Maintenance workers at Worlds of Fun have reached a tentative agreement with park management on a new contract, after months of negotiations that culminated in a vote to authorize a strike earlier this month.
Park maintenance workers are affiliated with SEIU Local 1. The union’s last bargaining session with Worlds of Fun management took place on October 11. At the time, SEIU representatives and park administrators both indicated they expected to finalize plans for a new contract Thursday. negotiation session.
The new contract will run for three years and includes three years of guaranteed wage increases, as well as back pay to cover additional hours reserved by employees during extended bargaining sessions in 2024.
Employees are also entitled to guaranteed paid time off, life insurance, company contributions to retirement plans, and a minimum of ten hours between scheduled shifts.
“We are very pleased with the new contract terms,” said David Sandgren, carpenter and Worlds of Fun negotiating committee member. “We understood that it would not be an easy campaign, but we knew what we were fighting for and we achieved it.”
Worlds of Fun management was not immediately available for comment on Thursday evening.
The Worlds of Fun maintenance staff team currently consists of 58 members, all affiliated with SEIU Local 1. The team of electricians, ride operators, carpenters, painters and guest service coordinators are responsible for building and repairing the park’s seasonal displays and 100 – plus rides including seven roller coasters, 40 water slides and 21 children’s attractions.
The new contract is also intended to eliminate the use of subcontractors, strengthen safety protocols for working conditions and include stronger language around the scheduling of workplace safety inspections, according to SEIU.
Throughout the bargaining process, workers shared concerns about responsibilities falling under union contracts rather than being outsourced, with outside workers sometimes paid three times as much as employees.
Workers have also spoken about ride safety issues, claiming that park managers are slow to respond to reports of broken parts and that ride operators have been forced to swap duties with electricians without any additional training.
“We had to address issues with our working conditions,” said ride-hailing engineer Jason Proudfit, who was also on the negotiating committee. “We have worked hard to find language that addresses almost all of these issues, and we are all very proud of this new contract.”
Thursday’s contract agreement followed nearly 11 months of negotiations, including more than three dozen meetings, between unionized workers and Worlds of Fun management.
In late 2023, Worlds of Fun management informed union representatives that they intended to fully renegotiate the new maintenance staff contract, SEIU said. Negotiation sessions began on November 7, 2023, before the previous contract expired on February 29.
Employees and management agreed on key points of the new contract during the October 11 session. However, union representatives continued to wait until Thursday for a written agreement, Chris Rak, SEIU director for Missouri and Southern Illinois, said last week.
The workers voted on October 3 to authorize a future strike if contract negotiations do not satisfy the union by the end of the 2024 Worlds of Fun season.
SEIU Local 1 has also filed charges against Worlds of Fun and its parent company, alleging violations of federal labor law: SEIU Local 1 says management negotiated in bad faith during previous rounds of negotiations.
Worlds of Fun union workers will hold a final vote on October 23 on whether to officially ratify the proposed new contract.
