Worlds of Fun maintenance workers, administrators reach tentative agreement on contract
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 unionized with SEIU Local 1. The union’s last bargaining session with Worlds of Fun management took place on Oct. 11. At the time, SEIU representatives and park administrators both indicated that they expected to finalize plans for a new contract at Thursday’s bargaining session.
The new contract is set to last for three years and will include three years of guaranteed raises, as well as back-pay to cover extra hours workers banked in 2024 during extended negotiation sessions.
Workers will also be entitled to guaranteed paid leave, 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,” Worlds of Fun carpenter and bargaining committee member David Sandgren said. “We understood it wasn’t going to 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 night.
The maintenance worker team at Worlds of Fun currently includes 58 members, all who are unionized with SEIU Local 1. The team of carpenters, electricians, electronics, fiberglass and HVAC technicians, landscaping specialists, painters, parts warehouse specialists, plumbers, ride controls technicians, ride mechanics, shop and equipment mechanics, water park maintenance technicians, and welders is responsible for building and repairing the park’s seasonal displays and 100-plus rides, including seven roller coasters, 40 water slides and 21 rides for children.
The new contract is also set to eliminate the use of subcontractors, strengthen safety protocols for working conditions and include stronger language around workplace safety inspection scheduling, according to SEIU.
Throughout the bargaining process, workers shared concerns about responsibilities covered under union contracts instead being subcontracted out, with external workers sometimes being paid three times as much as employees.
Workers have also spoken about ride safety issues, alleging that park managers are slow to respond to reports of broken parts and that ride operators have been compelled to swap job duties with electricians without any additional training.
“We needed to address issues with our working conditions,” said ride mechanic Jason Proudfit, who was also on the bargaining committee. “We worked hard to win language that addressed almost all of those 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 employees and Worlds of Fun management.
In late 2023, Worlds of Fun management expressed to union representatives that they intended to fully renegotiate maintenance workers’ new contract, according to SEIU. Bargaining sessions began on November 7, 2023, before the previous contract expired on Feb. 29.
Workers and management aligned on the major points of the new contract at the Oct. 11 session. However, union representatives continued to hold out until Thursday for a written agreement, Chris Rak, SEIU director for Missouri and Southern Illinois, said last week.
Workers voted on Oct. 3 to authorize a future strike if contract negotiations did not satisfy the union by the end of the 2024 Worlds of Fun operating 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 has bargained in bad faith during earlier rounds of negotiations.
Worlds of Fun union workers will hold a final vote Oct. 23 on whether to officially ratify the proposed new contract.
This story was originally published October 17, 2024 at 9:27 PM.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated some of the union positions included in this contract, which includes the following: carpenters, electricians, electronics, fiberglass and HVAC technicians, landscaping specialists, painters, parts warehouse specialists, plumbers, ride controls technicians, ride mechanics, shop and equipment mechanics, water park maintenance technicians, and welders.
