Discovery Cove accused of refusing to recognize divers’ union, violating federal labor law

Divers vote to form the very first union at Orlando’s Discovery Cove theme park. Credit: Courtesy of IUOE Local 30

Discovery Cove, a sister theme park to SeaWorld in Orlando, has allegedly refused to acknowledge that its divers voted to unionize last year and has failed to begin bargaining a contract with the union, in what the union characterizes as a violation of federal labor law.

Under the National Labor Relations Act, private employers have a legal duty to bargain “in good faith” with a union that has been certified by the federal National Labor Relations Board as employees’ bargaining agent. As the pro-labor Economic Policy Institute notes, however, “it is a common tactic for employers to slow-walk the bargaining process because there are no penalties for doing so, and delay frustrates workers and undermines their union.”

Mike Converso, a longtime commercial diver, is one of the divers at Discovery Cove in Orlando who voted unanimously to unionize with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 30 last May.

Converso, who’s been a member of a union before, told Orlando Weekly over the phone that his employer is “not playing by the rules” of federal labor law and has continued to “stonewall” the union. It also represents maintenance workers at the University of South Florida in Tampa and employees of the South Florida Water Management District, which spans 16 Florida counties from Orlando to Key West.

Discovery Cove, an immersive theme park offering a “one-of-a-kind opportunity” to swim with dolphins and other sea creatures, is owned by United Parks & Resorts, a multimillion-dollar company that also owns theme park brands SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, and Aquatica.

Divers like Converso, however, are the only employees of Discovery Cove who have formally organized a union.

“They have a voice in the workplace, and that voice is, unfortunately, being muzzled right now by Discovery Cove,” said Mike Smith, an organizer with IUOE Local 30.

Divers at Discovery Cove are hired for both day and night shifts to clean and properly maintain the water park’s tanks and pools, ensuring structural soundness and sanitation. It’s skilled work, requiring diver certification, but Smith said divers aren’t treated like it.

According to company job listings, a senior diver for the park is hired on at an hourly rate of $19.50 — less than what a tree trimmer could make working for the city of Orlando, and several dollars less than what a person would need to make in Orlando, even as a single adult, just to get by.

Credit: Photo courtesy Discovery Cove/Facebook

“We’re just asking for a chance to do some, you know, good-faith, fair bargaining for the workers that, mind you, without them, they [Discovery Cove] would have no operation,” said Smith.

Discovery Cove did not respond to Orlando Weekly’s request for comment on its alleged refusal to bargain with the IUOE Local 30. Although the union filed a complaint with the NLRB last June, alleging bad-faith bargaining, Smith said that there hasn’t been much traction on it. He noted the federal board is likely backlogged due to shakeups under the Trump administration that have obstructed the board’s ability to do its job.

Organizing (and winning a strong union contract) is harder under a federal administration that’s hostile to unions. The Trump administration has moved to axe collective bargaining rights for over one million federal employees and cancel their union contracts. In 2015, Trump’s jointly owned Las Vegas hotel even hired professional union busters to dissuade organizing among workers at the hotel.

But public support for unions in the U.S. still remains near a record-high, despite declines in overall union density, with public approval of unions rising from 48 percent in 2009 to 68 percent in 2025, according to Gallup.

Union representation is associated with higher wages, higher median household wealth, and it can raise wage rates for non-union workers by setting a standard that other employers in an industry may be pressured to adopt in order to remain competitive.

Locally, just ask Universal and SeaWorld — two employers that have, in the past, publicly announced pay raises for staff as unionized Disney World workers negotiate a new union contract themselves.

Unions can also negotiate into a contract stronger workplace protections, more affordable health insurance, benefits like paid leave, stronger retirement benefits, and “just cause” protections, which prohibit an employer from firing or disciplining a worker for no legitimate reason.

Converso, one of the Discovery Cove divers, said he himself was recently suspended by his employer for alleged “time theft,” although he believes it could have been a retaliatory act, as one of the union leaders. He admitted he’s not someone who’s afraid to speak up about concerns on the job.

Under federal labor law, he has the right as a unionized worker to invoke the right to have a union representative present with him during disciplinary meetings — known as Weingarten rights — but Converso says Discovery Cove hasn’t acknowledged this. Smith confirmed to Orlando Weekly that two divers were recently suspended and allegedly denied their Weingarten rights. Discovery Cove did not respond to a request for comment on this.

“These workers deserve better,” said Smith, who’s been with the union for 19 years and recently moved down to Florida to support workers who are interested in organizing with the IOUE, or who are unionized already and are looking to negotiate stronger contracts. “It’s time to get to the table and bargain in good faith and let these workers talk.”

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Discovery Cove accused of refusing to recognize divers’ union, violating federal labor law

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