Abigail Disney's Twitter thread on Executive pay and furloughing Cast Members during COVID-19

[Coaster Lover]

Also, once taxes (and COBRA, should they need to get it) are taken out, it's not nearly the boon some like to claim it is.

I do believe Disney has committed to paying 100% of all health insurance costs for furloughed workers for 12 months so I don't think COBRA should be needed by any furloughed cast members (unless there is some caveat I'm unaware of that wouldn't be covered).

 

[ImperfectPixie]

I do believe Disney has committed to paying 100% of all health insurance costs for furloughed workers for 12 months so I don't think COBRA should be needed by any furloughed cast members (unless there is some caveat I'm unaware of that wouldn't be covered).

I was speaking about those lower on the income-scale in general.

 

[bryanfze55]

Disney is a public traded company that operates within the confines of an American corporatist system run rampant. Yes, they’re going to do things that seem greedy in the endless pursuit of increasing shareholder value.

I work for a publicly traded company, as well, that has done some shady things recently that were well-publicized. Yet, I gladly take money from them every two weeks. We all accept some amount of cognitive dissonance in our life. I feel it when I continue to work within a system that I know is broken. I feel it when I visit Disney, but it remains my preferred theme park product for various reasons.

But Disney does a lot of good, too. And where is Abigail Disney when they do that? What did she have to say when Disney agreed to pay 100% of their employees’ health insurance while they’re furloughed? Seems she only comes up and out of that fortune she’s been swimming in her entire life when there’s a negative headline to be made. That’s known as an attention wh***.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I'm surprised how little appreciation the community seems to have for her stance.

Disney appeals to everyone, even people who look down upon those who ultimately deliver and manage the products they enjoy.

 

[bryanfze55]

Disney appeals to everyone, even people who look down upon those who ultimately deliver and manage the products they enjoy.

Big words.

I’d be curious to know, have you stopped patronizing Disney in order to protest the mistreatment of Cast Members? Because otherwise, you’re little more than a keyboard warrior who isn’t doing anything more to help Cast Members than those of us who “look down” on them.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Big words.

I’d be curious to know, have you stopped patronizing Disney in order to protest the mistreatment of Cast Members? Because otherwise, you’re little more than a keyboard warrior who isn’t doing anything more to help Cast Members than those of us who “look down” on them.

Of course it all circles back to "don't say anything", even if your family's name is still on the business.

 

[Bill in Atlanta]

Compensation for all high level corporate people is out of control, especially since they all sit on one another's boards approving greater and greater compensation. Someone screaming about it on a 25-Tweet rant (the purpose of a Tweet is to be terse) doesn't change the fact it's a rigged system for the elite.

In the time of sacrifice of employee's compensation while leaving alone the extra bonuses in the millions that the top echelon will be receiving, all the while publicly announcing pay cuts for the upper echelon which hardly affects their total yearly compensation is a bit scummy. An ad hominem attack on the person bringing that up doesn't change the scumminess of it.

Remember, I'm supposedly an Iger apologist according to a recent poster!

As long as all compensation is made via voluntary exchange, what’s the problem? In essence, an employee is trading his/her labor for an agreed-upon amount of money. Both sides agree that it’s fair; or else they wouldn’t accept the trade.

Whether my neighbor hires my other neighbor to cut his grass for $20 or $20,000 makes no difference to me.

Disney pays Iger an amount of money that is less than what they believe he will return to the company through his labor. The Lakers pay LeBron James $20m a year in exchange for his labor because they believe he will return more than that to the team in additional merchandise sales, ticket sales, etc.
I suspect that similarly, the top CM’s who are true creative visionaries or top-shelf performers are paid well; or else they would work for Universal or another competitor.

 

[Old Mouseketeer]

arent most making more with unemployment? I thought they were getting an extra $600/week for a couple months, or maybe i misunderstood the stimulus package

Your unemployment benefit is tied to how much you made in the first four quarters of the last five completed quarters (here in CA), so that would be Jan-Dec 2019. Before the Cares Act, the benefit might be as low as 40% of your regular pay. The extra $600/week was to bring it closer to your regular pay. But it shouldn't be more than your regular pay.

 

[Old Mouseketeer]

Some are, but that's only for a small amount of time and stops at the end of July. Also, once taxes (and COBRA, should they need to get it) are taken out, it's not nearly the boon some like to claim it is.

My husband, for example, is taking home slightly less even after the $600 federal bump. And here in MA, you HAVE to have health insurance or you will face a fine.

Fortunately Disney is paying 100% of the healthcare cost for all full-time workers furloughed for up to one year. Honestly, regardless of what I think of executive compensation, I think Disney has been pretty decent about this. They kept paying everyone for a month and waited to furlough until Congress finished the bill. I have friends that work at the Resort here in CA and they generally think it's pretty good under the circumstances.

 

[manmythlegend]

Her comments are ridiculous. Most CMs are not working. Neither Disney nor any other company has an obligation to pay people who aren't working. That Disney did so for weeks, and is keeping health insurance in place (for free), is to Disney's great credit.

And why shouldn't execs have gotten bonuses, and shareholders dividends, for last year, before anyone knew what the coronavirus was?

Bingo Bingo Bingo!!!!!!!! We have a winner, spike the football, you just scored a touchdown.

Disney parks are closed folks. Most CMs aren't working and it isn't Disney's fault. Why the heck should they be paying anyone? Disney is running a for profit business, not a charity.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

Bingo Bingo Bingo!!!!!!!! We have a winner, spike the football, you just scored a touchdown.

Disney parks are closed folks. Most CMs aren't working and it isn't Disney's fault. Why the heck should they be paying anyone? Disney is running a for profit business, not a charity.

^I think the bolded would be her sticking point . . . the higher ups are still making BIG $$$ while the CM's are furloughed.

 

[manmythlegend]

^I think the bolded would be her sticking point . . . the higher ups are still making BIG $$$ while the CM's are furloughed.

The higher ups are still doing work!! Disney isn't closed, only the parks are. Iger is spending day and night trying to figure out how to save the dang company. Why shouldn't he be getting paid big bucks?

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

The higher ups are still doing work!! Disney isn't closed, only the parks are. Iger is spending day and night trying to figure out how to save the dang company. Why shouldn't he be getting paid big bucks?

No one's saying he doesn't deserve money. But 900 times the MEDIAN worker's pay?

I think her point is that disingenuous for them to be touting their cuts in salary as a classy move when their salaries have always been chump change compared to the stocks they REALLY make their money from, and that if they actually wanted to help the furloughed CM's like they claim they do they're gonna have to dig a little deeper.

 

[bryanfze55]

With how critical she is of them - and often rightly - I don't believe her aim is to be beloved.

Though really, given how much she speaks out in defense of the "people it takes to make the dream a reality", who her great-uncle and grandfather generally made a point of taking care of, I'm surprised how little appreciation the community seems to have for her stance.

Did they take care of the workers better back then? I really don’t know... just saying to think about statements like that before blatantly saying them. Theme park workers have never been well-paid, but Disney has increased minimum wage to $15/hour, and it’s important to remember that the health insurance premium Disney pays for its employees is massively larger than it was in the olden days, even adjusted for inflation. Thats straight cash.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

Did they take care of the workers better back then? I really don’t know... just saying to think about statements like that before blatantly saying them. Theme park workers have never been well-paid, but Disney has increased minimum wage to $15/hour, and it’s important to remember that the health insurance premium Disney pays for its employees is massively larger than it was in the olden days, even adjusted for inflation. Thats straight cash.

I mean, yes . . .

You're right that it's a different financial world, and that Cast Members have never been well-paid, but historically Disney did do more to take care of CM's back in the day. They knew they were the front-lines of their business and did more to keep them happy relative to today.

 

[manmythlegend]

No one's saying he doesn't deserve money. But 900 times the MEDIAN worker's pay?

I think her point is that disingenuous for them to be touting their cuts in salary as a classy move when their salaries have always been chump change compared to the stocks they REALLY make their money from, and that if they actually wanted to help the furloughed CM's like they claim they do they're gonna have to dig a little deeper.

Executive comp is market driven. Each public company has to compete for talent. If Disney is low balling execs to pay their CMs more, then top executive talent will simply go to other companies instead of Disney. And then Disney may end up with someone like Ron Miller.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

Executive comp is market driven. Each public company has to compete for talent. If Disney is low balling execs to pay their CMs more, then top executive talent will simply go to other companies instead of Disney. And then Disney may end up with someone like Ron Miller.

Again, who said the alternative is to low-ball them?

There's no middle ground between low-balling and grossly overcompensating?

 

[manmythlegend]

Again, who said the alternative is to low-ball them?

There's no middle ground between low-balling and grossly overcompensating?

Correct, there is no middle ground. I think you missed my point. What Disney is paying now is what they need to pay to get the kind of talent they want running their company. Less pay = Less Talent. It's a very simple equation.

 

[bryanfze55]

Of course it all circles back to "don't say anything", even if your family's name is still on the business.

People can SAY whatever they want, but:

1. She only approaches this from an angle of criticism. She is not objective and gives no credence to Disney when they do something right. She wants to make headlines is all.

2. Your comment about people patronizing Disney while looking down on front line workers was holier-than-thou, inaccurate, and inflammatory.

I’m not sure if Disney would have made a similar decision if circumstances were different, but the fact is the federal government is offering $600/week in unemployment that will likely last until the parks re-open. Combined with state unemployment, a very large number of Disney employees (and nearly all CMs) will be making more than they did while working. Being that it is only a furlough and not a lay-off, and considering full health benefits are still being paid, the CMs are getting a pretty good shake from a strictly financial standpoint.

None of us are in a “great” situation right now, and many of us are now at the mercy of large corporations beholden more to shareholders than to employees. It’s not the system I would’ve chosen, but it’s the system that we’ve permitted. And even though Disney may be an emotional thing for a lot of us, it still does exist within the confines of that system.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

Correct, there is no middle ground. I think you missed my point. What Disney is paying now is what they need to pay to get the kind of talent they want running their company. Less pay = Less Talent. It's a very simple equation.

Then I suppose they'll have to accept people criticizing a system that works that way as long as they get the money they want.

I don't understand the insistence in this thread (not you specifically) that anyone who thinks this isn't working needs to be shouted down and told to be happy with the way things are. It's imperfect and that's fair to say. It's also fair to say that Disney can afford to do better and probably should.