Disney to pay $3.8 million to park workers charged for their costumes

[WDWTank]

I got the feeling that Launch Bay is to "tide us over" until SWL is built and they needed a filler anyway since so much there is going offline due to construction.

Yet I digress, back to those hideous black tennis shoes and costume compensation...

Once Star Wars 9 is released, then they can build the Mickey ride to replace Launch bay as it is deemed useless by then

 

[FullSailDan]

OMG. I thought I was the only one who noticed those black orthopedic shoes. They don't look so bad with long dark pants.

But, when those shoes are paired with Capri pants and white ankle socks like the uniforms in Fantasyland, it's just not a good look. But, forgivable given the circumstances. I still feel like Disney can do better.

If Disney can team up with Adidas for snazzy Star Wars kicks and Vons for stylish men's shoes and Run Disney shoes -- they can do the same for the CM's shoes. It would really complete the look.

Oh yeah, I'm so glad Disney is paying the back wages. They are doing the right thing.

With the exception of "actors", Disney is legally required to mandate their cast members wear orthopedic type shoes to help prevent back, hip, ankle, and knee injuries from the long hours of standing/walking required for their jobs. They are also legally required to give cast members options in terms of the shoes they can purchase. Mandating a single shoe type violates some labor and union rules. There is a roaming shoe sales truck that comes to various places on property and offers them at a good discount for cast. Hence why you see them all looking the same.

 

[larryz]

OMG. I thought I was the only one who noticed those black orthopedic shoes. They don't look so bad with long dark pants.

But, when those shoes are paired with Capri pants and white ankle socks like the uniforms in Fantasyland, it's just not a good look. But, forgivable given the circumstances. I still feel like Disney can do better.

Two words: Eight hours a day on bare concrete.

 

[raven]

Two words: Eight hours a day on bare concrete.

Bare concrete as opposed to clothed concrete?

 

[Grimley1968]

It's sad to read that it took the Dept. of Labor to make Disney do the right thing by its workers. It really bursts the bubble about WDW being "magical." It doesn't sound so magical for those workers, even after they get their back pay.

 

[GrumpyFan]

It's sad to read that it took the Dept. of Labor to make Disney do the right thing by its workers. It really bursts the bubble about WDW being "magical." It doesn't sound so magical for those workers, even after they get their back pay.

Yeah, it really makes you wonder what kind of knucklehead came up with the idea, and what they were thinking when they did it. I mean, who thinks "we can re-coup some of our uniform costs by charging it back to our employees"? Must've been a former cable company executive or someone trying to get on the fast-track to a promotion by "reducing costs in their department, year-over-year".
Sadly, it's the kind of thing that happens at many companies every year, where mid-level managers are tasked with reducing costs while increasing service every year, and their own bonuses and ratings are based on how well they do in that. It's infuriatingly ridiculous!

 

[FullSailDan]

Yeah, it really makes you wonder what kind of knucklehead came up with the idea, and what they were thinking when they did it. I mean, who thinks "we can re-coup some of our uniform costs by charging it back to our employees"? Must've been a former cable company executive or someone trying to get on the fast-track to a promotion by "reducing costs in their department, year-over-year".
Sadly, it's the kind of thing that happens at many companies every year, where mid-level managers are tasked with reducing costs while increasing service every year, and their own bonuses and ratings are based on how well they do in that. It's infuriatingly ridiculous!

From what I understand, the bulk of this is not due to uniform issues. It's mostly the time allotted to get setup for work. Not paying someone for the time but requiring them to check an email for assignments, or count their drawer cash before going on the floor, etc. This is easy to have happen because Disney allows cast to clock in at say 8:50 for a shift, but their pay starts at 9. So if someone walks onto the floor and starts work, they should be paid according to the labor dept. Disney basically used it as a "grace" period and started the clock at 9. Now the direction will have to be, cast will need to "wait" until right at 9 to start working.

 

[peter11435]

Yeah, it really makes you wonder what kind of knucklehead came up with the idea, and what they were thinking when they did it. I mean, who thinks "we can re-coup some of our uniform costs by charging it back to our employees"? Must've been a former cable company executive or someone trying to get on the fast-track to a promotion by "reducing costs in their department, year-over-year".
Sadly, it's the kind of thing that happens at many companies every year, where mid-level managers are tasked with reducing costs while increasing service every year, and their own bonuses and ratings are based on how well they do in that. It's infuriatingly ridiculous!

Cast members do not pay for their costumes.

 

[GrumpyFan]

Cast members do not pay for their costumes.

I didn't think so either, but, according to the article, there were some CMs who were being charged for something that was "costume" or "uniform" related. Perhaps it was a misuse of language on my part, but the original article quoted what was called a "uniform or costume expense", and the Orlando Sentinel called it a "uniform expense", but didn't specify exactly what that was, nor did I. My statement was more of a generalization (opinion) of what I speculated some knucklehead must have thought when they decided to institute this back charge to their workers. Apologies if my opinion/commentary misrepresented itself as a factual statement.

 

[peter11435]

I didn't think so either, but, according to the article, there were some CMs who were being charged for something that was "costume" or "uniform" related. Perhaps it was a misuse of language on my part, but the original article quoted what was called a "uniform or costume expense", and the Orlando Sentinel called it a "uniform expense", but didn't specify exactly what that was, nor did I. My statement was more of a generalization (opinion) of what I speculated some knucklehead must have thought when they decided to institute this back charge to their workers. Apologies if I my opinion/commentary misrepresented itself as a factual statement.

Cast members are only charged for costumes that are lost or damaged.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

My wife texted some of her friends down there and she said this was related to CMs being asked to clock in prior to their shifts but only getting paid from the shift's scheduled start time. She speculates that the reference to "costuming" refers to that time supposedly being used for CMs to get in costume.

FWIW, my wife's friends are not costumed cast. They're backstage cast but this is the scuttlebutt.

 

[GrumpyFan]

Cast members are only charged for costumes that are lost or damaged.

Since you seem to be in the know, any idea what these unspecified "costume/uniform expenses" were that the DoL penalized them for?
Are they now saying that they can't charge CMs for lost/damaged uniforms? Because my interpretation of the article was that some CMs were being charged a routine amount for these expenses.

 

[KrzyKtty]

Either way, I'm not sure why anyone would be surprised that Disney would have done this to its cast members. Just look at how they replaced their IT staff with foreign H1B Visa labor.

 

[21stamps]

Chuck Taylors on everyone!
I could see Sketchers GoWalks as more practical.

I'm a huge Chuck Taylor fan.. for myself and my kiddo. But.. I wouldn't want to be wearing them every day while standing all day long.

 

[FullSailDan]

Either way, I'm not sure why anyone would be surprised that Disney would have done this to its cast members. Just look at how they replaced their IT staff with foreign H1B Visa labor.

I don't get why Disney should be dragged through the coals for winding down active development on a project and outsourcing the ongoing maintenance of it? It's pretty much industry standard in IT. H1B's did not replace everyone in IT. It was a relatively small number brought over, to get trained, who would be the main POC to the staff in India. Having left their corporate IT in September, I can honestly say the coverage of it was totally overblown. This happens all the time in application development, start off small while determining specifics, ramp up to get the work done, and then taper off as the project finishes. Nothing newsworthy here. It's not realistic to keep the staff all the time. It happens in film, construction, anything that is 'project oriented'. What's even more funny, is that those who were laid off, were given priority hire status when applying for other positions in the company. Even more, many with good ratings and in demand skills were kept on the payroll without an active project. But... you didn't see that in the news.

It annoys me because there are so many other areas that Disney can be criticized for, yet here we are focusing on something that's basically industry standard. Let's talk about the low wages paid to park workers in an area with rising costs, or the conditions college program kids live in. The lack of a succession plan for their CEO, etc.

 

[KrzyKtty]

I don't get why Disney should be dragged through the coals for winding down active development on a project and outsourcing the ongoing maintenance of it? It's pretty much industry standard in IT. H1B's did not replace everyone in IT. It was a relatively small number brought over, to get trained, who would be the main POC to the staff in India. Having left their corporate IT in September, I can honestly say the coverage of it was totally overblown. This happens all the time in application development, start off small while determining specifics, ramp up to get the work done, and then taper off as the project finishes. Nothing newsworthy here. It's not realistic to keep the staff all the time. It happens in film, construction, anything that is 'project oriented'. What's even more funny, is that those who were laid off, were given priority hire status when applying for other positions in the company. Even more, many with good ratings and in demand skills were kept on the payroll without an active project. But... you didn't see that in the news.

It annoys me because there are so many other areas that Disney can be criticized for, yet here we are focusing on something that's basically industry standard. Let's talk about the low wages paid to park workers in an area with rising costs, or the conditions college program kids live in. The lack of a succession plan for their CEO, etc.

I bring it up because my husband is in IT, and the H1B abuse in the IT industry is something that he goes on about a lot. I still don't agree with the outsourcing, but I will be sure to notify my husband of the additional information you provided that was not covered in the IT media news.

 

[GrumpyFan]

It annoys me because there are so many other areas that Disney can be criticized for, yet here we are focusing on something that's basically industry standard. Let's talk about the low wages paid to park workers in an area with rising costs, or the conditions college program kids live in. The lack of a succession plan for their CEO, etc.

This is getting off topic for the thread, plus it's been discussed elsewhere ad nauseam. However, just because it's "something that's basically industry standard", doesn't mean it's right. Agreed, there are plenty of other things that they could be harangued about, but I think because this came during an election cycle, and there was a lawsuit involved, it got pushed to the top.

 

[FullSailDan]

I bring it up because my husband is in IT, and the H1B abuse in the IT industry is something that he goes on about a lot. I still don't agree with the outsourcing, but I will be sure to notify my husband of the additional information you provided that was not covered in the IT media news.

I get that, and yes, it is being abused in the IT world right now. One of the few areas I'm hopeful the current administration can make a difference.

 

[larryz]

IWhat's even more funny, is that those who were laid off, were given priority hire status when applying for other positions in the company. Even more, many with good ratings and in demand skills were kept on the payroll without an active project. But... you didn't see that in the news.

Not to impugn your credibility but that doesn't track with what some of the fired workers told IT news sources. They specifically stated they were NOT going to be hired within the company.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/26/...ed-to-replace-us-workers-with-immigrants.html

 

[GrumpyFan]

I get that, and yes, it is being abused in the IT world right now. One of the few areas I'm hopeful the current administration can make a difference.

Not to impugn your credibility but that doesn't track with what some of the fired workers told IT news sources. They specifically stated they were NOT going to be hired within the company.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/26/...ed-to-replace-us-workers-with-immigrants.html

If you guys want to discuss this (again), can I just point you to the thread that was already discussing it:
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...hem-with-foreign-workers.898776/#post-6669113