Worker Shortage Postpones Most Holy Redeemer Parish Carnival

EVERGREEN PARK, IL — The Most Holy Redeemer parish carnival has fallen victim to a worker shortage in the amusement industry. The company contracted by the parish to provide the rides, games and funnel cakes informed parishioners that it wouldn’t have a crew in time for their parish carnival, originally set for Father’s Day weekend.

The carnival has been reset for July 21 through July 24.”

Windy City Amusements, based in St. Charles, informed the parish carnival committee June 3 that it didn’t have enough certified mechanics and workers to staff the big rides, like the Freak-Out, Zipper and Tilt-A-Whirl.

Mark Salerno, whose parents started Windy City Amusements in 1977, met with parishioners June 7. While the company usually employs enough people to staff two units that travel around the Chicago region during the summer and fall, the worker shortage has hit the amusement industry hard.

“COVID has messed everything up. We’ve had to cancel a lot of fests and jobs, we’re pushing them back,” Salerno said. “It hurts because they’ve been loyal to us, and we’re loyal to them. We’ve been together for years.”

Many companies in the amusement industry rely on hiring seasonal workers from outside the United States. Amusement and recreation jobs are the second most common occupation granted non-agricultural temporary work permits, called H2-Bs, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

In March, the DOL and Department of Homeland Security made an additional 35,000 temporary non-agricultural worker H2-B visas available for the second half of fiscal year 2022. These temporary visas, which are capped, were set aside for U.S. employers seeking to employ additional workers on or after April 1, 2022, through Sept. 30, 2022, the trade magazine Carnival Warehouse reported.

The program permits U.S. employers to temporarily hire non-citizens to perform non-agricultural labor or services in the United States. Employers seeking to hire H-2B workers must take a series of steps to test the U.S. labor market, including providing certification from the Department of Labor demonstrating that employers cannot find U.S. workers who are qualified or willing to do the work.

Unfortunately, for family-owned amusement companies like Windy City Amusements, the government moves slowly.

“The government holds everything up and forgets about us and people who want to enjoy themselves,” Salerno said. “Not everyone can afford to go to Disney World. For a lot of little kids, our carnival is their Disney World.”

Windy City Amusements purports having the best safety record in Illinois, helping to develop many industry safety guidelines. Ruth and Tony Salerno, who founded the company, have also worked to clean up the carnival industry's image, by introducing uniforms and ID badges, safety training, and performing employee background checks.

"This is what we want, top-notch family entertainment," Salerno said.

Many of the people that Windy City hires from outside the United States have been with the company for years. These workers are provided with permanent living quarters and help with transportation to and from work while working in the United States. The company has just acquired the 100 visas needed to cover both of its units, that travel the Chicago region throughout the summer and fall.

“We hire the same people because we’ve known them for years. We’ve been together forever,” Salerno said. “So they’re on their way.”

In addition to Windy City’s core of seasonal workers, Salerno and his brother, Mike, hire local workers. They've been running ads for local ride operators, electricians and mechanics. There are other jobs in the carnival too, including people to work games, concessions and sell tickets.

“It’s a fun summer job,” Salerno said. “We’re mostly 30, 40 miles from St. Charles. A lot of workers stay near the carnival. We can help out with some gas if they’re coming far.”

Anyone interested in working at Windy City Amusements can apply online, or call Salerno at 630-327-7156.

“We have to screen them to make sure we’re a good fit for each other, so we get the right people to train and run rides,” he said.

Even Most Holy Redeemer is having a hard time finding volunteers for the carnival, the proceeds of which go to support the parish grammar school. The church’s carnival committee is also scrambling to rebook the bands originally set to perform Father’s Day weekend, for the new dates in July.