Divers at Orlando’s Discovery Cove theme park unanimously vote to unionize

A group of divers at SeaWorld’s Discovery Cove theme park in Orlando unanimously voted to unionize last week, forming the first union at the aquatic-themed resort.

According to the National Labor Relations Board, which conducts union elections in the private sector, the group of divers and dive technicians unanimously voted (15-0) in favor of unionizing with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 30, in an election that featured 100 percent voter turnout.

It’s a remarkable show of support for unionization in a state that’s generally considered union-hostile, and where the vast majority of workers don’t have union representation. They’re the first group of employees at Discovery Cove to form a union.

The move comes shortly after security guards at SeaWorld Orlando similarly voted to unionize with the International Union of Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA) in March.

“Workers, once they find out they have rights and they can get their fair piece to get a fair wage for their skill, they want that,” Jonathan Ellingwood, an organizer with IUOE Local 30, told Orlando Weekly. “And we are here to educate them, walk them along in the process, and get them the results that they deserve.”

Local 30, headquartered in Queens, New York, used to focus primarily on facilities workers in Connecticut and New York, but recently expanded its organizing efforts to Florida. They now have a home base in Palm Beach. According to Ellington, diver technicians at Discovery Cove — who largely perform maintenance duties underwater — were motivated to organize in large part to improve their pay and have a voice on the job.

“They were just tired of not getting raises, constantly being underpaid [compared] to what the other parks are paying,” the organizer explained.

Orlando’s Disney World theme park is the only other unionized park in the area, with more than 40,000 Disney employees — including characters like Mickey Mouse — represented by roughly half a dozen labor unions.

Competitors like SeaWorld and Universal Orlando, on the other hand, have historically fended off union drives. The two often conveniently offer to increase pay for employees around the same time that unions at Disney begin negotiating a new union contract with the Mouse themselves.

United Parks & Resorts, the parent company that owns the Discovery Cove and SeaWorld brands, did not respond to a request for comment on the union election at Discovery Cove results ahead of publication.

The company owns a diverse portfolio of theme park brands, including SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Discovery Cove, Aquatica, and Adventure Island among others. Based in Orlando, the company (formerly known as SeaWorld Entertainment Inc.) posted $227.5 million in profits last year.

A failed attempt at union-busting

According to NLRB records, United Parks retained lawyers from Ogletree Deakins, a reputable law firm known for its specialty in “union avoidance,” to represent them ahead of the union election.

With the help of their lawyers, the company unsuccessfully tried to argue that certain divers at Discovery Cove weren’t eligible for the union because they were supervisors, rather than rank-and-file employees. Supervisors with hiring and firing power aren’t covered by the federal law that protects employees’ right to organize, the National Labor Relations Act.

After considering the facts of the case, however, the regional director for the NLRB dismissed Discovery Cove’s eligibility complaint, finding insufficient evidence that these supposedly ineligible employees (technically called dive supervisors) met the criteria for the definition of “supervisor” under the NLRA. NLRB regional director David Cohen last month ordered an election for the divers, who evidently weren’t deterred by their employers’ delaying tactics ahead of their vote for unionization.

Ellingwood told Orlando Weekly that the company also brought in the park president — whom the divers had never met before — to speak to workers shortly after they filed a petition for a union election. Under the NLRA, a minimum of 30 percent of workers must file cards with the NLRB signaling support for unionization in order to ask for a union election.

“The second you get together with the union and file, your voice is immediately heard,” said Ellingwood.

It’s not uncommon for employers to attempt to shallowly meet workers’ demands ahead of a union election in order to remain union-free.

“The company will say whatever they want in a campaign, because then [workers] just go back to being at-will employees,” said Ellingwood.

Brightline Florida’s president Patrick Goddard similarly attempted to appeal to the rail company’s onboard attendants ahead of their own successful union drive last year, drawing talking points from the anti-union playbook.

Employers spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually on so-called “union avoidance” services through anti-union consulting firms and employer-side law firms like Ogletree Deakins that offer specialized services in union avoidance.

They aren’t cheap, either, often charging hundreds of dollars per hour for their services.

Looking ahead

Despite challenges leading up to the election, Ellingwood said he hopes that the company will accept the union election results and move forward in bargaining a contract with the union to cover the Discovery Cove divers.

“We’re having great success across the state improving people’s wages, getting family health care into our contracts that is employer-paid,” he shared.

Only about 5 percent of Florida workers are even covered by a union, despite popular support for them in national polling. According to a report from the U.S. Treasury, union representation is associated with higher average earnings, and improved access to benefits like paid leave, retirement plans, and predictable schedules.

“It doesn’t just happen in other areas of the country,” Ellingwood argued. “It can happen down here, and it is happening down here.”

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This article appears in May 14-20, 2025.