative Procedure Act, and well-established NLRB precedent requiring a hearing to demonstrate whether union allegations of employer misconduct actually caused employee discontent with the union. “None of the alleged unfair labor practice allegations…concern the Employees’ collection of the decertification signatures or the Employer’s domination of the Union. Thus…an election should be held and the votes immediately counted,” the Request for Review contends. “Even if the Board determined the allegations warranted consideration under [NLRB rules], its plain terms prohibit dismissing a petition prior to an election.”
NEW UNIONS, NEW TENSIONS: THE COMPLEXITIES OF UNION DECERTIFICATION
August 15, 2023 // Whether these early decertification attempts will gain momentum or fizzle out remains to be seen. Many of the petitions, especially those filed by Starbucks partners, could be blocked by the NLRB due to the high number of ULPs filed by the SBWU union. However, the petitions have generated a lot of publicity indicative of a stirring debate on relevance within newly organized workplaces where little progress has been made in collective bargaining. For now, the prominent backlash from major unions signals they are gearing up to defend their turf aggressively. But if more workers come forward, this could suggest deeper divisions emerging that unions must address.
Workers at Medieval Times in Buena Park walk off job, go on strike, union says
February 13, 2023 // About 25 of the 50 workers in their bargaining unit walked out, according to Erin Zapcic, the lead organizer of Medieval Times Performers United. Performers said due to staff shortages, they have been working six days a week. They've been in wage negotiations with management since December.
Medieval Times Performers In California Unionize Following Months Of Debate
November 14, 2022 // Buena Park performers petitioned for a union election on July 22 following the vote at the New Jersey location in July, she said. The Medieval Times has 10 locations across North America, including Atlanta, Ga, Chicago, Il, and Toronto, Ontario.
Strippers are helping fuel the spike in US unionizing efforts
August 8, 2022 // More than a dozen of the club's dancers say they've been locked out for four-plus months because they petitioned the owners to reinstate two of their fired colleagues, improve security and safety measures, and recognize their right to form a union. US strippers haven't successfully unionized since the effort at San Francisco's Lusty Lady in the 1990s, but the Star Garden workers are trying anyway — and they're doing so in an environment where more American workers are leveraging their own power. Christian Sweeney,
Jousting with management? Medieval Times cast may join NJ’s growing unionized workforce Friday
July 15, 2022 // On Friday afternoon, 42 workers at the Bergen County dinner theater will decide whether to join the American Guild of Variety Artists, which represents performers including the Rockettes and the members of Cirque du Soleil. The vote follows a national wave of collective organizing and an uptick in unionization rates in New Jersey. Food service workers, retail employees, even budtenders in the medical and recreational cannabis markets are getting organized. Medieval Times employees said the union will represent the knights, squires, trumpeters and other performers. It would represent the stable hands, who care for the horses, as well. Servers and food staff would not be included in the bargaining unit. New Jersey Medieval Times, Zaire Wood, May report by the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations, Susanne Doris,