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Tag: disney worker

  • Homeless Disney Worker Who Died Living in Her Car Becomes Center Of Wages Debate

    Homeless Disney Worker Who Died Living in Her Car Becomes Center Of Wages Debate

    The homeless Disney worker who died alone, living in her car, has recently been put in the center of Disneyland’s wages debate.

    Yeweinishet “Weini” Mesfin kept her struggles mostly to herself and it took 20 days of frantic searching by friends and family before her body was found around noon on Dec. 19, 2016. She was found dressed in exercise clothes and clutching her keys, in the driver’s seat of her dark green 1999 sedan parked at the gym where she showered.

    Mesfin lived out of her Honda Civic for seven years but all she wanted was privacy and hid her struggles from almost everyone, according to a report by The Orange County Register. Mesfin decided not to tell family and coworkers that she was homeless, outside of one or two people.

    Now Mesfin’s private struggle is the subject of public debate more than a year after her death. A recent union-commissioned survey of 5,000 Disney employees showed that the vast majority of respondents stated they were being paid less than $15 an hour, and about 3/4 of those surveyed said they run out of money by the end of month, according to the study. Headlines about the about the findings quickly spread and soon she was the subject of social media posts and stories claiming she died because of her paycheck.

    Disney officials, however, dispute the surveys findings as “deliberately distorted,” calling them an “inaccurate and unscientific survey … paid for by politically motivated labor unions,” according to a statement from Suzi Brown, the vice president of communications for Disneyland Resort.

    However on the issue of Mesfin’s disappearance, Brown said, Disney security also requested a welfare check by Anaheim police. They also made calls to multiple police departments and maintained Mesfin’s status as a cast member until she was found dead.

    Employment records show Mesfin began working part-time at the Anaheim theme park in 2007, according to Brown. Mesfin became a full-time cast member in 2009.

    Co-worker said, Mesfin was third-shift custodial at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, with typical hours starting at 11 or 11:30 p.m. and ending around 8 a.m. Her pay was most likely was around $13 or $14 an hour at the time of her death, according to the report.

    The 61 year-old passed alone almost a week after her birthday.

     

     

     

     

  • Human Remains Found in Yard of Disney Worker Missing For Three Years

    Human Remains Found in Yard of Disney Worker Missing For Three Years

    Human remains were discovered by authorities in the backyard of a Disney Worker who has been missing for three years. Michael Shaver worked as a monorail mechanic at Walt Disney World according to relatives and has not been heard from since 2015.

    Detectives with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office are now investigating the disappearance of a 36-year-old Michael Shaver from Clermont after his best friend requested a well-being check on him. His friend called the Sheriff’s Office to report that neither he, nor any of Shaver’s family, have heard from him since 2015 and requested deputies to go by Shaver’s residence and attempt to confirm his well-being.

    Officials went to Shaver’s home in unincorporated Lake County south of Clermont on Feb. 16.  Laurie Shaver, his 35-year-old wife, was home and she told investigators that she had not heard from her husband since 2015.

    She allowed investigators to search the home and then when Lake County sheriff’s deputies noticed what seemed like new concrete in an area of the backyard, they asked to bring in a cadaver dog. She refused to cooperate any longer and asked for an attorney.

    After obtaining a warrant, deputies returned Friday to search the home.  They dug up an upper arm bone. The remains were found under a the concrete area in question which was located on an outdoor fire pit at the residence of Michael Shaver. More remains were found over the weekend as well as articles of clothing according to a spokesman with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

     

    Officials said, the remains have been turned over to the Medical Examiner’s office for identification and to determine the manner and cause of death.

    Detectives have been diligently investigating the case and have not yet learned any information that would lead to the whereabouts of Mr. Shaver. They are seeking the public’s help and are asking anyone with information concerning Michael Shaver to call the sheriff’s office or Central Florida CRIMELINE at 1-800-423-TIPS, where they could be eligible for a cash reward.