Disney News

Tag: union

  • Walt Disney World Union Loses Battle Over $1,000 Bonuses

    Walt Disney World Union Loses Battle Over $1,000 Bonuses

    The National Labor Relations Board ruled this week that Walt Disney World Resort did not violate the law when the company refused to give $1,000 bonuses to its largest union unless its members approved a contract first.

    After the corporate tax cut approved by Republicans in Congress back in January, Disney announced it would give $1,000 one-time cash bonuses to 125,000 domestic workers.

    The Service Trades Council Union is a coalition of six unions representing nearly 36,000 Walt Disney World cast members which has been negotiating wages with Disney. The STCU filed an unfair labor complaint against Disney, alleging the company was retaliating against unionized cast members by refusing to give them the $1,000 bonus until they approved Disney’s wage offer. Back in December, Walt Disney World union members overwhelmingly voted ‘No’ on a contract that would have given employees a raise of at least 50 cents an hour. Disney said, they believe the 6 to 10 percent wage increase was fair.

    According to a letter from David Cohen, the NLRB’s regional director in the Tampa office, the agency dismissed the union’s complaint, saying there was no evidence Disney showed an “anti-union animus” and because it appeared to not have a history of paying bonuses to union members.

    The union plans to appeal the decision. Labor talks between Disney and the union are scheduled to resume June 8.

  • Unions at Disneyland Are Putting ‘Living Wage Ordinance’ On Anaheim Ballot

    Unions at Disneyland Are Putting ‘Living Wage Ordinance’ On Anaheim Ballot

    Unions representing Disneyland have band together in an effort to gather enough signatures to put a ballot measure before Anaheim voters that would require Disneyland to pay the resort workers a “living wage.”

    The coalition is made up of 11 labor unions and they have been pushing for higher wages at Disneyland Resort and nearby hotels. They says they plan to present a petition with about 20,000 signatures to the Anaheim city clerk’s office this morning.

    The measure would end up on the November ballot if enough signatures are verified and would ask voters to require Disney and other large Anaheim employers that accept city subsidies to pay workers a minimum of $15 an hour starting Jan. 1, 2019. Salaries would then rise $1 an hour every Jan. 1 through 2022. Once the wages reach $18 an hour, annual raises would then be based on the cost of living.

    The petition drive was launched by a coalition of employee unions shortly after a survey — that found that 73% of Disney employees who were questioned said they don’t earn enough to pay for such basic expenses as rent, food and gas — was released in February. It also found that 11% of resort employees have been homeless or have not had a place of their own in the last two years.

    The survey was conducted by the Economic Roundtable, a nonprofit research organization in Los Angeles, and the Urban & Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental College.

    To qualify for the November ballot, the unions needed to collect the signatures of 10%, or 13,150, of the voters in Anaheim. The coalition of unions says it deployed at least 50 volunteers each day since April 12 to collect the 20,000 signatures.

    Disney officials have said that the average annual pay for hourly workers at the resort is $37,000, which calculates to about $17.80 an hour.

  • VIDEO: Union Workers Reject Disney’s Latest Wage Proposal

    VIDEO: Union Workers Reject Disney’s Latest Wage Proposal

    Chanting turned to cheering Wednesday as Walt Disney World union members overwhelmingly voted ‘No’ on a contract that would have given employees a raise of at least 50 cents an hour. Disney says “they are disappointed”, and they believe the 6 to 10 percent wage increase was fair but they will continue to work with the union on negotiations.

    New Disney employees earn $10 an hour currently, but the union wants to raise average worker pay to $15 an hour in an effort to reduce poverty among their represented members.

    Almost 10,000 votes were cast, the highest turnout ever for the Service Trades Council Union and approximately 93 percent of dues-paying members voted to turned down the two-year contract. The STCU has been negotiating wages with Disney and is a coalition of six unions representing nearly 36,000 Walt Disney World cast members.

    The rejected offer would have seen full and part-time cast members receive a 50 cent or 3 percent raise per year for two years, whichever was higher for the cast member, retroactive to Sept. 24. They also would have seen a $200 bonus. Cast members who receive tips would not be eligible for the wage increase, but would qualify for the $200 payout.

    Disney says they already pay $2-per-hour more than the federally required minimum wage and it seems unlikely the workers will actually see $15 an hour. The final outcome effects employers throughout the Orlando area as their employee wages usually follow Disney’s very closely. In 2014 Disney agreed to raise the minimum wage to $10-per-hour by 2016 and other unionized and non-unionized companies followed suit, including Universal Orlando.

    The next step for the unions appears to be in February, where they will regroup for further negotiations.