2023 Medieval Times strike

On February 11, 2023, unionized performers at the Medieval Times location in Buena Park, California, initiated a strike action by performing a walkout and picketing outside of the establishment. The strike lasted for over nine months before the employees returned to work on November 22, without a labor contract in place.

Starting in 2022, performers who worked for Medieval Times, an American dinner theater company, began to organize as "Medieval Times Performers United", with the American Guild of Variety Artists representing the workers. By the end of the year, workers at the Buena Park and Lyndhurst, New Jersey, locations had unionized and began negotiating with the company over a labor contract, with the main concerns of the employees being low pay, low staffing levels, and improved security. However, the negotiations were fruitless, and in February of the following year, about half of the 50 union members in Buena Park went on strike.

Over the next several months, the strikers held a picket line in the parking lot outside of the location and engaged in sporadic discussions with company management. However, by June, many of the strikers had taken on second jobs to support themselves, and picket line attendance had declined significantly. The last discussions between the company and union were in September, and in November, with no substantial progress made, the union agreed to return to work without a contract. Following this, several employees at both unionized locations began to express anti-union sentiments and worked with the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation to decertify the union. On March 13, 2024, the union announced that they would not be representing Medieval Times workers.