Cast Member Wages

[Matt_Black]

Most executives in this country are overpaid. There was a study looking at the ratio of average executive pay to average worker pay in various countries. In Japan, it was 10 to 1. In other countries, it was anywhere from 20-50 to 1. In the U.S.? TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY to 1. That's absolutely ridiculous.

 

[Disney.Mike]

I agree it's ridiculous... the workers should increase productivity and strive to improve to make more money instead of complaining about CEO pay

 

[Matt_Black]

I agree it's ridiculous... the workers should increase productivity and strive to improve to make more money instead of complaining about CEO pay

...

...

 

[DznyGrlSD]

You don't work at Disney for the money...that's for sure. That's the #1 reason I didn't stay in FL after my CP and the #1 reason I haven't moved back to FL yet. I would LOVE to work for Disney again but tbh I can't afford to.

 

[aw14]

There are so many different angles at work in this thread, it is a bit dizzying. At the end of the day, it is about choice.

I made a choice to go back to school, get 2 advanced degrees, which would then allow me the opportunity to make more money to support my family. All the while accumulating a great deal of student loan debt...again, my choice.

I could have easily stayed in my private sector job, with my bachelors and toiled away for years (my sentiment, not everyones)

Its fine to complain "CEO's are overpaid, lower end workers are underpaid...etc". However, its hypocritical to believe that anyone in this thread would not accept Iger's check with a smile on their face. To the point, it is everyone's PERSONAL CHOICE to apply, and accept if offered a position at Disney. Last I heard, Disney isn't forcing anyone to work for them.

On the other side, I know somewhere in this thread was the logic of raising the minimum wage, and all the hullabaloo going on right now about that nonsense. No one ever looks at the unintended consequences of that, and how those minimum wage employees lose more than they gain from it.

C'est la vie

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Also consider.... The attached image is for a 1 bedroom apartment near Disney. I can vouch these prices are similar everywhere in Orlando. Your only option is to have roommates, which is fine, but its not an outrageous thing to want a place to call YOUR home.

Protip: If you want a nice apartment, don't try and make "cashier at Flame Tree BBQ" a career. It ain't one.

Entry-level jobs are for entry-level workers. If you're working an entry-level job for your whole career, that's on you.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I agree it's ridiculous... the workers should increase productivity and strive to improve to make more money instead of complaining about CEO pay

There's a big old heap of complete unawareness and lack of understanding in that statement. Be that it were that simple.

 

[Disney.Mike]

I'm not sure why its not that simple. I got out of the military because of a lack of upward mobility. But while I was in in I got certified in my field (IT) and upon separation landed a very good job in a very low cost of living area. Since military seperation (3 years ago) my salary has increased an average ofover 15% a year. it can be done... it just requires work ethic above and beyond the "i'm here for 8 hours to collect a paycheck" mentality.

 

[thomas998]

Why do Cast Members accept a relatively low wage while working at Walt Disney World? Does it have to do with employee empowerment, the job setting or management styles? Let me know what you're thoughts are on this topic!

In the end it is simple economics of supply and demand. If lots of people want to work for a company then the company, and all the people that are seeking to work there are capable of doing the job then the company can pay less because the members of the group do not all have the same price they will charge as labor... By having a lower wage Disney will get the slice of people willing to work for that wage and others that might like to work there but wont will not accept it but it still fills the roles that Disney needs filled.... If Disney were a smelly septic tank that needed people to scoop out the tank with their bare hands then you would expect very few people would be willing to do that job and the wages would need to be higher to get anyone to do the job.... That applies to Disney...

Then of course you throw in the fact that some colleges will allow their students to work and Disney and get some kind of credit for that and you get another group that see it as an easier option than taking classes and it pays them something so they will have a lower price point... and of course the foreign students that want to see the US and see it as a cheap way to do that....

In the end Disney is just paying the minimum they feel they need to to attract the workers they want.

 

[raven]

Also one note worth pointing out for people who say "Why don't you go work somewhere else" well Disney is the largest employer and most of the other jobs in the area are service industry related and they all pay similarly. So with the exception of moving elsewhere Disney is the best option for THOUSANDS of people in the central florida area. All of this is not a jab at Disney, because there certainly are thousands of well paying jobs within the company, but the service industry as a whole in the fact that they do not pay typically enough to cover living in the area.

Very true. And I'd also like to add that since Disney is the leader in the industry, other businesses look to Disney and will only pay their employees that same wage. I honestly believe this is what's drives the low economy in Central Florida. Disney will often spend a million $ to "research the wages for like positions" in the area. But they are the ones who set the bar, so money well spent.

Also consider.... The attached image is for a 1 bedroom apartment near Disney. I can vouch these prices are similar everywhere in Orlando. Your only option is to have roommates, which is fine, but its not an outrageous thing to want a place to call YOUR home.

Correct. It is extremely difficult to live alone working for the industry here. I will have an open room available come Sept. 1st that I will need to fill in my own place. Any takers?

 

[flynnibus]

I agree it's ridiculous... the workers should increase productivity and strive to improve to make more money instead of complaining about CEO pay

They have... And the gap still increases.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stan-sorscher/we-decide-how-to-share-ga_b_3185721.html

 

[flynnibus]

I'm not sure why its not that simple. I got out of the military because of a lack of upward mobility. But while I was in in I got certified in my field (IT) and upon separation landed a very good job in a very low cost of living area. Since military seperation (3 years ago) my salary has increased an average ofover 15% a year. it can be done... it just requires work ethic above and beyond the "i'm here for 8 hours to collect a paycheck" mentality.

Congrats... Now once you actually get some actual experience you might see more of the world and stop being dismissive of things beyond your horizon.

Growth at the bottom is easy because it's full of crap. It's when you move beyond the top 10 percent or so the game changes significantly.

No upward mobility in the military? Man you are in for a rude awakening if you think that...

 

[Goingdown13]

Protip: If you want a nice apartment, don't try and make "cashier at Flame Tree BBQ" a career. It ain't one.

Entry-level jobs are for entry-level workers. If you're working an entry-level job for your whole career, that's on you.

Even the not so nice apartments are still around the same price. A CHEAP apartment is $800 right now.

 

[Goofyernmost]

They have... And the gap still increases.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stan-sorscher/we-decide-how-to-share-ga_b_3185721.html

Curious, mid 70's? I wonder how much long term affect the oil embargo created. Also, before the 70's it a huge move wasn't that difficult considering how low it started.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

They have... And the gap still increases.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stan-sorscher/we-decide-how-to-share-ga_b_3185721.html

Graph fail.

That shows sector--i.e. total--productivity. It says nothing about labor productivity. Total productivity has increased due to automation, i.e. robots, i.e. workers themselves are actually less productive. Flat inflation-adjusted wages are exactly what you would expect if you know what "inflation-adjusted" means.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Even the not so nice apartments are still around the same price. A CHEAP apartment is $800 right now.

My point still remains. Entry-level work is not career work, and workers shouldn't expect to make a career-level wages in those types of positions. Entry-level work exists to give employers cheap labor while teaching employees basic work skills such as punctuality, courteousness, and cooperation. It's the bottom rung of the ladder, and it's a sad commentary on the entitled mentality of today's generation that they expect to reap the rewards of higher rungs of that ladder without doing the work necessary to get there.

 

[Matt_Black]

workers themselves are actually less productive.

Do you have sources for that claim?

 

[flynnibus]

Graph fail.

That shows sector--i.e. total--productivity. It says nothing about labor productivity. Total productivity has increased due to automation, i.e. robots, i.e. workers themselves are actually less productive. Flat inflation-adjusted wages are exactly what you would expect if you know what "inflation-adjusted" means.

You can read on through their various articles on the topic where they address the automation point. But still, that does not explain how the gap has increased... Are we saying executives are now that many more multiples more effective than they were just 40 years ago... So their multiples go up, but the workers do not?

The series of articles is really about the social change of sharing the success verse the shift to greed is the norm.

Robots, oil, unions... Those didn't cause the inflexion point.

My bigger problem with the articles is their lack of sourcing and citations for their facts.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Do you have sources for that claim?

I'll edit my prior post to reflect this more accurately, but my argument is not that workers are less productive individually, but simply that labor (in total) is a smaller share of total productivity as automation increases. Thus, it's automation that's driving total increases.

https://hbr.org/2015/06/robots-seem-to-be-improving-productivity-not-costing-jobs

 

[CaptainAmerica]

You can read on through their various articles on the topic where they address the automation point. But still, that does not explain how the gap has increased... Are we saying executives are now that many more multiples more effective than they were just 40 years ago... So their multiples go up, but the workers do not?

That graph doesn't have anything to do with executives versus laborers. The graph shows a gap between increased productivity and real wages. That gap, as I already stated, has to do with automation. When automation increases, there's a corresponding increase in the profitability of investors. The risk of automation is in the capital that gets tied up in property, plant, and equipment. Increased productivity is the price premium of bearing that risk.

The series of articles is really about the social change of sharing the success verse the shift to greed is the norm.

You sound like Karl Marx.

Separately, "sharing the success" with the workers means the workers are more expensive, which means that automation will accelerate and have a deleterious effect on the livelihoods of the people these policies purport to protect.