From today’s Orange County Register:
Medieval Times performers have ended their nine-month strike and returned to work without a labor agreement, which has many performers fearing their union now will force them to pay union dues or fees to keep their jobs.
In a Monday, Nov. 27 blog post at the AFL-CIO, the American Guild of Variety Artists, which represents the striking employees, said it made an “unconditional offer to return to work.”
Performers at the Buena Park dinner theater had been on strike since February before resuming their roles Wednesday, Nov. 22.
“We felt that it was in our best interest to continue to try to work toward the collective bargaining agreement while returning to work,” said Erin Zapcic, who plays a queen at the castle and serves as a union steward.
Zapcic said the nearly 30 queens, trumpet players, chancellors, knights and squires will continue their fight for higher wages and better working conditions.
The performers currently earn an average of $18 to $19 hourly but would like to see that boosted to $25 an hour to keep pace with the high cost of living in Southern California.
“Our fight’s not over, and just because we’re going back to work doesn’t mean we’re not 1,000% committed to getting a collective bargaining agreement that makes Medieval Times as safe and equitable as it possibly can be,” Zapcic said in a statement.
Read the complete story here.