News Cedar Fair Lowers Wages for New Hires in 2024

[mtorange]

Unsure if this belongs here, but I feel this may have to do with the merger.

Cedar Fair is cutting wages this season at various parks/departments. Before now, all departments were receiving at least $15 an hour.

According to KD’s website, some departments (ex. ride operators) are being paid $14 an hour. Other departments like park services are being paid as low as $13 an hour. Looks like the budget cuts that began last year are continuing.

My guess is that one of the reasons behind the merger with Six Flags is so they wouldn’t have to make these wage cuts. Hopefully if the merger goes through, these wages will go back to $15 an hour.

 

[orangeclay09]

Unsure if this belongs here, but I feel this may have to do with the merger.

Cedar Fair is cutting wages this season at various parks/departments. Before now, all departments were receiving at least $15 an hour.

According to KD’s website, some departments (ex. ride operators) are being paid $14 an hour. Other departments like park services are being paid as low as $13 an hour. Looks like the budget cuts that began last year are continuing.

My guess is that one of the reasons behind the merger with Six Flags is so they wouldn’t have to make these wage cuts. Hopefully if the merger goes through, these wages will go back to $15 an hour.

Thank you for bringing this up, because people should hear about this. This is NOT the right way to cut your budget, messing with people's livelihoods and all.

 

[Mushroom]

Personally, I doubt it has anything to do with the merger. I would bet the loosening job market means KD/CF decided they didn’t need wages that high to compete in the labor market anymore.

Is that the right thing for them to do? That’s a topic for a different conversation, but I don’t see how the merger would be a major factor.

 

[Gavin]

I wonder if they are going to start offering benefits now.

 

[orangeclay09]

I wonder if they are going to start offering benefits now.

Well, Canada's Wonderland and La Ronde demonstrate that they could, I suppose. Especially for a seasonal employer, Cedar Fair (and Six Flags) can and should do better.

 

[b.mac]

Well, Canada's Wonderland and La Ronde demonstrate that they could, I suppose. Especially for a seasonal employer, Cedar Fair (and Six Flags) can and should do better.

Six Flags largely has a better corporate benefits and employee compensation system in place but I 100% believe that's more because of the states that Six Flags operates in being more labor friendly than the ones Cedar Fair operates in.

Both companies obviously can stand to do better. But at least from my experience the second I turned 21 at Six Flags I got told about their 401K and benefits plans while I was still high as a kite on Oxy after having my wisdom teeth removed. With Cedar Fair I had to figuratively beat down the HR office's door and got told I had to break 1600 hours in order to get it, when they already played fuck fuck games with your hours when you were getting too close to averaging 40 hours a week towards the end of the season.

 

[warfelg]

According to KD’s website, some departments (ex. ride operators) are being paid $14 an hour. Other departments like park services are being paid as low as $13 an hour. Looks like the budget cuts that began last year are continuing.

I’m curious if this is impacting returning employees. Do they make people re-apply to return for a new year? If they did that and tried to keep my wages stagnant or decreased them I would tell them to fuck off.

 

[mtorange]

I’m curious if this is impacting returning employees. Do they make people re-apply to return for a new year? If they did that and tried to keep my wages stagnant or decreased them I would tell them to fuck off.

I honestly don’t know too much about the park’s hiring process, but I feel like it would depend on how long you’re gone from the park before you return.

 

[Chungulatron]

I would much rather pay an extra $30 for a season pass than go to park full of workers disgruntled over pay cuts.

 

[guy305]

KD specifically needs high wages otherwise these kids aren’t going to want to drive 20+ minutes to work

 

[mtorange]

KD specifically needs high wages otherwise these kids aren’t going to want to drive 20+ minutes to work

I really do think they’re going to see a huge problem with hiring this season.

 

[horsesboy]

I’m curious if this is impacting returning employees. Do they make people re-apply to return for a new year? If they did that and tried to keep my wages stagnant or decreased them I would tell them to fuck off.

I can't speak specifically for KD but normally seasonal jobs with a gap of more then 3 months require a rehire process so it's possible some Winterfest employees stayed on as inactive but I would guess that the vast majority are required to reapply and get rehired even if it's just as a formality. Several years ago when I did seasonal hiring we sent out invite back letters to previous season employees who had been in goid standing and unofficially if you got a letter you were going to get your job but we still had to get a formal application and do the whole invertview and background check process to clear legal and HR hurdles. I strongly suspect that KD is similar. I can't speak to pay cuts as all our rate changes during that time are up not down.

 

[Coasternerd]

A friend of mine who works at KD as a rehire this year said the rehires will keep their wage they had before, plus their annual raise of either $0.25 or $0.50.

 

[Thriller]

They have been actively cutting employee wages for years! That’s why they close parks early if attendance is low. To screw the employees to pump up the bottom line for execs.

Any company that cuts employee hours without notice is a horrible company to work for. Now they want to pay these employees even less!

Guaranteed when they have less people willing to work this year for reduced wages they will cry about not being able to get people to work when their rides and restaurants sit closed and ride operations continue to deteriorate.

This new company’s goal is definitely to lie in the same gutter as Six Flags

 

[Coasternerd]

Hate to break it to ya, but SeaWorld also does this. Right now, at all SeaWorld parks, employees are having shifts cut short, or cut entirely, because of “being over budget” on labor hours. Additionally, the international employees have contracts that guarantee they get a certain amount of hours, which cheats all of the people who live nearby and work for those parks. I experienced this firsthand last year at BGW. There are no hours, and those that do get them are getting them cut.

 

[Chungulatron]

I would much rather pay an extra $30 for a season pass than go to park full of workers disgruntled over pay cuts.

Some executive is gonna see this, raise the pass price, and keep the pay cuts anyways. Gee I love late stage capitalism.

 

[Mushroom]

They have been actively cutting employee wages for years! That’s why they close parks early if attendance is low. To screw the employees to pump up the bottom line for execs.

Any company that cuts employee hours without notice is a horrible company to work for. Now they want to pay these employees even less!

Guaranteed when they have less people willing to work this year for reduced wages they will cry about not being able to get people to work when their rides and restaurants sit closed and ride operations continue to deteriorate.

This new company’s goal is definitely to lie in the same gutter as Six Flags

Lots of inaccurate statements here.

• They haven’t been “actively cutting employee wages for years”. That’s totally false. In fact, wages (at KD, for example) have risen enormously since the pandemic. For example, starting pay for a Haunt monster pre-COVID was $10. It has since literally doubled to $20.
• “Pumping up the bottom line,” in the long term, is the sole goal of every publicly traded company. If the executives don’t deliver on that, they’re fired. So that statement isn’t the bombshell you think it is.
• @Coasternerd clarified in the post literally right above yours that KD isn’t cutting wages for returning employees. In fact, they’re raising them!

Instead of blindly attacking everything one of these companies does, maybe it’s worthwhile to consider the rationale behind it. The wages at KD in the past few years have been some of the highest wages for unskilled, entry-level, seasonal work I’ve ever seen. Maybe the extremely high wage increases were a test to see if significantly increasing their wages led to more applicants and fewer staffing issues? And maybe they found that, after a few years of giving it a try, those wage increases didn’t significantly improve staffing as they hoped? If that’s the case, and if it’s true that they’re not cutting pay for any existing employees, I find it hard to fault CF or any other chain in a similar position.

And if you still do find fault, I’m sure that position can be better represented than by the false, tedious arguments you continue to post.

 

[nick]

Would a better title be “Cedar Fair Offers Lower Entry-Level Wages for Hires”?

 

[nick]

I hate to be ancient in my thinking here, but I worked as an Assistant GM at Chick-fil-A for $10.50/hour ten years ago. To be starting at $13-15 for a non-serious job, it’s not too bad.

I wonder if they are going to start offering benefits now.

I’m pretty sure you MISSED all these benefits:

• PAID training and FREE uniforms! (as opposed to unpaid training and having to pay for a required uniform)
• FREE Admission to Cedar Fair parks (a $250 value perhaps. There’s no limit to CF’s appreciation of you.)
• FREE tickets for family and friends! (included in your pass in the prior bullet, don’t get too excited.)
• 20% discounts on Food and Merchandise! (considering a non-park restaurant is 30% profit, CF isn’t losing here.)
• Work with people from here, near and from all over the world! (like almost every other job!)
• Employee-only RIDE nights, GAME nights, and FREE FOOD events! (CF will require good morale and if it dips, they’ll send pizza)

 

[Thriller]

Lots of inaccurate statements here.

• They haven’t been “actively cutting employee wages for years”. That’s totally false. In fact, wages (at KD, for example) have risen enormously since the pandemic. For example, starting pay for a Haunt monster pre-COVID was $10. It has since literally doubled to $20.
• “Pumping up the bottom line,” in the long term, is the sole goal of every publicly traded company. If the executives don’t deliver on that, they’re fired. So that statement isn’t the bombshell you think it is.
• @Coasternerd clarified in the post literally right above yours that KD isn’t cutting wages for returning employees. In fact, they’re raising them!

Instead of blindly attacking everything one of these companies does, maybe it’s worthwhile to consider the rationale behind it. The wages at KD in the past few years have been some of the highest wages for unskilled, entry-level, seasonal work I’ve ever seen. Maybe the extremely high wage increases were a test to see if significantly increasing their wages led to more applicants and fewer staffing issues? And maybe they found that, after a few years of giving it a try, those wage increases didn’t significantly improve staffing as they hoped? If that’s the case, and if it’s true that they’re not cutting pay for any existing employees, I find it hard to fault CF or any other chain in a similar position.

And if you still do find fault, I’m sure that position can be better represented than by the false, tedious arguments you continue to post.

It is absolutely a fact. Cedar Fair parks, especially Kings Dominion and Carowinds have closed early multiple times every year for the past several seasons. Carowinds did it at least 10 or 12 times this year

Every time they close the park early with no notice they cut the employees wages with no notice.
So even the ones that are retaining $15 an hour are still going to get their wages cut with no notice anytime attendance is low. I don’t know why anybody would want to work for an employer that can’t guarantee work hours when there are other options that are plentiful that pay more


It’s really vile how anyone defends a business practice for profit at the expense of the employees

One failed ti mention how much the cost of living has increased after Covid. Wages Everywhere have increased after Covid. Because it cost more to live. Cedar Fair has increased their prices as well. It’s obscene how much anything at the park cost now.

Now they are cutting wages for the bottom line in another way. Even if it’s just for a new employees it’s still cutting wages and it’s still going to cut on their ability to higher and have good operations.