Not Amusing by Maureen Turner, The Valley Advocate, MA
Six Flags workers fight the odds to form a union.
It's not exactly the kind of publicity an amusement park angles for. Seven weeks before the new season opens, park mechanics -- the people who put together and maintain the rides -- aren't hard at work in the park, but are picketing outside its gates. But that's what's happening at Six Flags New England, where a dozen workers have been striking since Feb. 3.
The workers say they have to use their own trucks and tools to do their jobs, and have to work heavy overtime and unfair hours.They'd also like raises; right now, they make $13 to $15 an hour, says Jason Garand, an organizer with the New England Regional Council of Carpenters.
Most of all, Garand says, they want to be treated with respect. They're asking the park to voluntarily recognize the mechanics as a bargaining unit with the carpenters' union.