Cast Member Pay & Labor Laws

Raineman

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
There has been alot of talk over the last few years, especially recently, about Disney not paying a livable wage to CMs at WDW and DLR. I live in Canada, in the province of Ontario, and we have minimum wage laws that ensure employers cannot lowball employees' pay rate. The minimum wage was recently increased to $14.25/hour (CAD, of course) here in Ontario, with some provinces are as high as $15/hr. Is the issue with CMs pay a pay rate issue, or a cost of living issue? Does California and Florida have a minimum wage law, and how low is the minimum? I've seen some stats that amusement park employees here-ride operators, foodservice workers, janitorial staff, guest relations-make an average of $15/hour, which is at or slightly above minimum wage.
 

JaxFLBear

Well-Known Member
Does California and Florida have a minimum wage law, and how low is the minimum?
US Federal Minimum Wage: $7.25 per hour
FL Minimum Wage: $8.56 per hour
CA Minimum Wage: $14.00 per hour

For tipped employees (mostly food servers), the minimum cash wage is typically lower than for non-tipped positions. The Employee is required to report tips to their employer and if the combined cash wage and tips is less than the non-tipped hourly wage, the employer must make up the difference.

Disney and Universal have already announced plans to increase theme park workers starting pay to $15 per hour.
 
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castlecake2.0

Well-Known Member
There has been alot of talk over the last few years, especially recently, about Disney not paying a livable wage to CMs at WDW and DLR. I live in Canada, in the province of Ontario, and we have minimum wage laws that ensure employers cannot lowball employees' pay rate. The minimum wage was recently increased to $14.25/hour (CAD, of course) here in Ontario, with some provinces are as high as $15/hr. Is the issue with CMs pay a pay rate issue, or a cost of living issue? Does California and Florida have a minimum wage law, and how low is the minimum? I've seen some stats that amusement park employees here-ride operators, foodservice workers, janitorial staff, guest relations-make an average of $15/hour, which is at or slightly above minimum wage.
Im originally from Ontario too. By the end of the year Disney pay at WDW will start at $15/hr for most roles, some roles like housekeeping are already $16/hr. I think part of the issue is that minimum wage isn’t meant to support a family. If you want a house, a partner, a car, and two kids, then being a popcorn vendor on Main Street probably isn’t going to pay the bills. If you want to take public transit and have an apartment with a roommate then you’d be ok. I don’t think it’s a pay rate or cost of living issue, it’s a having a job that doesn’t match your lifestyle issue. And seeing how hard of a time Disney is having hiring, I think a lot of people realized that. That’s why they rely so heavily on CPs and CRPs, to help fill out the lower ranks.
 

JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
Younger adults in their 20s are marrying less, having less kids when they do get in relationships, spend recklessly and run up debt. They are not buying homes due to the costs and renting instead. In a lot of cases their college debt is massive and the degrees they come out with are useless to them. So Disneys $15 / hour wage, the employee perks, and the possibility of advancing over time sounds like a good option for many. There are worse companies to work for than Disney.
 

eliza61nyc

Well-Known Member
Yes, they do get minimum wage. Remember though minimum wage and a livable wage are not the same thing.

Here in the states many jobs are by design entry level, low wage jobs. They are not jobs that people can live, have a family, go on vacation with. They use to be jobs the youngsters did to introduce them to the working world. The problem is we got lazy, people that now pump gas and flip hamburgers want to be paid 30, 40 thousand dollars.

Now I live in the North East coast of the United States. Anyone who works as a cashier at Walmart and thinks they are going to be able to live comfortably in NYC is insane. If you pump gas at Wawa or work at six flags, I don't care how many hours, no that does not entitle some one to have a "livable" wage.

So it's a combination of employer providing a competitive wage and the employee working to get the better jobs.
 

eliza61nyc

Well-Known Member
The way CPI is going they'll be in the same boat at $15 that they were at $8.
And that's the danger of this "everyone" should get a livable salary. When this first started the fast food workers were striking for 15.00 an hour. Now here where I'm at they want 20.00/hr because they now claim 15 is not enough.
Hey why not just ask for 80-90k a year, I mean everyone wants to pay 25 bucks for a burger.

Now please don't twist my opinion, every cast member deserves respect and a safe work environment. They do not deserve to be harassed, bullied, intimidated or humiliated by guest or supervisors.
 

Lilofan

Well-Known Member
There has been alot of talk over the last few years, especially recently, about Disney not paying a livable wage to CMs at WDW and DLR. I live in Canada, in the province of Ontario, and we have minimum wage laws that ensure employers cannot lowball employees' pay rate. The minimum wage was recently increased to $14.25/hour (CAD, of course) here in Ontario, with some provinces are as high as $15/hr. Is the issue with CMs pay a pay rate issue, or a cost of living issue? Does California and Florida have a minimum wage law, and how low is the minimum? I've seen some stats that amusement park employees here-ride operators, foodservice workers, janitorial staff, guest relations-make an average of $15/hour, which is at or slightly above minimum wage.
Canada has socialized health care do that perhaps can be a savings for doctor visits, medical procedures etc in relations to COL expenses. Health care especially if an employee has to purchase private insurance if the company does not offer health insurance is very expensive.
 
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Lilofan

Well-Known Member
And that's the danger of this "everyone" should get a livable salary. When this first started the fast food workers were striking for 15.00 an hour. Now here where I'm at they want 20.00/hr because they now claim 15 is not enough.
Hey why not just ask for 80-90k a year, I mean everyone wants to pay 25 bucks for a burger.

Now please don't twist my opinion, every cast member deserves respect and a safe work environment. They do not deserve to be harassed, bullied, intimidated or humiliated by guest or supervisors.
Unfortunately the reputation of bad behavior on vacation " what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas " makes a few feel free to act out. Feel free to substitute Vegas for another location.
 

Vegas Disney Fan

Well-Known Member
US Federal Minimum Wage: $7.25 per hour
FL Minimum Wage: $8.56 per hour
CA Minimum Wage: $14.00 per hour

For tipped employees (mostly food servers), the minimum cash wage is typically lower than for non-tipped positions. The Employee is required to report tips to their employer and if the combined cash wage and tips is less than the non-tipped hourly wage, the employer must make up the difference.

Disney and Universal have already announced plans to increase theme park workers starting pay to $15 per hour.
Florida’s wage goes up to $10 an hour in Sept and then increases another $1 an hour every September until it becomes $15 an hour in Sept 2026.
 

Squidney

Active Member
And that's the danger of this "everyone" should get a livable salary. When this first started the fast food workers were striking for 15.00 an hour. Now here where I'm at they want 20.00/hr because they now claim 15 is not enough.
Hey why not just ask for 80-90k a year, I mean everyone wants to pay 25 bucks for a burger.

Now please don't twist my opinion, every cast member deserves respect and a safe work environment. They do not deserve to be harassed, bullied, intimidated or humiliated by guest or supervisors.

We're at the point where they will want $30 an hour in 10 years because "20 is not enough". Eventually, the prices we pay for every day items are going to rise because people working low end jobs want high end money. Imagine paying 20 bucks for a Big Mac at McDonald's because the kid in the back who didn't wash his hands after using the bathroom wanted that 30 bucks.
 

Poseidon Quest

Well-Known Member
I see that this thread consists of a lot of misinformation, but the answer is that both factors are an issue. Inflation in the United States has not kept up with the cost of living, and while numbers fluctuate as to what the necessary cost of living is, it really is an issue decades in the making. The cost of living in the suburbs and cities of Florida is also quite high, despite the perception that it's relatively cheap. Compared to New York? Sure. But not for the low costs of what people are being paid here.

I see a lot of people in this thread want to place blame on the "laziness" of younger workers, and yet these are the people who would undoubtedly make poor employees themselves. Realistically, a livable wage should be somewhere around $16-$23 an hour (debatable depending on where you live and other factors taken into consideration).
 

eliza61nyc

Well-Known Member
re.

I see a lot of people in this thread want to place blame on the "laziness" of younger workers, and yet these are the people who would undoubtedly make poor employees themselves. Realistically, a livable wage should be somewhere around $16-$23 an hour (debatable depending on where you live and other factors taken into consideration).
okay so I apologize, maybe "laziness" is not a correct assessment but I will stand by "misinformed" and I say this from experience trying to pull, drag and guide my 20 somethings into adulthood.

I am sorry poseidon but yes I think if you take a job at Mcdonalds thinking you will have a "normal" for lack of a better description adult life than you are seriously misguided. I mean doesn't counting come into play, again just from personal experience it took me no time to figure out the walmart salary wasn't going to cut it. heck, it barely covered the rent and I had 2 roommates.

now the issues isn't what a livable wage is, but whether or not all jobs are meant to be paid that. Yes in Philadelphia a livable wage is around 23 hour, no I don't think my son pumping gas should make that

So I'm guessing Orlando's main industry is entertainment which is historically a low wage industry especially the front line workers, so now the problem becomes what happens in say five years??
and lastly saying stuff like let's pay them a "livable" wage is simple yet no one seems to have answered my simple question? where does that money come from?? we already complain about the cost of a wdw vacation, okay so now you want to literally double everyone's salary where's that dough come from.
 

Lil Copter Cap

Well-Known Member
Some (most?) companies pay Cost of Labor as opposed to Cost of Living. They know that as long as they remain "competitive" with those in the area, they can grab talent and retain them because every other employer in a given industry will not offer a higher wage.

For example, Retail Store A and Retail Store B pay $13 /hr. But Retail Store C sees Retail Store A & B's hourly wage and is willing to pay $14 /hr to not only give the appearance of being the better company with higher pay, but also keep employees with them longer (who would leave Retail Store C for A & B for less pay?)

The real problem is ever allowing companies to get away with NOT paying Cost of Living. It's despicable.
 

eliza61nyc

Well-Known Member
Some (most?) companies pay Cost of Labor as opposed to Cost of Living. They know that as long as they remain "competitive" with those in the area, they can grab talent and retain them because every other employer in a given industry will not offer a higher wage.

For example, Retail Store A and Retail Store B pay $13 /hr. But Retail Store C sees Retail Store A & B's hourly wage and is willing to pay $14 /hr to not only give the appearance of being the better company with higher pay, but also keep employees with them longer (who would leave Retail Store C for A & B for less pay?)

The real problem is ever allowing companies to get away with NOT paying Cost of Living. It's despicable.
It's a bit more complicated than "getting" away with. Let's go with your example, retail store A sells a children's product, they jave calculated the cost of running a business (retail rent, utilities, purchasing product) along with wages for 2 employees.
Now they have done their homework, they know exactly what John q public will pay for children shoes and they charge enough to pay his entry level employees a few dollars over minimum wage. Oh wait but now they want double that because they want "livable" wages. So he raises the price of his product 30% because money doesn't just fall from the sky, now we have a problem because the customer isn't going to purchase his product at that price. What does this Despicable business owner do??
Lol someone mentioned that if he can't afford to pay livable wages he shouldn't be in business. Well that's a great solution.
 

Poseidon Quest

Well-Known Member
I am sorry poseidon but yes I think if you take a job at Mcdonalds thinking you will have a "normal" for lack of a better description adult life than you are seriously misguided. I mean doesn't counting come into play, again just from personal experience it took me no time to figure out the walmart salary wasn't going to cut it. heck, it barely covered the rent and I had 2 roommates.

now the issues isn't what a livable wage is, but whether or not all jobs are meant to be paid that. Yes in Philadelphia a livable wage is around 23 hour, no I don't think my son pumping gas should make that

So I'm guessing Orlando's main industry is entertainment which is historically a low wage industry especially the front line workers, so now the problem becomes what happens in say five years??
and lastly saying stuff like let's pay them a "livable" wage is simple yet no one seems to have answered my simple question? where does that money come from?? we already complain about the cost of a wdw vacation, okay so now you want to literally double everyone's salary where's that dough come from.

The majority of businesses out there are completely capable of paying a living wage and it's better for businesses to do so anyways. More money = more spending which = sustainable profitability. The money is very obviously there and Disney is the perfect example of that.
 

Poseidon Quest

Well-Known Member
It's a bit more complicated than "getting" away with. Let's go with your example, retail store A sells a children's product, they jave calculated the cost of running a business (retail rent, utilities, purchasing product) along with wages for 2 employees.
Now they have done their homework, they know exactly what John q public will pay for children shoes and they charge enough to pay his entry level employees a few dollars over minimum wage. Oh wait but now they want double that because they want "livable" wages. So he raises the price of his product 30% because money doesn't just fall from the sky, now we have a problem because the customer isn't going to purchase his product at that price. What does this Despicable business owner do??
Lol someone mentioned that if he can't afford to pay livable wages he shouldn't be in business. Well that's a great solution.

Also, don't even attempt to explain how a business works to educated people. You clearly don't have the faintest idea.
 

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
It's a bit more complicated than "getting" away with. Let's go with your example, retail store A sells a children's product, they jave calculated the cost of running a business (retail rent, utilities, purchasing product) along with wages for 2 employees.
Now they have done their homework, they know exactly what John q public will pay for children shoes and they charge enough to pay his entry level employees a few dollars over minimum wage. Oh wait but now they want double that because they want "livable" wages. So he raises the price of his product 30% because money doesn't just fall from the sky, now we have a problem because the customer isn't going to purchase his product at that price. What does this Despicable business owner do??
Lol someone mentioned that if he can't afford to pay livable wages he shouldn't be in business. Well that's a great solution.
A couple of years ago, @lentesta did the math and for Walt Disney World to offer a living wage (I believe he used MIT’s calculator) and maintain the same profit margins, cost increases would be measured in cents. This is something we’re seeing across the board with larger companies. They absolutely can afford to pay better and Disney in particular used to pay better and treat employees better.
 

eliza61nyc

Well-Known Member
Also, don't even attempt to explain how a business works to educated people. You clearly don't have the faintest idea.
I guess I don't 🤗 yet I do find it interesting that all you folks who so easily say "just pay them more" have yet to answer a very simple "Business" question of where do the funds for this jump in salary come from.
Lol I may not be Warren Buffett but I can do a balance sheet.
 

Poseidon Quest

Well-Known Member
I guess I don't 🤗 yet I do find it interesting that all you folks who so easily say "just pay them more" have yet to answer a very simple "Business" question of where do the funds for this jump in salary come from.
Lol I may not be Warren Buffett but I can do a balance sheet.

Can you? You've just admitted to having no knowledge in the topic at hand, but chose to spread false information regardless in a thinly veiled attempt at self-affirmation. Disney could very easily "just pay more" if they chose to do so, but that's not what shareholders want.
 

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