Even as customers continue to pack Medieval Times, dozens of performers continue to picket the Buena Park castle after launching an unfair labor practice strike against management last month.
Their cause has drawn support from local labor unions, too.
Workers walked off the job Feb. 11, claiming management had given substantial pay hikes to workers at other Medieval Times dinner theaters while their wages remained low amid unsafe work conditions.
“Morale is good,” said Erin Zapcic, who portrays a queen in the shows and is among the picketers. “We’re confident we will prevail in the end.”
A group of some 50 performers and stable hands voted in November to join the American Guild of Variety Artists. They say management has consistently blocked their efforts to secure a “living wage” and provide improved safety measures.
Zapcic said about 30 of the newly unionized performers — including queens, trumpet players, chancellors, knights and squires — opted to walk out. Other performers decided not to strike but are still part of the bargaining unit.
An additional 150 retail workers, bartenders, event staff and administrative employees at the Buena Park castle are not members of AGVA.
The Orange County Labor Federation, which represents 97 unions and more than 250,000 union members throughout the county, supports the strike.
“We stand in solidary with the performers at Medieval Times,” said Gloria Alvarado, the federation’s executive director. “They have gotten into a big fight with management in their effort to be recognized as a union. The company is doing everything it can to not negotiate in good faith.”
Lexie Taylor, who also plays the role of a queen in the shows, is among the non-strikers. She said business at the venue is still going strong.
“We’re getting 500 to 600 people for weekday shows, which is pretty normal,” she said. “But we’re selling out on the weekends, and the arena seats 1,300 people.”
Dallas-based…
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