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The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread


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Many part-time and seasonal Six Flags Magic Mountain employees are threatening to strike unless they receive health care benefits and paid time off, a representative of the International Association Of Machinists And Aerospace Workers said Thursday.

 

There are 170 employees with the union who work for the company, according to Directing Business Representative Sal Vasquez, and all of them voted “overwhelmingly” to strike at the end of the month unless they are granted health care and paid time off for bereavement and jury duty.

 

The employees’ contracts expire at the end of the month and they plan to proceed with their strike if Six Flags “refuses to bargain,” Vasquez said.

 

“It looks like there might not be movement,” the directing business representative said. “We’ll have no choice but to strike.”

 

The union workers, who include stage and maintenance crews, painters and mechanics, would also like higher wages, but the benefits are their top priority, Vasquez said.

 

“These are the guys who don’t have anything,” he said. “Respect and dignity on the job, that’s priceless.”

 

The union members feel Six Flags has an “anti-union” sentiment and is “dismissing” their call for benefits, according to Vasquez.

 

“Everyone said they were not satisfied with the company’s final offer (for the contracts),” Vasquez said. “We want Six Flags to come to the table and bargain a fair contract for all its employees.”

 

The park plans to continue operating as normal and the company aims to reconcile any differences with the union, according to Six Flags Magic Mountain Communications Manager Sue Carpenter.

 

“Six Flags Magic Mountain has always had a very positive relationship with the local union and we are continuing to negotiate in good faith,” Carpenter said. “Our goal is to avoid a work stoppage and to ensure no interruption in park operations. We always want our guests to have an amazing experience and so the park will be open, maintaining our high guest service standards.”

 

Clarification: Six Flags Magic Mountain offers a full benefits package, including health care and paid time off for bereavement and jury duty, to all of its full-time employees whether or not they are members of a union. Part-time employees are eligible for some benefits depending on the number of hours they work.

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I don't mean to be rude or anything but having previously worked at SFMM in a Part-time/Seasonal role represented by IAM I can tell you virtually every position classified as such is non-skilled and easy to replace. Think lamper, oiler, helper, luber, etc. Positions that don't require a license, have to be supervised by a journeyman, and have virtually no requirement other than physical ability to perform the job (so not Ride Electrician or HVAC Tech or anything like that). I suspect SFMM would survive a strike by such employees without too much trouble to their operations.

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Went to the park today and had an awesome time! I had never been during Holiday in the Park and I must admit I was very impressed with how they decorated certain parts of the park, since my expectations weren’t very high. Cool to see snow leading up to Tatsu and so many lights by the entrance and back by DC Universe and Twisted Colossus!

 

I was worried about crowds but it wasn’t bad at all! We got to the park at 1:00 pm and the longest wait we had was 45 mins for Twisted Colossus. I was so shocked that we got to ride X2 with only a 10 minute wait around 5pm. Left the park for an hour to get In N Out between 6-7 then came back. Stoked we were able to ride everything we wanted to and really enjoyed the cold weather.

 

Rides we went on with waits:

-Revolution - walk on

-Tatsu - 25 minutes

-Apocalypse - 20 minutes

-Goldrusher - walk on

-Riddler - walk on

-Batman - 5 minutes

-Scream - walk on

-Goliath (x2) - 15 minutes the first time, walk on the second

-X2 - 10 minutes

-Twisted Colossus - 45 minutes

-Full Throttle - 30 minutes

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I went this past Sunday night and also found it pretty dead. We went more for the lights, but most of the coaster lines seemed pretty short or non-existent. For a while, even the funnel cake line was not even outside the building, which is super rare. (It was it's usual length at the end of the night.)

 

I was also mildly surprised by the Kwerkmas show. I've seen a lot of Cirque shows, so I'm pretty hard to impress. After a relatively dull opening, the show did pick up a bit, and was quite enjoyable. It was a bit of a mystery why a holiday version of the show didn't really use a lot of holiday music, but I'm nitpicking.

 

I do still love night rides of Apocalypse... that lift hill cresting into vast darkness is crazy fun... but it is beginning its decent into roughness again. Still surprisingly ridable for now (in the front row at least), but I'd say get on it sooner rather than later, before it starts approaching unridable status again.

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I don't mean to be rude or anything but having previously worked at SFMM in a Part-time/Seasonal role represented by IAM I can tell you virtually every position classified as such is non-skilled and easy to replace. Think lamper, oiler, helper, luber, etc. Positions that don't require a license, have to be supervised by a journeyman, and have virtually no requirement other than physical ability to perform the job (so not Ride Electrician or HVAC Tech or anything like that). I suspect SFMM would survive a strike by such employees without too much trouble to their operations.

Ride Electricians and Mechanics would be striking too, not just the helper positions.

 

I was also mildly surprised by the Kwerkmas show. I've seen a lot of Cirque shows, so I'm pretty hard to impress. After a relatively dull opening, the show did pick up a bit, and was quite enjoyable. It was a bit of a mystery why a holiday version of the show didn't really use a lot of holiday music, but I'm nitpicking.

You're not the only one who thinks it's a mystery...

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My brother and I are heading to the park tomorrow. Does anyone know how crowds may be this week? Also, is Twisted Colossus still running two trains? Thanks in advance.

 

I was there on Monday and crowds weren't too bad. Twisted Colossus was running two trains.

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Went to the park today and lines were great. TC was on two trains but the wait was still under an hour and we even raced on the second lap around. Mostly just wanted to pop in here and say how much I freakin’ love Batman. It was a walk-on all day, and we rode it three times in the back row, and it kicks so much a$$. It gets overshadowed by bigger rides in the park, but for me it is definitely top 5 worthy in the park, behind FT, Tatsu, X2, and TC. I tend to forget about this ride when I visit, but for some reason my appreciation for that ride was reignited today. It was hauling.

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I don't mean to be rude or anything but having previously worked at SFMM in a Part-time/Seasonal role represented by IAM I can tell you virtually every position classified as such is non-skilled and easy to replace. Think lamper, oiler, helper, luber, etc. Positions that don't require a license, have to be supervised by a journeyman, and have virtually no requirement other than physical ability to perform the job (so not Ride Electrician or HVAC Tech or anything like that). I suspect SFMM would survive a strike by such employees without too much trouble to their operations.

Ride Electricians and Mechanics would be striking too, not just the helper positions.

 

Are they actually going to walk? That was the huge point of contention on the workers' side that led to the 15 year battle over bringing the part-timers into the same bargaining agreement in the first place. Obviously a lot has changed since I left but when I worked there the majority of those workers wouldn't have honored/supported a strike for part-timer benefits.

 

IAM also has very bad timing with their agreement. With most of SF's parks either closed or in limited operation they have a fairly large pool of workers to pull (a tactic SF has used before).

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I don't mean to be rude or anything but having previously worked at SFMM in a Part-time/Seasonal role represented by IAM I can tell you virtually every position classified as such is non-skilled and easy to replace. Think lamper, oiler, helper, luber, etc. Positions that don't require a license, have to be supervised by a journeyman, and have virtually no requirement other than physical ability to perform the job (so not Ride Electrician or HVAC Tech or anything like that). I suspect SFMM would survive a strike by such employees without too much trouble to their operations.

Ride Electricians and Mechanics would be striking too, not just the helper positions.

 

Are they actually going to walk? That was the huge point of contention on the workers' side that led to the 15 year battle over bringing the part-timers into the same bargaining agreement in the first place. Obviously a lot has changed since I left but when I worked there the majority of those workers wouldn't have honored/supported a strike for part-timer benefits.

 

IAM also has very bad timing with their agreement. With most of SF's parks either closed or in limited operation they have a fairly large pool of workers to pull (a tactic SF has used before).

Yes, the maintenance workers aren't happy that they lost their one guaranteed weekend day as well as not getting a higher top level rate even though the base rate is keeping pace with minimum wage.

 

The rest of the "seasonal" workers (who actually do 40 hour weeks for the most part) weren't asking for a crazy pay rate or crazy benefits, but Six Flags played hardball and gave all of them literally nothing extra from what they already had being outside of the union.

 

This is a classic case of whoever blinks first loses. Six Flags has already started to bring in temp labor to "learn the job" of the workers who voted to strike. However there is an emergency negotiation tomorrow and I don't think Six Flags necessarily wants the black eye of workers striking right at the very beginning of their 365 push. And the vast majority of the union workers did vote to strike as nobody is happy with the contract they offered, so yes, if nothing changes there will actually be a strike.

 

Oh and Neil Thurman will be park president effective January 1st; Bonnie is moving into a corporate role with the company. Neil has really jumped around these last few years but it will be nice to see him back at Magic Mountain again, his home for quite a few years after Jay Thomas brought him over from Kentucky Kingdom.

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I don't mean to be rude or anything but having previously worked at SFMM in a Part-time/Seasonal role represented by IAM I can tell you virtually every position classified as such is non-skilled and easy to replace. Think lamper, oiler, helper, luber, etc. Positions that don't require a license, have to be supervised by a journeyman, and have virtually no requirement other than physical ability to perform the job (so not Ride Electrician or HVAC Tech or anything like that). I suspect SFMM would survive a strike by such employees without too much trouble to their operations.

Ride Electricians and Mechanics would be striking too, not just the helper positions.

 

Are they actually going to walk? That was the huge point of contention on the workers' side that led to the 15 year battle over bringing the part-timers into the same bargaining agreement in the first place. Obviously a lot has changed since I left but when I worked there the majority of those workers wouldn't have honored/supported a strike for part-timer benefits.

 

IAM also has very bad timing with their agreement. With most of SF's parks either closed or in limited operation they have a fairly large pool of workers to pull (a tactic SF has used before).

Yes, the maintenance workers aren't happy that they lost their one guaranteed weekend day as well as not getting a higher top level rate even though the base rate is keeping pace with minimum wage.

 

The rest of the "seasonal" workers (who actually do 40 hour weeks for the most part) weren't asking for a crazy pay rate or crazy benefits, but Six Flags played hardball and gave all of them literally nothing extra from what they already had being outside of the union.

 

This is a classic case of whoever blinks first loses. Six Flags has already started to bring in temp labor to "learn the job" of the workers who voted to strike. However there is an emergency negotiation tomorrow and I don't think Six Flags necessarily wants the black eye of workers striking right at the very beginning of their 365 push. And the vast majority of the union workers did vote to strike as nobody is happy with the contract they offered, so yes, if nothing changes there will actually be a strike.

 

Oh and Neil Thurman will be park president effective January 1st; Bonnie is moving into a corporate role with the company. Neil has really jumped around these last few years but it will be nice to see him back at Magic Mountain again, his home for quite a few years after Jay Thomas brought him over from Kentucky Kingdom.

I loved Bonnie, has such great energy.

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^Agreed. This park could be a gem if they invested in infrastructure.

Sadly, it will never happen in the way it should happen. The park, and Six Flags in general, are sincerely allergic to spending money unless it's on something that will see an immediate return on investment. The park has such a crippled and ageing infrastructure that now a lot of the maintenance guys just find themselves putting out the daily perverbial fires around the park.

 

I hope that with the change of guard at park president some of this changes but I think when it comes to Six Flags, hoping is a little too much to hope for.

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It's nice to see some unity between the full timers and seasonals, quite different than when IAM first came in.

 

I don't think I ever worked less than 40 hours when I was a seasonal maintenance worker there, off season or not. I was 18 and trying to build hours toward being an electrician so I didn't really care back then but looking back on it... it was quite a scam.

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It's nice to see some unity between the full timers and seasonals, quite different than when IAM first came in.

 

I don't think I ever worked less than 40 hours when I was a seasonal maintenance worker there, off season or not. I was 18 and trying to build hours toward being an electrician so I didn't really care back then but looking back on it... it was quite a scam.

 

Which is why it’s a running joke in the industry SFMM is the training ground for USH and Disney.

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It's nice to see some unity between the full timers and seasonals, quite different than when IAM first came in.

 

I don't think I ever worked less than 40 hours when I was a seasonal maintenance worker there, off season or not. I was 18 and trying to build hours toward being an electrician so I didn't really care back then but looking back on it... it was quite a scam.

 

Which is why it’s a running joke in the industry SFMM is the training ground for USH and Disney.

 

I used SFMM as a training ground to go elsewhere myself, so...

 

Does SFMM make more use of journeyman/licensed professionals now? That was another kind of weak bargaining point I remember... even the full-time "ride electricians" often weren't journeymen themselves, just lampers with a lot of hours and experience.

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It's nice to see some unity between the full timers and seasonals, quite different than when IAM first came in.

 

I don't think I ever worked less than 40 hours when I was a seasonal maintenance worker there, off season or not. I was 18 and trying to build hours toward being an electrician so I didn't really care back then but looking back on it... it was quite a scam.

 

Which is why it’s a running joke in the industry SFMM is the training ground for USH and Disney.

 

I used SFMM as a training ground to go elsewhere myself, so...

 

Does SFMM make more use of journeyman/licensed professionals now? That was another kind of weak bargaining point I remember... even the full-time "ride electricians" often weren't journeymen themselves, just lampers with a lot of hours and experience.

To be a ride electrician you have to be at least going to school to persue a license. However most of the other positions still are filled with people who get experience from the job itself and then move on and get a better job elsewhere.

 

Magic Mountain is truly a training ground. People with relatively little to no skill get hired for a lot of the semi skilled jobs, they learn the job as they go and get experience, and then leave to go somewhere else. Almost nobody in the 'semi skilled to skilled' jobs stick around more than they have to. The pay is too low and there is ample opportunity elsewhere that doesn't have a toxic work culture or an aversion to spending necessary money on employees.

 

It's too bad that the park's management teams won't get experience and move elsewhere...

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So let's take a look at what has happened themetically under Bonnie:

--New Themed Areas--

Gotham City to D.C. Comics Land

Lower Colossus County Fair to Screampunk District

Lower Baja Ridge to Americana Plaza

High Sierra Territory to Full Throttle Zone

Movie District to Metropolis

Bugs Bunny Kids Zone to Bugs Bunny World

Upper Colossus County Fair to The Boardwalk

 

That is an insane amount of park revamp to do while improving ops from 4 minute dispatches with 1 train to 2 minute dispatches with 2 trains consistently running. I really hope that they continue these new themed lands, as in our community alone, it's really improved their reputation from a rundown, crappy place that hasn't seen a coat of paint in years, to a park with really hard working management that are adding awesome themed lands with solid rides. The first time I visited, Screampunk District was all the rage, and New Revolution was under construction. While Screampunk and D.C. looked really, really nice, the rest of the park looked like a major eyesore, and while the rides were a blast and it was fun, the areas just didn't feel clean. Now fast forwarding to Americana Plaza and Metropolis and soon to be The Boardwalk, the park feels completely fresh again. Everything feels much better maintained, it feels a lot "sharper", and the park feels like it isn't sagging, but has a lot more energy than it ever did. So in the extremely unlikely case that Neil ever reads this, keep up with the area revamps as they are the only reason I was able to convince my non-coaster riding family to come to the park, as the photos convinced them it didn't look trashy like people said 10 years ago.

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It's nice to see some unity between the full timers and seasonals, quite different than when IAM first came in.

 

I don't think I ever worked less than 40 hours when I was a seasonal maintenance worker there, off season or not. I was 18 and trying to build hours toward being an electrician so I didn't really care back then but looking back on it... it was quite a scam.

 

Which is why it’s a running joke in the industry SFMM is the training ground for USH and Disney.

 

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