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Disney Labor Shortage
- Thread starter Corgi
- Start date
WDW's minimum wage has been $14 this past year and will go to $15 in the Fall (under a union plan agreed to a few years ago).
FL's minum wage is: $8.65. A ballot initiative forced FL's minimum wage to increase to $15... by 2026. (Tip employees get $3/hr less than minimum.)
Uni just raised theirs to $15, as has many businesses hungry for workers.
CastAStone
5th gate? Just build a new resort Bob.
The union contract ends in Oct 2022 and it would not surprise me if Disney and UNITE Here have quietly started poking back and forth with Disney possibly wanting to raise wages more quickly to deal with their labor shortage. That is 100% speculation, but it’s worth noting that they are clearly in open discussions as many of the Covid rule rollbacks required union leadership approval.
Disstevefan1
Well-Known Member
Disney Parks laid off some 32,000 workers due to covid.
The layoffs were quick and easy for Disney, some getting just an email saying they were laid off.
Obviously, it's a lot harder to onboard employees and who knows how many were laid off never to return.
Uhaul took full advantage of consumer demand to relocate when rates were also sky high during covid while many were laid off throughout the nation. To rent a Uhaul truck to move from San Francisco to Dallas a few months ago which is a cheaper cost of living was $4K. It would not be surprising that some that were laid off left Central FL.
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
Right to lay off state...I’ll remind...any “wins” by the unions/trades are typically 100% dictated by Disney.
Now if the labor crunch continues for another year?? Then maybe you got something. Can’t overcharge for what you can’t staff.
It’s just a long time to “sit tight”
you don’t get rich working for Disney unless you have a parking space in view of a dwarf. They’re wages are fine now...but still not a lot of money If we cut through it. Plus the management is underpaid by industry standards (get to wear your own shirt and clever name tag though)...
and since Orlando is about 90% tourism driven (the locals decry its not so...they’re wrong)...when you get a raise it’s immediately sucked up by housing, utilities and entertainment. Trickle up. Not like these figures don’t get to the sentinel.
it was a LONG Time to wait and depend on florida UE (and the federal stuff financed by the big evil yankee states)...
I can see exodus by fear or need. The travel Train ground to a halt with no end of the tunnel in sight. It would have scared me.
TK294
Member
In the 2 months or so we've lived here, we have encountered that several times. It's not just the theme parks having that problem. We've noticed it also happening at banks, Walmart and two of the largest fast food chains. A local landscaper and a painter are also having staffing issues.
Forget about making reservations for this weekend (Father's Day).
We're praying everything gets better and more people have the opportunity to work.
spock8113
Well-Known Member
With all the government money being thrown around to "help" people out, some have found they make more money on unemployment with the extra temporary benefits. That will probably end in another month or two and then people will either go back to work or unemployment will jump significantly. I think Disney is hiring "new" people back but at a lower salary than what some were making before the pandemic. "It's the economics, stupid." I don't know what Disney got, if anything thru the pandemic, but they certainly got a considerable savings with the 2017 tax cuts (35% down to 21%-not that they were paying that much). Companies who got these tax breaks said they would apply the money to improving their businesses, raising salaries, benefits and hire more people. It doesn't sound like that is happening. So far it's mostly been stock buy-backs with the exception of Walmart who allegedly DID increase their employees salaries.
We'll see the effect of ending the Fed subsidy soon enough...
www.cnet.com
Here are the new end dates for the 25 states announcing an early halt to enhanced jobless benefits. If your state is not listed below, those benefits are set to expire on Labor Day.
Early end dates for enhanced jobless benefits in 25 states
Expiration | State |
|---|---|
June 12 | Alaska, Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri |
June 19 | Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, West Virginia, Wyoming |
June 26 | Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah |
June 27 | Montana, Oklahoma |
July 3 | Maryland, Tennessee |
July 10 | Arizona |
Some of those states, including Arizona, Montana, New Hampshire and Oklahoma, will instead offer financial incentives for individuals to find work.
States that are not ceasing their participation in federal programs could reimpose stricter rules -- many of which were suspended during the pandemic -- for those collecting unemployment. Hawaii, for example, is requiring that jobless workers prove they are actively searching for work.
Other states, like Colorado and Connecticut, are continuing the $300 payments but offering their own new-job bonuses. New York may also join in implementing signing bonuses for those who take and hold a job. Since each state has varying requirements, check with your state for rules.
These states are ending unemployment benefits and $300 bonus this week
Four states have already cut off jobless benefits, and eight more are scheduled to end aid this Saturday. We'll tell you about state expiration dates, unemployment tax refunds and more.
www.cnet.com
Some of the biggest labor shortages are call centers or even WDW in general. Tried calling the WDW operator, not even a hello, just put on hold for 10 min and I just hung up. At the parks we've met some cast members that are seniors who said they work a few months a year at WDW then live the rest of the year up North. That specific group may have been impacted since seniors are the most vulnerable group regarding covid. Getting a contractor , one can forget getting someone quickly. I have talked with one. He said he can't even get an extra helper. He said some can make the same money staying home. Some have found an opportunity - stay at home and get paid.
Another sticking point is people have been saying "if you don't like your job waitressing/flipping burgers/cashiering, get a different job".
So they did, and now people are irritated they don't have enough people to serve them??
I’ve said that for years, and I’m not irritated, I’m quite enjoying watching it unfold truth be told.
It’s a great argument for raising wages. Something I feel should have already happened instead of desperate attempts at hiring people by saying you can now have tattoos and nail varnish.
John park hopper
Well-Known Member
Supply and demand --if Disney has a labor shortage and they want quality people they will have to pay more. But then again Disney is beholden to their stock holders and if they can get away with less staff it means a bigger bottom line. Get used to over flowing trash cans
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graphite1326
Well-Known Member
me too
It has been a while but at the entrance of Star Tours at DHS, the CMs enforced all guests dump their food and drinks in the trashcan before entering interior queue line. Looks like times have changed.
The problem with having so many trash cans is that you have to have so many people on staff to empty them occasionally.
Willmark
Well-Known Member
Why not make it $25 or $35 then? Surely more is better?
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Raise it to $25 per hour from $20 per hour is what the local bank did. Customers now have to wait longer at the drive thru, meet with a personal banker and or wait in line for a teller. Staffing has been cut to have less workers on staff.