Tour guides at San Jose’s historic Winchester Mystery House went on strike Saturday to demand higher wages, tipping rights and smaller tour sizes.
Represented by Teamsters Local 856, the striking workers — about 30 full-time and part-time staff — gathered outside the landmark. Beyond the pay demands, they want to limit tours to 22 people. Current tour groups range from 26 to 29 people, not including children.
“The over-century-old house contains potential dangers due to improper ventilation, room sizes not built for a large capacity of visitors at one time, and 47 stairways that are navigated on any given tour,” Teamsters Local 856 said in a statement.
They also seek credit for using their likenesses in marketing.
Veronica Diaz, the union’s Central Coast Division director and lead negotiator, said they had been in talks with management for more than a year.
Tour guide and San Jose native Emma Garcia Jones said the house’s original owner, Sarah Winchester, provided workers with good wages, daily meals and housing for themselves and their families.
“Workers were able to build their lives here, because they were well taken care of,” she said. “And while it’s a beautiful legacy, it’s not one that management at Winchester Mystery House is living up to. Workers deserve respect and Sarah knew that.”
Following the death of the Winchester Repeating Arms heiress, the unfinished mansion — with quirks like doors to nowhere and staircases leading to the ceiling — became a major tourist attraction, built largely on ghost stories and spiritualism lore that have since been debunked. The property is about 24,000 square feet and has 160 rooms.
Phone calls and emails to management of the landmark, owned by Winchester Investments LLC, so far have gone unanswered.
Diaz said they expect to return to the negotiating table next week.
“First and foremost, the tour guides love the house, the community — and love San Jose,” Diaz told this news organization. “The house is an important part of San Jose history, and bargaining for smaller tour sizes will give more positive experiences to visitors.”