Medieval Times N.J. union uprising sees actors duel with overlords on injuries, pay, sword-swinging customers
From disparate lands across the kingdom, they will gather in the castle tower.
Knights, squires and stable hands — loyal subjects of Queen Doña Maria Isabella — will travel from the Spanish realms of León, Peralada, Navarre and beyond, and all will have their say.
On the appointed day, they will cast their ballots, proclaiming a simple yes or no. Then they’ll get back to their lot in life, whether that be chivalry, rivalry, revelry — or just trying not to meet the end of a drunk patron’s gift shop sword.
But the result of this vote could make all the difference.
Because working at Medieval Times isn’t just about dressing the part and delivering a script while people in paper crowns eat chicken with their hands and slurp beer in the dark. It’s a job with hours and pay and safety issues — even for those not jousting and riding horses.
That’s why the actors, stunt performers and stable hands at the feudal dinner theater will be casting votes in a National Labor Relations Board-approved union election Friday in the 80,000-square-foot castle in Lyndhurst. ...
The castle, one of 10 in the United States and Canada, would be the first to see staff unionize. A group of 40 Medieval Times employees will decide if they want to be represented by the American Guild of Variety Artists, a group that includes performers at other entertainment venues, like Disneyland in California and Universal Studios Hollywood. ...
