Disneyland workers set to vote on a new contract that could avert a strike
After union members voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike, Disney and the Master Services Council, a labor coalition representing 14,000 theme park workers, have hammered out a tentative agreement.
The announcement came Wednesday after two days of intense bargaining that carried over into the early morning hours.
“We have shown Disney that we are the true magic makers of the park and today proves that when workers stand together for what they deserve, we win,” read a statement Wednesday from the coalition’s bargaining committee. “We look forward to making our voices heard during the voting process to ratify this contract.”
The vote scheduled for July 19 could pave the way for a union coalition to call for a strike at Disney theme parks for the first time in 40 years.
A contract update touted a three-year proposal to union members that includes “significant” wage increases and pay boosts based on seniority.
Under a minimum wage law in Anaheim, workers represented by the union coalition currently make at least $19.90 an hour, a modest increase from the previous contract.
Both the union coalition and the company are not publicly disclosing more detailed terms until after a scheduled Monday vote. Union members will exclusively be apprised over the weekend before casting their ballots.
In past negotiations, Disney sought a five-year agreement not unlike the one it secured with 8,500 food and beverage workers represented by Workers United Local 50, the single biggest union in the Disneyland Resort.
The shortened length of the proposed contract is one concession made by the company.
“We care deeply about the well-being of our cast members and are pleased to have reached a tentative agreement with Master Services Council that addresses what matters most to our cast while positioning Disneyland Resort for future growth and job creation,” said Jessica Good, a Disney spokeswoman.
The tentative agreement temporarily averts the first possible strike at Disneyland in 40 years. Back in 1984, a coalition of 2,000 union members walked out for 22 days.
Tucker Showkeir, a ride operator at Disney’s California Adventure, helped hand count ballots on July 19 when 99% of voting union members authorized an unfair labor practice strike.
“Workers that have been around since the ’84 strike are saying we are more engaged than we ever have been,” Showkeir said. “The energy that I saw at the July 17 worker rally outside of Disneyland was great.”
The four-union coalition is comprised of Service Employees International Union-United Service Workers West, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 324, Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, and Grain Millers International Union Local 83 and Teamsters Automotive, Industrial, Theme Park, Service Sector, and Allied Workers Local 495.
Together they represent ride operators, candy makers, custodians and cashiers at the Anaheim theme parks and Downtown Disney.
Ahead of the Disneyland contract expiring on June 16, union members mounted a solidarity button campaign that ran afoul with management over the “Disney Look” dress code.
The union claimed that more than 500 workers have faced unlawful intimidation, surveillance and disciplinary threats, all for wearing the button with a Mickey Mouse-styled glove raised in a clenched fist.
Labor charges were filed with the National Labor Relations Board in June. Board agents are currently investigating the alleged violations, which formed the basis of the unfair labor practice strike authorization vote.
The prospects of a Disneyland strike have sparked questions, but not cancellations, from prospective guests planning trips during the theme park’s peak summer tourist season.
Len Testa is the co-author of “The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland” and the president of Touringplans.com, which works to help people save time and money on their vacations and offers a download for its Disney lines app.
Even though Disneyland appears to be having a slower summer than usual, he doesn’t believe that labor unrest is a probable reason why.
“The easiest way to measure how busy a park is looking at how long people wait in lines,” he said. “Wait times are down 20 to 40%. There are larger macro-trends that people are paying more attention to like inflation.”
Testa also didn’t think a potential strike would dramatically alter the park’s operations, even when it comes to attractions running in an orderly manner.
“So many people in executive and management positions have performed the roles in the past because they’ve been with the company for years,” he said. “I don’t think you would see a drop-off in quality or performance.”
Showkeir, who is represented by the Teamsters Local 495, spoke to hundreds of workers who cast their strike authorization votes earlier this month and got a different impression.
“Each themed land has a management team,” he said. “But given the amount of time they have left, there will be a lot of difficulty that the company would face staffing attractions properly to operate the park.”
Amid a contract fight, a coalition of four major Disney unions have alleged that the company unlawfully intimidated, surveilled and disciplined workers for wearing union buttons on the job.
Any potential strike would impact about 9,500 Disneyland workers represented by the union coalition.
The labor contract for Disney’s California Adventure and Downtown Disney doesn’t expire until Sept. 30.
All 14,000 members of the coalition, though, are eligible to vote on Monday whether to ratify or reject the newly proposed contract.
If passed by a majority of union members on Monday, a new three-year agreement will be secured.
But if rejected, a strike at the so-called “happiest place on earth” remains a possibility.
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