The Service Trades Council, which represents 21,000 of the 50,000 jobs at Walt Disney World, will vote for a second time on a new contract June 6th. The previous vote was defeated by a 2% margin of just a few hundred votes and I think Disney and the Unions are hoping that a re-vote will swing the other way. No word yet if the Teamsters union opposes this contract, but I suspect they do since it is largely the same as the offer previously rejected.
A decent wage increase for long term employees seems to be the main issue here. Long term front line employees are more likely to be active in the union, thats why the previous offer was refused. But a 2% margin isn’t likely to be enough to muster a strike either. It’s anyone’s guess which way this vote will go.
My partner works for WDW and is currently outraged at the fact that neither Disney nor the Union is making it widely known that the vote is happening on the 6th. The main reason it was evidently voted down the last time was because of full time restaurant servers, so this time they are not being told the vote is happening. The contract has not been changed in any way since the last vote as Disney refuses to make any changes to what they have offered and the Union is just going right along with it. The Union seems unwilling to actually do anything to help the cast members and are pretty much just doing what Disney wants at this point. The bus drivers have evidently been somewhat vocal lately saying that even if the contract goes through this time they will strike.
This is exactly true. I am even a shop steward for the union that represents restaurant servers. OUR union office leaders went off on a trip to atlanta last week and returned this sunday, and have only been in contact with the dinner show restaurant members, who got a better contract, on telling them about the vote.Otherwise, they have told us nothing, because they know the rest of the servers will vote no AGAIN!!!!They are letting the company take away a guaranteed 18% gratuity on dining plans the company has sold cheaply to get guests into the parks, which take up 90 percent of our business now… We have been paid the gratuity , by wedw, since the time pre-paid dining plans started, and they attract a wide range of dinners, many whom will not tip the servers…. shame shame shame.. sold out once again…
We love Disneyland but are concerned about the working conditions when we are there (both of us are union people). We frequently asked staff where they were unionized and we were consistently told that they felt that the Disney Co. treated then well. Being “treated well” well can a relative term and a quick look through the pay grades at DW suggested that the pay grades are not what they should be – given the cost of living in California as well as what I assume is significant income from the park’s operations as well as sales of goods.
As a visitor, and a union member, is there anything that we can do to promote better labour relations for the park workers?
We live in Calgary, Canada.
Comments are closed.