Breaking News! Union Vote Is In!

[ginaforpeace]

Visiting Disney for Thanksgiving 2004

:wave: Hello everyone,

I have reservations to take my daughter for her 6th b-day to disney world the week of Thanksgiving. Should I be concerned by the strike ?

 

[xfkirsten]

Nope, don't worry. Whatever the result of this, management will be doing everything in their power to make sure that it doesn't detract from the guest experience. :wave: Have fun!!

 

[jcraycraft]

:wave: Hello everyone,

I have reservations to take my daughter for her 6th b-day to disney world the week of Thanksgiving. Should I be concerned by the strike ?

I would not worry about.... if anything is going to happen; it is going to be a federal mediator first.

"Joe Condo, lead negotiator for the Service Trades Council and head of one of the four unions that recommended approval, said he will seek a federal mediator to help reach a new agreement."

 

[SpaceRacer2003]

With any luck Joe Condo will seek a new job (or at least another location) after this is all done

 

[TP2000]

This strike vote makes me laugh.

Before the WDW CM's do anything, they really need to step back from the abyss and count to ten. And then, after they count to ten, pick up the phone and call any supermarket employee here in Southern California and ask them about the "little strike" they went on over increased health costs one year ago. That supermarket strike turned into the biggest mess in grocery history. It was supposed to last for "just a couple of weeks", and instead it dragged on for over six months. Grocery employees lost their savings, their friends, their jobs, and some of them lost their homes and cars as month after month the strike dragged on.

They finally went back to work, but they got exactly the same health care increases they turned down in the beginning, but they lost some of the wage increases and pension benefits management had offered them before the strike.

If the CM's are stupid enough to strike, I will have no pity for them. They really need to study up on the most recent disastrous strikes for low-level unskilled employees who allow the Union fat cats to get them fired up over rising health care costs.

Seriously Cast Members, think very hard about this. And phone up a grocery worker here in SoCal and ask them for their advice on how to keep a job and a life.

 

[PhotoDave219]

So, why does the contract seem to equate skilled and non skilled labor? Does it really take the same amount of skill to sell a Churo as it does to Drive a steam locomotive?

 

[Yen_Sid1]

Another thing to figure in the negotiations is that Disney's management team that is bargaining for the company is also looking out for themselves. I'm sure they will get some kind of bonus if they save the company a lot of money.

So if they can screw their fellow cast members, then more money for them. They probably have a financial package that they can offer, but if they can get under their budget for manpower, then a pat on the back (maybe a promotion?) and a large bonus!!

 

[PhotoDave219]

.... Heh, wouldnt be the first time someone got a promotion or a huge bonus for screwing over the cast.

 

[ArchiDanDisney]

Those are my coworkers...thats all they talk about any time I am down there, I don't fault them...

 

[kal1484]

This is by no means meant to offend you, but is this your first job?

I've been working since I was 13. I worked in a doctor's office, and also at a daycare. I'm just working there to get by while I am earning my degree. I fully depend on my parents for money. My opinion isn't just the fact of getting a raise, it's more of the fact that basically, yeah, it doens't take a degree to sell turkey legs, but we work hard. That's all I'm trying to get across, should the pyro's get more? Heck ya! However, just because I only have a H.S. degree and sell turkey legs doesn't mean that I sould be looked down upon.

 

[PhotoDave219]

No one is looking down upon you for taking crappy pay and working at disney to sell turkey legs. Its just the reality that you have to look at, that its basically a dead-end job with little hope of advancement or pay increases.

Its honorable that youre willing to accept crap, but you have to realise that for every Phil Holmes sucess story (he's the head of MK), you end up with Tens of Thousands of people who dont get that far up, or anywhere near it.

 

[microconn]

A Personal Perspective

Hi,

I can understand how the union members must feel in some ways. I went over 4 years, almost 5 without, a raise and belong to a union. Our cost of living went up over 10% over that time here where I live in Canada and housing was up 20%. When I felt that a 10% decrease in buying power was unacceptable anymore, I felt I needed to take it into my own hands. I left where I was working and recieved 4% right away from my new employer and 2.5% every year for the next 3. I felt that 2.5% was fair. I work in the IT industry and it's been rough the last few years. Yes the economy is starting to gain some momentum but it's also not going to be like it was and people need to adjust their expectations accordingly. In the case of Disney employees, 4% is a good increase. I know you can not raise a family on this but I wonder how many of the employees there are actually at the bottom end?

A note on Healthcare and minimum wage.

Most US citizens have a misconception towards Healthcare in Canada. Our healthcare is not provided for free as you may be lead to believe. I pay HIGH taxes! We are in the top 5 in the world for average tax burden. On everything I buy with my after-tax pay we pay 15% more tax! Food, clothing, fuel included. Secondly, the healthcare we receive is only for the basics, like a doctors office visit. Anything beyond that and we pay through the nose. Luckily, I have co-pay at my place of work (80/20) and pay over $80.00 per pay for this benefit on top of my taxes. This is for a single person, a family easily pays $120.00. Healthcare is a huge cost and everyone needs to share in it. I don't know what the silver bullet is to solve the rising cost. Most companies are trying to share the cost, why should WDW be any different? In my opinion they are attempting to do this in a fair manner, however I must admit that I do not know the details of the contract.

Where I live the minimum wage is $6.50CDN (5.39US) experienced and $6.05CDN ($5.02US) inexperienced an hour. I'm sure if you told these people that it was at going to go up by at least .10 a year they would be VERY happy. Our minimum is set by the province, I don't know enough about the state system to know if this is the same there. Again, I wonder how many people in my province actually make the absolute bare minimum. When I did a recent camparision through a website between my city and Orlando, the cost of living was identical.

What you do not want, CM's, is a strike! My friends, whom I left at my old company went on strike to defend healthcare, pension and pay. It was to show the company they meant business. Over 5 months of strike time later, the contract finally accepted was basically the same as the one 5 months earlier! 4% wage increase over the next three years, new employees only receieve the RRSP (your 401k) program, part timers will be up and healthcare costs to increase but not to the exact same level. Some people have gone bankrupt, some are now deep in debt form borrowing to help pay their family expenses. They were receiving $120.00CDN (99.60US) a week before taxes strike pay, but even that came to an end shortly after the strike began. The company even cancelled all employees healthcare insurance and the employees were left to pay 100% during the strike. Do you think the 4% they received will be made back during the length of the contract? I just don't want you to make the wrong move and end up worse than it is now.

Just my 2 cents.

CJ

 

[Main Street USA]

the CM's are asking to be treated fairly.

LOL. Your argument doesn't even hold a DROP of water.

You agreed that you were being treated fairly when you accepted the job in the first place. That's the bottom line.

How any of you think you can argue that you're being treated "unfairly" after accepting a job offer you had EVERY RIGHT to turn down is beyond me. In fact, it ridiculous. If you had taken the time to be responsible in the first place and actually review, or even read at all, what you were accepting, maybe you'd realize you have nothing to stand on here.

That's simple logic, folks. If that can't be understood, then it's easy for me to understand why you're still working at a place where you're unhappy.

 

[TURKEY]

So how much do the union workers that are scraping by have to pay in Union dues? And what is the assessment percentage the Union takes out of each check. It seems as though if the union was so concerned about healthcare costs and living wages they would reduce dues/assessments or have a supplemental health care plan for its members. Just so you know I do some part time work with the IATSE and even though I am not a member of the Union money still gets taken out of every check for the union gigs.

Union Heads in my opinion are the same as the Corporate Management that everyone hates so much. It is all about them, no longer is it about the people they used to fight for.

On wages, the market determines what a wage will be. If there are enough people willing to work at a given wage then that is where it will be set. If no one will work for the set wage or there is a great demand for workers then the wages will be adjusted higher. You cannot expect for a company that has a responsibility to stay viable to pay wages consistently above the market threshold.

I find it funny that union dues are being raised by $.25.

 

[TURKEY]

So, why does the contract seem to equate skilled and non skilled labor? Does it really take the same amount of skill to sell a Churo as it does to Drive a steam locomotive?

I wish the unions would at least seperate into multiple groups instead of 6 as 1 that are based on skill sets needed for roles.

 

[daksimba]

1. Where the hell are half of you living? I want to live in the place where you can just leave your job of several years and go right out and get a job that pays more money, with no time or effort to find that job. And to do this at a time of high unemployment too.

2. Get a second job? Disney's contract with us says that they can change our schedules at will, as long as they give us 24 hour notice. They schedule ever changing shifts because the amount of bid lines available is very slim. Your second job I'm sure loves it when you have to ask to change your schedule a day before you work.

3. Some of us started working for Disney because we believed in what Disney used to be. However the magic that we came to work for has shriveled up and died. However, we stay to try to restore that magic. Why? Because we believe in it. We believe that Disney is a special place that is made by those "unskilled" workers. The number one compliment that Disney always gets is "how clean it is!" Guess what, that is those unskilled workers. Guests always comment on how nice all the employees are. Guess what, 95% of their contact with CMs is unskilled labor. We make up the #1 thing that brings guests to our parks over other theme parks. Yet we get the worse pay and the worse treatment. They want us to pay the same Health Care as management, but gives us less pay.

4. Sure, in most cases, 4% is a good raise. But when the starting standard is lower than 4%, you are still coming out below average. Hell, unskilled labor at McDonalds makes more money than us. And for those people at top out that haven't gotten anything more than "cost of living" raises in 10 years, I'm sure another 3 years of no raises won't hurt. (read sarcasm)

 

[SpaceRacer2003]

You agreed that you were being treated fairly when you accepted the job in the first place.

You got that right... kinda, the agreement that was inplace at that time ensured things like a consistant raise and clearly defined healthcare costs along with a laundry list of other items. The proposal for a NEW agreement, did not clearly define the boundries that needed to be addressed and took away major bargaining tools, it was not fair.

Should one now accept an unfair offer, just because one had decided to accept the previous offer (when hired, or in past renewals) that at the time was fair?

 

[cherrynegra]

Posted on Fri, Nov. 12, 2004

Disney World, unions hope mediators help resolve contract dispute

MIKE SCHNEIDER

Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. - Union officials representing 40 percent of Walt Disney World's 52,000-person work force asked a mediator Friday to help them reach a contract with the company after a third proposal was rejected by members who also authorized a strike, if necessary.

Federal mediator Conrad Bowling planned to meet Monday at an Orlando hotel with Disney officials and leaders of the six unions that make up the Service Trades Council Union. The council's members Thursday rejected a contract proposal, for the third time, by a vote of 3,686 to 2,827.

Opponents of the contract proposal said the wage increases weren't enough to offset hikes in the cost of health insurance.

"We hope the mediator helps, but the mediator doesn't have the ability to make either side change their minds," said Ed Chambers, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 1625, who had recommended approving the contract proposal.

Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Polak said the company hopes mediation leads to another vote next week so that the 20,000 workers covered by the contract can get the proposed bonuses and retroactive pay before the holiday season.

Polak said the company wouldn't budge on the money being offered to union members but may be open to noneconomic changes in the contract.

Under the last contract proposal, nontipped workers who currently earn top scale would have received a 20-cents-an-hour increase and a lump-sum bonus of between $1,500 and $1,700 during the contract's first year. In the second year, they would have received another lump sum, and in the third year they would get a 25-cents-an-hour wage increase.

The starting minimum wage of $6.70 an hour would have increased by 10 cents an hour for each year of the contract. Other workers in between the minimum and top scale wages would have received a 4 percent annual increase.

 

[cm1988]

...We believe that Disney is a special place that is made by those "unskilled" workers. The number one compliment that Disney always gets is "how clean it is!" Guess what, that is those unskilled workers. Guests always comment on how nice all the employees are. Guess what, 95% of their contact with CMs is unskilled labor...

I'm with you, Simba.

And I hear you folks who say, "Well, gosh, no one's forcing them to work at Disney. They can quit if they don't like the pay." That's surely an opportunity I've had for over 16 years, but instead elected to invest that time with WDW Co. In many ways, it has paid off.

That doesn't change my conviction that WDW Co... and our market economy has its issues as well as its successes. I've seen the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Disney's fault? Hardly. Anyone's fault in particular? Well, no.

I haven't heard a solution to the problem. All I can say is, the problem is so much around me at WDW, I have to speak about it. You many thoughtful readers out there... our very valued Guests who have enjoyed the Parks and Resorts over the years... you make our wages possible. We enjoy those "magical moments" and seeing your smiles and we feel a genuine connection with you.

So I know that you do in fact care, and would like us to be able to stay with WDW while earning enough for a decent apartment, a car that runs, food, electricty, medical coverage. The fact is, current hourly wages do not rise to that mark... yet Disney is paying more than most comparable employers. They're being "more than fair".

I'm just saying we still have a problem here and it goes far, far beyond WDW. And I believe most of you good folks in your hearts care about it.

 

[Number_6]

I wanted to chime in since I just got hired to work for WDW. I'm moving down from Massachusetts. The house sale there closes on the 22nd of this month, we will have a nice sum left over after the purchase of a house in Orlando that what Disney will be paying will be okay at first, because we won't have to worry as much. But, even if that wasn't the case, the reason I applied is because I do actually have a skilled trade. I can work any job in television or radio broadcasting and by extension, any jobs requiring technical knowledge such as audio board ops, which you find at shows such as Illuminations or Fantasmic. Am I currently assigned to such a location, or even ESPN Club, Radio Disney or The Disney Channel? No, I am a brand spanking new hire with no senority that is going to be working outside The Boardwalk. And Part-time at that. Why did I accept this position? Well, a couple of reasons, really. One is that I have always loved Disney and even if I were to leave in 2 years because of lack of advancement, I would still appreciate that maybe during that time I made someone's day a little better and a little more magic. The second is that I believe in my skills and my training and that I do have a chance at moving to a different area that falls within my training if I am already with the company as opposed to trying to wait for a position to open and try to compete from the outside against people that are already there that might have the same amount of technical training. Now, I read what I am getting paid to start with, I know it's lower than I had been making, but when you consider what I had been making was difficult to live on in Massachusetts, especially with my house being close to Boston in one of the most expensive areas(I inherited it, I did not buy it myself) then it's not much of a difference in the end. I am going to try to get switched to full-time because my primary concern right now is health care coverage. Neither I, nor my family currently has health coverage, so if any of us get sick, we really are screwed. I am an optimist, though, and believe that if I stick with things, everything will work out in the end. And before anyone starts commenting on that being a naive way to look at things, I do have my reasons and they are personal, but if you really feel you must know why I think that, then PM me and I'll tell you.

But in the end, if I were in the Union when this recent contract was offered, the one thing that would have had me vote it down would be the fact that the cost of healthcare would increase more than the amount of my pay increase. That would really be about it. I think that's a reasonable objection though and since the increase in healthcare costs is not something that I, or technically Disney really controls, then I wouldn't be that ticked off at Disney itself. A company I used to work for actually did explain the way things worked for them when they got complaints about the increase in healthcare costs. This is how they explained it, so if it is incorrect, blame my past employers: The insurance company sets the increase that they want to charge to the corporation for insuring the employees. The company decides how much of that cost can be reasonably absorbed by the company so that employees are not paying what would be the full amount charged by the insurance company. Whatever is leftover is what the employees must pay out each.