Working people across the United States regularly step up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
Workers at Kaman’s Art Shoppes—who bring magic to the San Diego Zoo experience through creating caricatures, letter brush art and body art for guests—voted overwhelmingly to form a union with Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 122.
The 30-person bargaining unit began organizing in May of this year and faced an aggressive anti-union campaign from management, which included harassing emails, one-on-one conversations and even a visit from their Ohio-based CEO. But workers persisted and are now looking forward to bargaining a contract that raises wages, establishes paid time off and provides fairer scheduling protocols.
“Everyone deserves a union, whether it’s a stagehand, a rigger or a body artist—we all deserve to have a voice on the job,” said Taylor Resenbeck, Local 122’s business agent.