“We do 16 shows a week, so the knights don’t have time to properly rest,” the 39-year-old Los Angeles resident said recently. Green said AGVA’s union dues would run around $750 a year.Įrin Zapcic, who portrays a queen at the Buena Park castle, said the theater has been operating with limited staff since it reopened in June 2021 after a COVID-19 shutdown - a situation that has left the door open for potential injuries. The workers’ push to unionize was fueled by wage and safety concerns. Doris didn’t discuss what kind of wage increase AGVA might ask for if the workers unionize. “They’re saying they can’t make a living on the wages they’re being paid.” “A lot of them people are making $14 an hour and they work them just short of 30 hours so they don’t qualify for health insurance,” she said. Workers at those locations haven’t said if they intend to join a labor union.ĭoris said the Buena Park employees could benefit from unionization. That sends up a red flag for me.”ĭallas-based Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament operates a total of 10 Medieval Times dinner theaters, with additional locations in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Myrtle Beach, Orlando, Scottsdale and Toronto. “The other thing is, we asked for a copy of their constitution and bylaws, but we’ve never seen those. “I always felt we should wait to see what happens in New Jersey,” he said. Marten Borg, who portrays a knight at the Buena Park location, agreed. “We need more information to decide if it would be beneficial to us.” “We’ve missed the opportunity to see what happens with that location so we can better understand the process and see what we would get out of it,” the 26-year-old Irvine resident said. Employees there voted 26-11 for union membership. Michelle Green, who has worked as a stable hand at the Buena Park castle for nearly a year and earns $16.25 an hour, said the unionization process has moved so quickly, the workers didn’t have time to evaluate the impact of AGVA’s victory earlier this year at Medieval Times’ Lyndhurst, N.J. “The fact that the parties have expended resources, including in anticipation of a scheduled election, is not a basis for refusing to approve a withdrawal request, even very shortly before the election,” the stipulation states.

The workers’ petition cites an NRLB stipulation that allows employees to withdraw from a bargaining unit before a union election is held. “We are awaiting a decision from the NLRB as to the details of the upcoming election.” “The document that you sent me is of questionable authenticity, and will not interfere with the fundamental right of Medieval (Times) employees to choose to unionize,” she wrote. Several members of AGVA’s administration received the signed petition, and Doris responded three days later.

(File photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)Īfter weeks of research and meetings with both AGVA and Medieval Times, 25 of the 47 members of Medieval Times’ bargaining unit - including stable hands, knights, squires and show cast members - signed a petition asking AGVA to withdraw its petition to the NLRB for a union election. Twenty-five of the 47 members of Medieval Times’ bargaining unit - including stable hands, knights, squires and show cast members - signed a petition asking AGVA to withdraw its petition to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for a union election. 15-16 hearing with the National Labor Relations Board, AGVA again argued to keep the stable hands included. The employees turned to Medieval Times’ attorney, who also requested the stable hands be removed from the bargaining unit.

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