Ride operators at Oaks Amusement Park in Southeast Portland voted down an effort to form an independent union in an in-person election July 12. Four workers voted for a union and 26 voted against; less than half of the 66 workers who were eligible to vote cast ballots.
Ride operators first announced their intent to form a union called Association of Operators and Amusement Workers last August with a strike during a historic heatwave. Workers said high temperatures left rides unsafe for customers and ride operators without adequate shade and protections. After workers delivered a letter to management, the park closed early for the day.
Shortly after, a majority of the 80 ride operators then working at the park signed union cards, and workers filed a petition Sept. 6 asking the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to hold a union election. But in light of impending layoffs at the end of the summer, the NLRB determined that the election should be held the following summer during “peak season,” and the fledgling union acquiesced, said union co-founder and ride operator Rowan Perrin. Perrin, who had worked two seasons at Oaks Park, applied this season but was not rehired; neither were several other union supporters.
