Complaint Review: James E Strates Shows Or Strates Shows

This show is the worst show that I have worked for in my 38 years on tne road with carnivals. the show is run by tyrants who scream and yell at their workers and treat them as if they are two year olds. This company expected us to work 60 to 80 hours a week for 239.00 which is far less than minimium wage. They give you no time to yourself to rest, take a shower or have a proper meal. people wonder why the Strates Show carnies look filthy it is because they brought us to work and then refused to take us back to our so called living quarters to take a shower and change to clean clothes. We were told that if we left the compound we would be fired from our jobs then and if we left for any reason during "tear down" night we would be fired.

The living conditions were abominable...the "bunk" rooms were not fit for a dog to live in. The bunkhouse trailer had no bathrooms and the train bunk rooms had broken out windows and nasty bathrooms which included toilets and showers. The so called supervisors were tyrannical they would scream and yelland one of them grabbed my husband by the neck and tried to choke him. This same man threatened to have me locked up in jail just because I came off of a ride to get a soda pop my husband brought to me.

They do not care about the safety of the kids on the rides and they do not properly maintain them, they run them when they are very unsafe to run or in the case of inflates when the wind and weather conditions are very unsafe putting us, the workers at risk and the parents and kids riding them. I feel that this show owes me and my husband a lot of back wages for our work ...they are not paying in accordance with the federal labor laws and they should be made to pay up or shut down.

Gypsy and thief
Sanford, Florida
U.S.A.