Meow Wolf Workers Hold 3-Day Strike Over Repeated Labor Law Violations

Grapevine, Texas - During what is expected to be the busiest weekends of the year for the immersive art attraction, workers at Meow Wolf's The Real Unreal exhibit will engage in a three-day strike on October 31 in response to Meow Wolf's repeated violations of federal labor law and its failure to bargain in good faith with the Meow Wolf Workers Collective-CWA Local 7055 (MWWC-CWA). Together, these workers contribute to the creation and maintenance of Meow Wolf's immersive experiences for all ages.

"Halloween is one of the busiest and most visible times of the year for Meow Wolf, but we refuse to let the company profit from our creativity while breaking labor law and refusing to respect our rights as workers," said Meow Wolf Workers Collective-CWA Local 7055 Strike Captain Daniel (Moony) Joseph, who is a Security Officer at Meow Wolf Grapevine's The Real Unreal. "If Meow Wolf wants to create immersive experiences, they need to start treating the people who build and inhabit them with the same respect that makes those experiences possible."

"The first year we were open, Meow Wolf would preach about community and being on the forefront of social change, which really resonated with this work force. That's why all of us are still here, why we work so hard," said Meow Wolf Workers Collective-CWA Local 7055 member Jack McPherson, who is a Bartender at Meow Wolf Grapevine's The Real Unreal. "And over the last few months, Meow Wolf has really stepped back from those ideals, and we're not going to let that happen without a fight."

The strike follows more than a year of stalled contract negotiations between workers and the company. Despite presenting itself as a progressive employer, Meow Wolf has repeatedly violated federal labor law and engaged in an aggressive union containment strategy designed to weaken its workers' power. Earlier this month, an informational picket was held outside The Real Unrealto demonstrate workers' growing frustration around stagnant wages and lack of a union contract.

"Meow Wolf arrived in Texas boasting about how they could influence the culture for the better, so it's been disheartening to see them pushing back at every given opportunity," said Meow Wolf Workers Collective-CWA Local 7055 bargaining committee member Alexis Stewart, who is a Guest Services worker at Meow Wolf Grapevine's The Real Unreal. "Texans are waking up to the fact that our labor is valuable, and our workers feel a moral obligation to help keep that momentum going. Meow Wolf has a chance to show that they are on the right side of history, or the wrong one. The choice is up to them."

Since 2021, the National Labor Relations Board has investigated charges in at least 16 separate cases against the company for unlawfully changing working conditions without bargaining, ignoring lawful information requests, interfering with workers' right to union representation, and retaliating against pro-union employees. Meow Wolf has also laid off members of the bargaining unit to replace them with temporary contractors, and diluted bargaining unit work - all in an effort to undermine the collective strength of the artists, fabricators, and front-line workers who make Meow Wolf's immersive art possible.

"When a company refuses to listen or bargain in good faith, workers are left with one option: to stand together and withhold their labor," said Meow Wolf Workers Collective-CWA Local 7055 President Matthew Rosvold. "That's exactly what these workers are prepared to do, and they're doing it to make Meow Wolf live up to the image it sells to the public."

Support MWWC-CWA by donating directly to their Strike Fund or reaching out to Meow Wolf directly at 1-866-636-9969. For more campaign updates, follow MWWC-CWA on Instagram and BlueSky.

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About CODE-CWA

The Campaign to Organize Digital Employees (CODE-CWA) is a network of worker-organizers and their staff working every single day to build the voice and power necessary to ensure the future of the tech, game, and digital industries in the United States and Canada. CODE-CWA is a project of the Communications Workers of America which represents hundreds of thousands of workers throughout tech, media, telecom, and other industries who stand together to fight for justice on the job and in our communities.

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