‘DISNEY MUST DO BETTER’

Disney World workers overwhelmingly stand together to reject on company’s ‘best offer,’ planning to fight for better pay for all

BY MCKENNA SCHUELER

After several months of negotiations, Disney World workers last week overwhelmingly rejected their employer’s “best offer” of a $1 per hour raise for thousands of workers fighting to survive in a city that’s experiencing a cost-of-living crisis.

Over the course of two days, more than 14,200 Disney World workers in Orlando voted on whether to accept the company’s offer — and in an unambiguous rebuff, 96% said no.

As the results were announced Friday night, a crowded room of well over a hundred cast members wearing union shirts (and some still in their work uniforms) erupted in applause, whooping and hollering in celebration of the resounding rejection.

“This vote sends a clear message that Disney workers are united in our belief that Disney can do better and Disney must do better,” said Matt Hollis, president of the Service Trades Council Union.

According to the STCU, a coalition of six labor unions representing 45,000 Disney World workers, Disney’s proposal would have left thousands of workers behind, offering just a $1 pay raise this year. All six unions had urged union members — some of whom make Disney’s starting pay of $15 an hour — to reject the contract, arguing that Disney’s so-called “best offer” was insufficient to address the higher cost of living, and that workers had the power and leverage to fight for more.

Some of the unionized Disney workers, such as culinary staff, would have seen the immediate $3 pay raise that the six unions have been fighting for under Disney’s proposal. Even so, workers resoundingly voted down the offer, in solidarity with those who wouldn’t have received that same increase.

In response to the vote, a spokesperson for Disney told Orlando Weekly the company was “disappointed” that their “strong offer” for cast members was resoundingly rejected.

The offer did include some perks the unions had pushed for during negotiations, including eight weeks of paid family leave. But that’s not necessarily off the bargaining table, and could still make it into the final contract.

The workers’ previous contract, which includes a clause prohibiting strike actions, expired in October. For now, it’s been extended, but it’s unclear for how long. Since August, the unions, for their part, have been calling on Disney to offer an immediate $3 pay raise for the roughly 30,0000 workers covered under the contract, including for positions ranging from park greeters, culinary staff, character performers, stage technicians, custodial workers, bus drivers for the parks, and more. That’d bring starting pay up for workers up to $18, minimum.

And the need couldn’t be more apparent. Sean Hopper, a 36-year-old who works at Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge in Disney’s Hollywood Studios and shop steward for his union told Orlando Weekly this week he knows of cast members who are homeless, who sleep in their cars, and who cut down on food costs by living on cheap ramen packs. Many have families they work to care for, and have long commutes.

Hopper himself, arms adorned with Star Wars tattoos, is married and a father of three kids — all three have Star Wars-themed names. Hopper’s always had a soft spot for the Disney parks, and the magical experience they can offer for kids and families. Visiting the parks was a highlight of his childhood, and he loves being able to re-create that same kind of experience for others through storytelling.

But magic doesn’t pay the bills. Several workers told Orlando Weekly that many cast members regularly try to find ways to cut costs, skipping meals and sometimes working multiple jobs to cover basic needs, like rent, in a region that’s home to one of the country’s most unaffordable housing markets.

A report released last year by one of the Disney worker unions shared that, out of 2,415 tourism workers surveyed (including Disney workers), 69% said they hadn’t had the money to pay rent or mortgage costs over the last year, and 45% reported skipping meals to cut costs.

A living hourly wage for two working adults with one child in Orange County is an estimated $32.51, or $18.85 for a single adult with no children.

Meanwhile, the Disney Parks’ division reported $28 billion in revenue last year. Disney also found the money to pay CEO Bob Iger $27 million, and to gift former CEO Bob Chapek a $20 million severance package. During the 2020 election cycle, the “woke” corporation also found the money to give the re-election campaign of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (albeit they’re not on good terms at the moment) $50,000 in March 2021, and another $50,000 two years before that.

Hollis, the president of the STCU, told Orlando Weekly that Disney had waged its own campaign to persuade workers to approve the company’s “strong offer” this week, pulling individual workers into private meetings, showing up to talk to workers before the starts of their shifts and airing “Vote Yes” propaganda on TV screens in employee break rooms.

Diego Henry Jr., a Disney Parks worker of 10 years and shop steward for his union, told Orlando Weekly he was excited about the unions’ decision to stand together and reject the contract. He says their fight, thousands of union members strong in a state with just 4.5% union membership, is bigger than Disney. In 2018, Disney World workers successfully fought for a $15 minimum wage by 2021, setting a standard for the region’s tourism industry.

“This fight is not just for Disney. It starts here, but whatever happens at Disney happens everywhere else,” said Henry.

But that’s if the two parties — the STCU and Central Florida’s largest employer — can hammer out a deal. The unions’ next step is to call on Disney to come back to the bargaining table. The STCU’s president Hollis said they “expect to see a real strong offer economically that addresses the current record inflation, skyrocketing rent and the cost-of-living increases that workers are facing today.” mschueler@orlandoweekly.com

Anything’s possible. Just days before the Disney vote, union workers at the Orange County Convention Center won their own $18 minimum wage, up from $13 an hour, in their own new contract. This week, Florida lawmakers are also convening a special legislative session to tackle the state’s planned takeover of Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District — essentially, a fully-fledged city government controlled by Disney — among other issues. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis targeted that district last year after Disney criticized Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, and Florida’s GOPdominated legislature passed legislation paving the way for its dissolution. Suffice it to say, the company’s not having a great week.