We had some media coverage when we first walked out but now that it's been eight months (and with bigger strikes like UAW and SAG-AFTRA dominating the news) it's been tough to get the word out. If I had a dime for every time someone told us they didn't know about the strike as they crossed the picket line, I wouldn't have to be on strike.
That's because they picketed for a few weeks it seems and then stopped picketing because they found other jobs. I guess that's capitalism. If they can hire cheaper talent they will, and apparently it's all legal, so I'm not sure the "union" has a leg to stand on or any sympathy points now.
Thank you for asking! Unfortunately, no real movement on our key issues (wages, treatment of horses, sexual harassment). In fact, they have not increased their wage proposals in over six months, and in our last bargaining session they implied that the knight promotions (that have already been earned, last year, after our union election) might not be valid anymore because we've been on strike. Currently we have no new bargaining dates scheduled. :-/
Currently, the starting rate for a squire (which is how you get hired) is about $16 an hour. Once you become an apprentice knight (meaning, you're actively training to become a knight in the show) you're making around $17 an hour and when you become a knight you're making $18-19 an hour. Knights qualify for annual raises and promotions when they learn more fights in the show, but performance reviews only happen once a year and promotions are only offered incrementally so even if you learn two ranks' worth of material in one year you'll only be promoted by one rank.
And that's just the knights. Stable hands make around $18/hr, speaking show cast (non-combat actors who ride horses) are around $20-$22, and trumpeters (professional musicians) make $16.
To put that into perspective, the cost of living in Orange County, CA is about $25/hr. Our initial wage proposals brought the lowest-paid members of the bargaining unit in alignment with the COLA for Orange County and went up from there. Medieval Times countered with a 2% wage increase for some departments and a 0% wage increase for others.
In the meantime, non-union castles were given raises upwards of 20% last year after our election to disincentivize them from unionizing (which of course is illegal, as evidenced in a recent ruling against Starbucks by the NLRB).
Since December, we've had to lower our initial proposals and Medieval Times has come up a little bit, but we are still very far apart.
The horse trainer at the CA location uses lunge whips on the horses (including making contact, which you're not supposed to do) and has been known to draw blood on the horses during training and during performances. I have witnessed the latter myself.
We have photo and video evidence online here -- [https://www.instagram.com/jakembowman/](https://www.instagram.com/jakembowman/)
To date, we have made 2 1/2 pages' worth of proposals in our contract that provide for enrichment activities as well as sticking to "positive reinforcement" when it comes to training. The company has rejected all of them (including the sentence "abuse of any kind will not be tolerated") and replaced them with two sentences that effectively say the training and treatment of the horses will be the same at the CA castle as it is in any other castle.
Sexual harassment is going to be a stickier issue as it is a company culture that needs to change (Medieval Times is and always has been a boys' club). However, we are requesting stronger security measures to protect our performers from unruly and intoxicated guests. Additionally, just having a union contract will provide external accountability along with grievance and arbitration procedures that can provide a necessary intermediary between a performer and management (especially if it's management that's doing the harassing, which has been known to happen).
Thank you! I hope you make progress in getting the contract with all the protections and pay increases. Selfishly, I hope it happens soon because I wanted to go for my birthday in January, but won’t unless you guys are successful!
Y’all shooting yourselves in the foot with the trendy but shallow “sexual harassment” angle. I had been biting my tongue but the way you describe it, the main issue is guests? Lol try putting yourselves in their shoes and the Union is asking for security to nanny the guests? Bruh.
Also doesnt sound like the trendy Union move (you even invoke the Starbucks event) has worked out all that well compared to other castles… Sounds like they’re waiting y’all out tbh.
Yall doomed to fail if one of your key issues is “changing company culture” in a company about medieval times lmao Everyone knows SA is wrong. I wouldn’t use it as a me too type crowbar for demands but it’s way too late now.
This is coming from someone who has been waiting to go to MT since staff went on strike. I really don’t want to cross a picket line. I used to think y’all were upset at the COVID clown show mandates but now idk. I’m still holding out for the animals and squires QOL but
If I was them the SA makes it impossible for me to accept any terms with that there because it’d be like the company admitting guilt… yet you didn’t name company names but instead imply the guests are the ones pinching butts that much. Trespass them. Blacklist them. You’re telling me MT wouldn’t kick those Guests out?
IDK
If I have downplayed the sexual harassment issue, it's because even though I am a woman I have not experienced a ton of it myself working at Medieval Times. I do, however, know many women who have and I do not dispute their accounts.
Sexual harassment / assault unfortunately is not just a guest issue, it is a company culture issue. In my experience (and in the experience of a LOT of other women and men who've been sexually harassed by guests) those guests are not asked to leave and at best just cut off from purchasing more alcohol (but that's not even a guarantee).
However, a lot of people are afraid to speak out publicly about the internal misogyny and sexual harassment / assault because of how notoriously litigious Medieval Times is. If you want to see an example of grooming / SA in action, one brave person has shared her story here:
[https://medium.com/@lilliansogar/beyond-the-arena-confronting-a-culture-of-harassment-at-medieval-times-a715c4e3005d](https://medium.com/@lilliansogar/beyond-the-arena-confronting-a-culture-of-harassment-at-medieval-times-a715c4e3005d)
There are more accounts like it at [www.medievaltimessucks.com](https://www.medievaltimessucks.com)
Probably the harshest reality we've faced in this whole struggle is how little people care about unions or even just other people when it comes down to their entertainment. And unlike Starbucks, Trader Joes, Amazon, etc., Medieval Times is not a publicly-traded company beholden to shareholders. They have a ton of money and are willing to spend it to keep unions from winning... at literally any cost.
We are doing what we can to try and change 40 years' worth of bad behavior. And we are being met with a TON of resistance. But that doesn't mean it's not worth fighting for.
I am not engaging in medieval combat for anything under $26/h this isn't burger flipping this is life and limb risking performance.
Do they give you guys healthcare?
Love someone who knows their worth!! If you work full-time (i.e., you're a knight) you do get healthcare but most of the injuries fall under worker's comp, which requires certain doctors and procedures. We also get sent to an immedicenter because most injuries occur during the show (meaning, off-hours) and they often misdiagnose. We had someone fall of a horse, hear something "pop", go to the clinic and get told to ice it. A year later he found out he had a torn MCL and needed to have surgery.
If you're not a member of our bargaining unit (meaning, you're working in retail, bar or food service, or event staff/ticketing) hourly rates can range from $16.50-$20 (and then service roles obviously make tips). Our bargaining unit makes up the roles that perform in the show (so, Medieval Times' only real product) and you can be making $18.50/hr to jump off a horse at 25 MPH. IF you're already a knight performing in the show.
Over 50% of our bargaining unit makes less than $20/hr, and the COLA in Orange County is close to $25/hr.
I'll do my best! Having worked at another castle I can confirm this is a problem unique to the CA location. (In fact, for a brief period of time you used to be able to purchase chicken seasoning from the gift shop. 😅)
Has there been any progress on unionizing other castles? I support you guys but I don't see you getting any leverage as long as knights in other castles keep getting flown in.
There were other castles collecting cards early on; however, Medieval Times was able to slow the unionization effort by granting huge raises and laying off / bullying pro-union people into quitting. I imagine that when we get a good contract there will be renewed interest in unionizing other castles.
I was driving by yesterday and saw a banner that said "knights on strike", and at the same time, the LED(?) display above the banner was showing "now hiring for", which I thought was just about the most tone-deaf thing ever.
Fun fact: after we reopened post-COVID, Medieval Times hadn't run \*any\* promotions (when, prior to COVID, it was kind of a joke if you were paying full price for your tickets). Since the day after we walked out they've been running promo codes non-stop, and have done a number of ticket giveaways on social media.
Unfortunately the costumes belong to Medieval Times. We did some Ren Faire-themed pickets (along with some other themes as well) but after eight months it's hard to keep things fresh.
Whoa. My husband is in SAG/AFTRA (he does extra work on his summers off as a teacher—well, not this last one) and admittedly we forgot about the MT strike.
Are you all able to take other jobs in the interim? If MT is operating per usual via scabs, what keeps things from making that the new normal and releasing your contracts, litigation?
We’re very pro union (SAG and CTA), but having never been on strike (though teachers union was quite literally 12 hours away from one last year) I’ve never learned the answers to those questions.
In the interim, yes, we have taken other jobs. This of course has affected our ability to picket so our line these days sometimes only has about 3-5 people.
We certainly don't want this to become the new normal, although Medieval Times may have different ideas about that. They are doing shows with scabs at great expense (flying them out from other castles, paying them daily bonuses/weekly per diems, putting them up in hotel rooms, paying for their meals, etc.) and if we can continue to raise awareness and get people to stop crossing the picket line, eventually it will become financially untenable for them.
We have recently called for a company-wide boycott are asking folks to pledge not to visit ANY Medieval Times location until this labor dispute is resolved.
That being said, these things take time. So to answer your question about contracts, etc, we don't actually have a contract at present. We organized last year and are fighting to get our first collective bargaining agreement. As long as we are on an unfair labor practice strike (which we are, Medieval Times has violated federal labor law on a number of occasions) they cannot replace us permanently.
There are a number of things that could happen in the meantime, most notably that once we've reached a year post-election, there potentially could be a petition filed for a union decertification but since Medieval Times has a number of unfair labor practice charges outstanding against them (including a bad-faith bargaining charge) it is likely that a decertification petition would not hold up with the NLRB.
In the meantime, we are working to increase our bargaining leverage (through things like this publicity campaign as well as other irons we have in the fire) so that Medieval Times works with us to reach a contract that addresses our key issues. But we are resolved to stay on strike as long as it takes.
Absolutely! We have a petition here -- [https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-medieval-times-management-to-quit-breaking-the-law](https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-medieval-times-management-to-quit-breaking-the-law)
And honestly, telling anyone and everyone you know helps a lot. People still don't know the strike is going on. People also don't know that they can get a refund if they don't want to cross the picket line.
They have been utilizing scab workers since day 2. Flying them in from other castles, paying them a premium, and putting them up in the hotel across the street. Not to mention spending a fortune on advertising and doing everything they can to keep people from finding out about the strike.
Consultants will always advise companies against allowing unions no matter the costs. They firmly believe that if saves money to waste it to stop unions.
Amazing, thank you so much! Depending on the level you donated, that secures the amount of calendars (1 for $20, 2 for $35, 3 for $50 -- plus the other perks -- and so on). We'll send out a google form via the email you used to donate so that you can provide us with the mailing address to ship the calendar(s) to. But for now, you're all set! Thank you again!! 🙏🏻
UPDATE!
🎺 We have officially hit our first goal! 🎺
Thanks to everyone's generous support, we are able to cover our costs to print the calendar. And a special thanks to the Reddit community -- y'all helped us hit this first, very important milestone.
From here on out, every dollar contributed directly supports our striking workers! 🙏 We're gearing up for our photo shoot on Monday 10/30 and we can't wait to have more photos and video to share with you soon! Please continue to share and spread the word. We're so grateful!
We held our photo shoot this week and the results are 🔥🔥🔥
For anyone who wants a sneak peek:
[KNIGHTS ON STRIKE 2024 Calendar Teaser](https://youtu.be/ne4QeJNS4xg?si=AHHXBKEV87IDgm3P)
Legally, they are obligated to bargain with us for a contract. There is no time limit for negotiations; however, we have a bad-faith bargaining charge filed against them and if/when the NLRB rules in our favor the remedy would include a bargaining order. This requires regular progress updates to the NLRB on how our contract is going and, I believe, a minimum number of bargaining sessions within a certain time period.
We certainly hope to have a contract well before that happens but we do have some "failsafes" in place.
Does anyone know of Medieval Times is even still profitable? $17 per hour in OC is rough, but every other dinner show on Beach Blvd has failed and shut down. I'd be shocked if MT could survive a 50% increase in labor.
MT is a privately-held company so unfortunately we don't have access to their financials. Having worked for this company for 12 years, however, I can say that the CA castle is the busiest and most profitable castle of all. MT has 10 locations in the continental US and Canada. They make money hand over fist.
Additionally, they have told us repeatedly in bargaining sessions that they can afford what we're asking for (and that they're not hurting at all financially since we've been on strike) but they don't think we're worth it.
We're only responsible for the quality of the show (y'know, their only product). But we're not worth paying like professionals.
My friend took her niece to medieval times for her birthday and they were kinda mean. Some of the signs were questionable too. Also, looks like they paid some homeless people to stand there with them. But, that’s just what she was seeing.
I can confirm that we have not hired homeless people to stand with us. Everyone who's out on the picket line is either a striking Medieval Times worker or a fellow union ally. As for questionable signs and being mean, well... Medieval Times is a choice. We're not postal workers. We're not auto workers. When you cross our picket line -- regardless of the excuse -- you are choosing your entertainment over the lives of the people you paid money to see perform.
We show pictures of the animal abuse and people still cross our picket line. We tell people about the deplorable working conditions and people say "oh but it's my birthday". We have people say "I support you" and then give their money to a company that would rather spend that money to keep us out on strike than actually bargain with us fairly.
And of course there are the people who say "get a real job" as if they haven't paid money to come see us do our real jobs.
We are happy to talk to anyone who stops and asks us about what's going on. But most people don't. And the ones who do will listen to us for sometimes 10-20 minutes and then still make the selfish choice.
How would you feel after eight months of people showing up to your job every day and slapping you in the face?
u/AsheratOfTheSea is correct - they've been flying in scabs since day 2 of the strike. If you and your friends didn't want to cross the picket line, you CAN call to get a refund. As long as you cite the strike as the reason, they will refund your tickets despite the "no refunds" policy.
>**you can be making $18.50/hr to jump off a horse at 25 MPH**
This 🤯. Saw you guys while we were leaving this afternoon. Had I known about the strike, the animal abuse, and the deplorable state of your wages, my group and I would've boycotted the venue. Now I know and will spread the word ✊⚔️!
Of course! The more informed the public, the better. Someone else today brought up that they've been boycotting the venue because they know someone who worked there. There is no exaggeration about what has been going on behind the scenes.
I had to HUNT for any details on the strike. Almost no media seems to be covering it.
We had some media coverage when we first walked out but now that it's been eight months (and with bigger strikes like UAW and SAG-AFTRA dominating the news) it's been tough to get the word out. If I had a dime for every time someone told us they didn't know about the strike as they crossed the picket line, I wouldn't have to be on strike.
That's because they picketed for a few weeks it seems and then stopped picketing because they found other jobs. I guess that's capitalism. If they can hire cheaper talent they will, and apparently it's all legal, so I'm not sure the "union" has a leg to stand on or any sympathy points now.
[удалено]
Thank you for asking! Unfortunately, no real movement on our key issues (wages, treatment of horses, sexual harassment). In fact, they have not increased their wage proposals in over six months, and in our last bargaining session they implied that the knight promotions (that have already been earned, last year, after our union election) might not be valid anymore because we've been on strike. Currently we have no new bargaining dates scheduled. :-/
Have they been using scabs and conducting business as usual?
They've been doing that since day 2. Flying in scabs from other castles, paying them a premium, and putting them up in the hotel across the street.
Barbarians from a faraway kingdom? In our lands?!
THE NERVE OF THESE KNAVES 😤
Really?? Right in front of my salad?
Is it just them or the Pirates show too?
Just Medieval Times. Pirates is a different company and a great alternative for entertainment in the area.
I’m curious. What are the current wages for medieval times and what are the wages the strikers want? Hopefully an agreement can eventually happen.
Currently, the starting rate for a squire (which is how you get hired) is about $16 an hour. Once you become an apprentice knight (meaning, you're actively training to become a knight in the show) you're making around $17 an hour and when you become a knight you're making $18-19 an hour. Knights qualify for annual raises and promotions when they learn more fights in the show, but performance reviews only happen once a year and promotions are only offered incrementally so even if you learn two ranks' worth of material in one year you'll only be promoted by one rank. And that's just the knights. Stable hands make around $18/hr, speaking show cast (non-combat actors who ride horses) are around $20-$22, and trumpeters (professional musicians) make $16. To put that into perspective, the cost of living in Orange County, CA is about $25/hr. Our initial wage proposals brought the lowest-paid members of the bargaining unit in alignment with the COLA for Orange County and went up from there. Medieval Times countered with a 2% wage increase for some departments and a 0% wage increase for others. In the meantime, non-union castles were given raises upwards of 20% last year after our election to disincentivize them from unionizing (which of course is illegal, as evidenced in a recent ruling against Starbucks by the NLRB). Since December, we've had to lower our initial proposals and Medieval Times has come up a little bit, but we are still very far apart.
Can you elaborate on the treatment of the horses and sexual harassment protections that you are also negotiating for?
The horse trainer at the CA location uses lunge whips on the horses (including making contact, which you're not supposed to do) and has been known to draw blood on the horses during training and during performances. I have witnessed the latter myself. We have photo and video evidence online here -- [https://www.instagram.com/jakembowman/](https://www.instagram.com/jakembowman/) To date, we have made 2 1/2 pages' worth of proposals in our contract that provide for enrichment activities as well as sticking to "positive reinforcement" when it comes to training. The company has rejected all of them (including the sentence "abuse of any kind will not be tolerated") and replaced them with two sentences that effectively say the training and treatment of the horses will be the same at the CA castle as it is in any other castle. Sexual harassment is going to be a stickier issue as it is a company culture that needs to change (Medieval Times is and always has been a boys' club). However, we are requesting stronger security measures to protect our performers from unruly and intoxicated guests. Additionally, just having a union contract will provide external accountability along with grievance and arbitration procedures that can provide a necessary intermediary between a performer and management (especially if it's management that's doing the harassing, which has been known to happen).
Thank you! I hope you make progress in getting the contract with all the protections and pay increases. Selfishly, I hope it happens soon because I wanted to go for my birthday in January, but won’t unless you guys are successful!
Thank you so much! (And selfishly, I hope you're right! 😅)
Y’all shooting yourselves in the foot with the trendy but shallow “sexual harassment” angle. I had been biting my tongue but the way you describe it, the main issue is guests? Lol try putting yourselves in their shoes and the Union is asking for security to nanny the guests? Bruh. Also doesnt sound like the trendy Union move (you even invoke the Starbucks event) has worked out all that well compared to other castles… Sounds like they’re waiting y’all out tbh. Yall doomed to fail if one of your key issues is “changing company culture” in a company about medieval times lmao Everyone knows SA is wrong. I wouldn’t use it as a me too type crowbar for demands but it’s way too late now. This is coming from someone who has been waiting to go to MT since staff went on strike. I really don’t want to cross a picket line. I used to think y’all were upset at the COVID clown show mandates but now idk. I’m still holding out for the animals and squires QOL but If I was them the SA makes it impossible for me to accept any terms with that there because it’d be like the company admitting guilt… yet you didn’t name company names but instead imply the guests are the ones pinching butts that much. Trespass them. Blacklist them. You’re telling me MT wouldn’t kick those Guests out? IDK
If I have downplayed the sexual harassment issue, it's because even though I am a woman I have not experienced a ton of it myself working at Medieval Times. I do, however, know many women who have and I do not dispute their accounts. Sexual harassment / assault unfortunately is not just a guest issue, it is a company culture issue. In my experience (and in the experience of a LOT of other women and men who've been sexually harassed by guests) those guests are not asked to leave and at best just cut off from purchasing more alcohol (but that's not even a guarantee). However, a lot of people are afraid to speak out publicly about the internal misogyny and sexual harassment / assault because of how notoriously litigious Medieval Times is. If you want to see an example of grooming / SA in action, one brave person has shared her story here: [https://medium.com/@lilliansogar/beyond-the-arena-confronting-a-culture-of-harassment-at-medieval-times-a715c4e3005d](https://medium.com/@lilliansogar/beyond-the-arena-confronting-a-culture-of-harassment-at-medieval-times-a715c4e3005d) There are more accounts like it at [www.medievaltimessucks.com](https://www.medievaltimessucks.com) Probably the harshest reality we've faced in this whole struggle is how little people care about unions or even just other people when it comes down to their entertainment. And unlike Starbucks, Trader Joes, Amazon, etc., Medieval Times is not a publicly-traded company beholden to shareholders. They have a ton of money and are willing to spend it to keep unions from winning... at literally any cost. We are doing what we can to try and change 40 years' worth of bad behavior. And we are being met with a TON of resistance. But that doesn't mean it's not worth fighting for.
I am not engaging in medieval combat for anything under $26/h this isn't burger flipping this is life and limb risking performance. Do they give you guys healthcare?
Love someone who knows their worth!! If you work full-time (i.e., you're a knight) you do get healthcare but most of the injuries fall under worker's comp, which requires certain doctors and procedures. We also get sent to an immedicenter because most injuries occur during the show (meaning, off-hours) and they often misdiagnose. We had someone fall of a horse, hear something "pop", go to the clinic and get told to ice it. A year later he found out he had a torn MCL and needed to have surgery.
This is what I came here to know too. I want to know how much a medieval time worker is paid.
If you're not a member of our bargaining unit (meaning, you're working in retail, bar or food service, or event staff/ticketing) hourly rates can range from $16.50-$20 (and then service roles obviously make tips). Our bargaining unit makes up the roles that perform in the show (so, Medieval Times' only real product) and you can be making $18.50/hr to jump off a horse at 25 MPH. IF you're already a knight performing in the show. Over 50% of our bargaining unit makes less than $20/hr, and the COLA in Orange County is close to $25/hr.
this sounds like terrible wages, find any warehouse position and it'll pay 20 at least. Boggles my mind why people stay making 16 and hour.
That's what we're trying to change. It's a lot harder to fight for a job you love than it is to just leave and go somewhere else.
Honest I thought it stopped because the Mega-rat between MT and Portos went away. Good to know you’re still at it.
Scabby comes out on the weekends when he can! He's on loan from our friends at CWA.
Every time we drive past on the way to Knott's, my kids ask where Scabby is. Good luck!
Thank you!!
I will support if negotiations include adding more seasoning to the bland chicken.
I'll do my best! Having worked at another castle I can confirm this is a problem unique to the CA location. (In fact, for a brief period of time you used to be able to purchase chicken seasoning from the gift shop. 😅)
Has there been any progress on unionizing other castles? I support you guys but I don't see you getting any leverage as long as knights in other castles keep getting flown in.
There were other castles collecting cards early on; however, Medieval Times was able to slow the unionization effort by granting huge raises and laying off / bullying pro-union people into quitting. I imagine that when we get a good contract there will be renewed interest in unionizing other castles.
Thanks for the update Erin. I hope you guys get that contract soon.
Thank you for the support! It's much appreciated.
How long has it been since your last negotiations?
Our last bargaining session was September 13th. We don't have any new dates scheduled yet.
Damn this has been going on for quite a while now
Over eight months. 😞
I was driving by yesterday and saw a banner that said "knights on strike", and at the same time, the LED(?) display above the banner was showing "now hiring for", which I thought was just about the most tone-deaf thing ever.
You're not wrong. 😂😭
I was wondering why I was suddenly getting ads of medieval times Buena Park during the Summer. I haven’t seen Medieval Times ads in like years lol
Fun fact: after we reopened post-COVID, Medieval Times hadn't run \*any\* promotions (when, prior to COVID, it was kind of a joke if you were paying full price for your tickets). Since the day after we walked out they've been running promo codes non-stop, and have done a number of ticket giveaways on social media.
I hope y’all get a deal soon! Hopefully with fast food going up to $20/hr it helps with bargaining.
We hope so, too!
Are you picketing in full costume? You'd get more publicity
Unfortunately the costumes belong to Medieval Times. We did some Ren Faire-themed pickets (along with some other themes as well) but after eight months it's hard to keep things fresh.
bring a mock guillotine to the picket and start having picketers pretend to be executed as they await a decision
Our friends at IATSE brought out their guillotine (lovingly called "choppy") a few times!
Whoa. My husband is in SAG/AFTRA (he does extra work on his summers off as a teacher—well, not this last one) and admittedly we forgot about the MT strike. Are you all able to take other jobs in the interim? If MT is operating per usual via scabs, what keeps things from making that the new normal and releasing your contracts, litigation? We’re very pro union (SAG and CTA), but having never been on strike (though teachers union was quite literally 12 hours away from one last year) I’ve never learned the answers to those questions.
In the interim, yes, we have taken other jobs. This of course has affected our ability to picket so our line these days sometimes only has about 3-5 people. We certainly don't want this to become the new normal, although Medieval Times may have different ideas about that. They are doing shows with scabs at great expense (flying them out from other castles, paying them daily bonuses/weekly per diems, putting them up in hotel rooms, paying for their meals, etc.) and if we can continue to raise awareness and get people to stop crossing the picket line, eventually it will become financially untenable for them. We have recently called for a company-wide boycott are asking folks to pledge not to visit ANY Medieval Times location until this labor dispute is resolved. That being said, these things take time. So to answer your question about contracts, etc, we don't actually have a contract at present. We organized last year and are fighting to get our first collective bargaining agreement. As long as we are on an unfair labor practice strike (which we are, Medieval Times has violated federal labor law on a number of occasions) they cannot replace us permanently. There are a number of things that could happen in the meantime, most notably that once we've reached a year post-election, there potentially could be a petition filed for a union decertification but since Medieval Times has a number of unfair labor practice charges outstanding against them (including a bad-faith bargaining charge) it is likely that a decertification petition would not hold up with the NLRB. In the meantime, we are working to increase our bargaining leverage (through things like this publicity campaign as well as other irons we have in the fire) so that Medieval Times works with us to reach a contract that addresses our key issues. But we are resolved to stay on strike as long as it takes.
Just want to say you guys are awesome for standing up to those greedy a-holes!
Thank you so much!! ✊🏻🪧 It's not easy but having support from folks like you is much appreciated.
How else can we support you guys? Can we email corporate to show our support?
Absolutely! We have a petition here -- [https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-medieval-times-management-to-quit-breaking-the-law](https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-medieval-times-management-to-quit-breaking-the-law) And honestly, telling anyone and everyone you know helps a lot. People still don't know the strike is going on. People also don't know that they can get a refund if they don't want to cross the picket line.
How has the location been staying afloat with all of its performers on strike?
I remember reading many months ago they brought in other performers from other locations out of state.
They have been utilizing scab workers since day 2. Flying them in from other castles, paying them a premium, and putting them up in the hotel across the street. Not to mention spending a fortune on advertising and doing everything they can to keep people from finding out about the strike.
You’d think they’d just give their existing employees a raise instead of spending so much covering it up/flying other people in and paying them more…
That would be the smart play. But Medieval Times hates unions, so...
Consultants will always advise companies against allowing unions no matter the costs. They firmly believe that if saves money to waste it to stop unions.
Consultants that cost $3200/day plus expenses, no less.
Stand your ground. Death to the tyrant kings!
Just donated! How can I preorder calendars?
Amazing, thank you so much! Depending on the level you donated, that secures the amount of calendars (1 for $20, 2 for $35, 3 for $50 -- plus the other perks -- and so on). We'll send out a google form via the email you used to donate so that you can provide us with the mailing address to ship the calendar(s) to. But for now, you're all set! Thank you again!! 🙏🏻
UPDATE! 🎺 We have officially hit our first goal! 🎺 Thanks to everyone's generous support, we are able to cover our costs to print the calendar. And a special thanks to the Reddit community -- y'all helped us hit this first, very important milestone. From here on out, every dollar contributed directly supports our striking workers! 🙏 We're gearing up for our photo shoot on Monday 10/30 and we can't wait to have more photos and video to share with you soon! Please continue to share and spread the word. We're so grateful!
We held our photo shoot this week and the results are 🔥🔥🔥 For anyone who wants a sneak peek: [KNIGHTS ON STRIKE 2024 Calendar Teaser](https://youtu.be/ne4QeJNS4xg?si=AHHXBKEV87IDgm3P)
people still go to medieval times? crazy.
So what happens if they never cave?
Legally, they are obligated to bargain with us for a contract. There is no time limit for negotiations; however, we have a bad-faith bargaining charge filed against them and if/when the NLRB rules in our favor the remedy would include a bargaining order. This requires regular progress updates to the NLRB on how our contract is going and, I believe, a minimum number of bargaining sessions within a certain time period. We certainly hope to have a contract well before that happens but we do have some "failsafes" in place.
Nope.
Does anyone know of Medieval Times is even still profitable? $17 per hour in OC is rough, but every other dinner show on Beach Blvd has failed and shut down. I'd be shocked if MT could survive a 50% increase in labor.
MT is a privately-held company so unfortunately we don't have access to their financials. Having worked for this company for 12 years, however, I can say that the CA castle is the busiest and most profitable castle of all. MT has 10 locations in the continental US and Canada. They make money hand over fist. Additionally, they have told us repeatedly in bargaining sessions that they can afford what we're asking for (and that they're not hurting at all financially since we've been on strike) but they don't think we're worth it. We're only responsible for the quality of the show (y'know, their only product). But we're not worth paying like professionals.
"Former performers". If you haven't worked there in over 200 days I think you can consider yourself an ex-employee.
My friend took her niece to medieval times for her birthday and they were kinda mean. Some of the signs were questionable too. Also, looks like they paid some homeless people to stand there with them. But, that’s just what she was seeing.
I can confirm that we have not hired homeless people to stand with us. Everyone who's out on the picket line is either a striking Medieval Times worker or a fellow union ally. As for questionable signs and being mean, well... Medieval Times is a choice. We're not postal workers. We're not auto workers. When you cross our picket line -- regardless of the excuse -- you are choosing your entertainment over the lives of the people you paid money to see perform. We show pictures of the animal abuse and people still cross our picket line. We tell people about the deplorable working conditions and people say "oh but it's my birthday". We have people say "I support you" and then give their money to a company that would rather spend that money to keep us out on strike than actually bargain with us fairly. And of course there are the people who say "get a real job" as if they haven't paid money to come see us do our real jobs. We are happy to talk to anyone who stops and asks us about what's going on. But most people don't. And the ones who do will listen to us for sometimes 10-20 minutes and then still make the selfish choice. How would you feel after eight months of people showing up to your job every day and slapping you in the face?
Interesting. If these actors are on strike, who did the restaurant get to perform. Have a co workers party there in November..
They are flying in non-union workers from other Medieval Times locations to perform.
u/AsheratOfTheSea is correct - they've been flying in scabs since day 2 of the strike. If you and your friends didn't want to cross the picket line, you CAN call to get a refund. As long as you cite the strike as the reason, they will refund your tickets despite the "no refunds" policy.
>**you can be making $18.50/hr to jump off a horse at 25 MPH** This 🤯. Saw you guys while we were leaving this afternoon. Had I known about the strike, the animal abuse, and the deplorable state of your wages, my group and I would've boycotted the venue. Now I know and will spread the word ✊⚔️!
Appreciate it, thank you so much! Spreading the word is a big help!
Of course! The more informed the public, the better. Someone else today brought up that they've been boycotting the venue because they know someone who worked there. There is no exaggeration about what has been going on behind the scenes.