Disney Union Rejects Contract Offer

[bashuck]

I would think Disney generates enough money to pay their employees decent wages. Hope this ends well.

I'm not here to say they ARE paid decent wages, but my interactions with everyone is much better than that with the employees at say Six Flags near where I live. Many of the jobs I see do seem to require little more than a pleasant disposition so I'd imagine they are paying market rate for them as they are finding such employees.

 

[jknezek]

The labor market in Orlando is at a break-point right now, especially when it comes to these "minimum wage" positions that theme parks are paying. You can't support a family on $10/hour, no matter HOW much you love Disney and want to work there - in fact, you'd have a hard time supporting a general lifestyle on that without a partner or a roommate. Disney exploits the College Program and International Program to make up for staffing deficits ... but with everything they have on the horizon, there just aren't many people left in Central Florida that are willing to work for Disney at current wages - any form of exodus of existing employees would be potentially disastrous.

This may be true. But Orlando just got a massive influx of potential workers that continues to this day. As long as Puerto Rico is in shambles, Orlando will one of several go to destinations for citizens looking for greener pastures. While I suspect many of these Americans have prospects above the minimum wage offered by Disney and the other service tourist positions, many will also find those as entry level jobs in a new home. Considering the latest estimates are for well over 100K Puerto Ricans permanently moving in to the I4 corridor alone between the hurricane season and the end of the year, and flights continue to be booked leaving Puerto Rico through the early months of 2018, the work force crunch may well be less than forecast.

 

[oceanmarina]

10$ an hour is not a " living wage", I have heard before that Disney pays thier employees a pitifully low wage. A real shame in my opinion. I lost a lot of respect for Disney after speaking to a few employees and finding out how little they are paid.

 

[StageTek]

What % was the comcast raise for their theme park employees just as a reference?

In California Comcast/NBCUniversal agreed (in a five year contract) to 3.5%, 3%, 3%, 3%, 3.5% for it's union theme park employees.

I'm a member of several locals in the entertainment union (IATSE) in CA. We have never gotten a 6% to 10% increase. I wonder if there are any union agreements that have gotten a 6 to 10% increase....

 

[umichigan10]

In California Comcast/NBCUniversal agreed (in a five year contract) to 3.5%, 3%, 3%, 3%, 3.5% for it's union theme park employees.

I'm a member of several locals in the entertainment union (IATSE) in CA. We have never gotten a 6% to 10% increase. I wonder if there are any union agreements that have gotten a 6 to 10% increase....

They’re probably negotiating high in order to set the middle ground high. At least that sounds like a reasonable strategy to me

 

[nkosiek]

Or is it that the unions see that Disney is begging for housekeepers and bus drivers and believes they will soon have problems finding other staff. They'll need new staff for TSL and SWGE, plus a few new staffers for any additions to EPCOT and MK. The unions know people will be coming and that Disney will be getting a lot of money. Perhaps the unions see it as them holding some decent cards at the table and are willing to play the hand until the river.

 

[fatmanatee]

Ten dollars per hour is bad. Ten dollars per hour when you're making tons of money is brutal.

 

[Bearval]

I'm not here to say they ARE paid decent wages, but my interactions with everyone is much better than that with the employees at say Six Flags near where I live. Many of the jobs I see do seem to require little more than a pleasant disposition so I'd imagine they are paying market rate for them as they are finding such employees.

Walt Disney World union members overwhelmingly rejected a new contract Wednesday that would given them a raise of at least 50 cents an hour, as some argued they deserved a bigger salary increase.

About 93 percent of dues-paying members who voted turned down the two-year contract. The nearly 10,000 votes cast was the highest turnout in the history of labor votes for the Service Trades Council Union, the coalition of six unions that represents about 36,000 Disney employees, officials said.

Union members cheered and chanted, “Union!” “Fight!” “If we don’t get it, shut it down!” after union leaders announced the election results at Disney’s Contemporary Resort.

The next move is for union leaders to regroup in February.

“We’re going to go to the table next year and demand more,” said Jeremy Haicken, president of Unite Here Local 737, to his supporters.

“We are disappointed that the union rejected our fair and reasonable offer of a 6 to 10 percent wage increase over the next two years and we will continue to work with the union on negotiations,” a Disney spokeswoman said in a statement.

Wednesday’s failed deal would have given full-time and part-time Disney employees a 3 percent or a 50-cent raise — whichever was higher — retroactive to Sept. 24 and again in September 2018. Tipped employees were not eligible for the salary increase under the proposal.

Disney also proposed a one-time $200 bonus this year for full-time employees and those who get tips.

“We deserve more than 50 cents,” said Krystle Karnofsky, who is paid $10 hour to work at Animal Kingdom’s Flight of Passage ride and struggles with a company she loves but that can’t support her financially. “We’re not going to settle.”

Disney has offered signing bonuses this year as incentives for new hires for jobs such as housekeepers and bus drivers.

Richard Branson has made a pretty good living by putting employees first,customers second and shareholders third. Each one takes care of the next in line.

 

[bashuck]

So my vacation ends at Wilderness Lodge in a few hours and I received my itemized room charges so it made me think of this. I agree that the non-tipped positions are low paying and not desirable unless you are retired and just looking to kill time and make a little bit while doing it. But the waiters and waitresses appear to be fine as I doubt I'm an outlier in that my table service (7) meal tips ranged from $20-30 for my party of 3 (as we were on the dining plan that was the only charge). So if that is split many ways they may not otherwise get as much as it would appear but everyone working there that does get a cut should be doing at least 'ok'. I would think those positions are coveted or is there something I'm missing?

 

[OKW Lover]

I wonder how much Housekeeping earns. If Disney can offer a $10/day discount to guests who decline the daily room cleaning, how many rooms does a housekeeper do in an hour? Four? More? Would their wages & benefits be equivalent to $40/hour or more?

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I wonder how much Housekeeping earns. If Disney can offer a $10/day discount to guests who decline the daily room cleaning, how many rooms does a housekeeper do in an hour? Four? More? Would their wages & benefits be equivalent to $40/hour or more?

doing a quick google search (i know, not necessarily the best) but saw reports of about 30 mins to turnover a room in a regular hotel and 45 mins for a more deluxe one - so even for the values that is more like 2 rooms per hour. Now maybe the daily cleanings are a lot shorter but not sure. But Disney would also have the cost of the uniforms and laundering them, the cleaning supplies and maintaining the vacuums, etc. so not all of that $10 would cover the actual Cast Member

 

[OSUZorba]

I wonder how much Housekeeping earns. If Disney can offer a $10/day discount to guests who decline the daily room cleaning, how many rooms does a housekeeper do in an hour? Four? More? Would their wages & benefits be equivalent to $40/hour or more?

You have a few other things that need to be included as well. 1) The cost of doing the laundry and the employees there. 2) Currently they are having a hard time hiring house keepers, which probably translates into overtime pay and bonuses. Prolonged overtime can burn people out, who then quit, making the problem worse. 3) Other material and overhead costs, from the carts and vacuums, to the supervisors.

I have no idea how disney does it, but I had a friend in college that cleaned hotel rooms for a while and she was actually paid per room. The amount was different for a daily vs turnover. The good people could make a decent living if they were fast and the hotel was busy, but if the hotel was slow they didn't make much that week.

 

[Princess_Lisa]

I don’t consider myself a “pro-union” person; however, it CAN be to the shareholders’ benefit to pay their employees a little better than average. Happy employees = better guest service = people willing to give you their money. I am willing to pay more to get great customer service. And though WDW’s guest service is great, I do think it has slipped a bit from where it once was. I think about Chick-fil-a, granted they are privately owned, but they are willing to pay more than market wages to their employees and it shows. AND they are able to hire selectively because many young people want to work there.

This ^^^. I hate it when companies nickel and dime and the service/quality goes to h*ll in the process. I've seen products ruined by cutting corners to save <1% on the cost per unit.