Disney not subject to Anaheim’s ‘living wage’ ballot measure, judge rules - OCR/SCNG

[TrainsOfDisney]

The College Program is great! The people that sign up for it are typically huge fans of Disney, so they're oftentimes the kind of people you'd want in working the park, and they aren't there long enough to get jaded and cynical.

You haven’t met long time CM’s that aren’t jaded and cynical? I’m thinking of the man who drives the fire truck at Disneyland, he’s been there 30+ years and he’s simply the best CM Disney could ever hope for.

And John, the waiter at Port Orleans, where yeehaw Bob plays - goodness he’s been there at least 10 years. Many more I’ve met but those 2 really popped in my mind quickly.

 

[SuddenStorm]

You haven’t met long time CM’s that aren’t jaded and cynical? I’m thinking of the man who drives the fire truck at Disneyland, he’s been there 30+ years and he’s simply the best CM Disney could ever hope for.

And John, the waiter at Port Orleans, where yeehaw Bob plays - goodness he’s been there at least 10 years. Many more I’ve met but those 2 really popped in my mind quickly.

That's not what I meant. Yes, there are stand out employees across the board- some who've been there a few days and some who've been there decades.

 

[Professortango1]

Which is fine- everyone wants more money- but eventually there has to be some internal reflection where you decide to gain some marketable skills and switch jobs to something with a higher pay scale. Staying in the same entry level job your entire life and expecting to be able to improve your standard of living is a fool's errand.

Nobody is asking for folks to live in luxury working an entry level job. They are just asking for enough to actually take care of themselves without tax payer-funded assistance programs.

Nobody should need to work over 40 hours a week just to have a place to live, food to eat, clothes to wear, and utilities covered. If you want a nice car or a fancier house or children, then you might want to look at how to advance yourself. But minimum wage at full time should be enough to provide for yourself.

 

[SuddenStorm]

Nobody should need to work over 40 hours a week just to have a place to live, food to eat, clothes to wear, and utilities covered. If you want a nice car or a fancier house or children, then you might want to look at how to advance yourself. But minimum wage at full time should be enough to provide for yourself.

This is a wonderful idea in theory- but if you talk to 20 different people you'll get 20 different responses on what should/shouldn't be covered by a minimum wage 'livable' wage.

So if we go off of MIT's living wage calculator- in Anaheim that's $21.53 for a single adult with no dependents. The lady in the article makes $21.25/hr - so she'd only need a few minutes of overtime a week to hit that $21.53 number. So Disneyland's churro job is already there, and the employees and union should be thrilled, yet there's a lengthy LA Times article about how it isn't enough.

 

[Professortango1]

This is a wonderful idea in theory- but if you talk to 20 different people you'll get 20 different responses on what should/shouldn't be covered by a minimum wage 'livable' wage.

So if we go off of MIT's living wage calculator- in Anaheim that's $21.53 for a single adult with no dependents. The lady in the article makes $21.25/hr - so she'd only need a few minutes of overtime a week to hit that $21.53 number. So Disneyland's churro job is already there, and the employees and union should be thrilled, yet there's a lengthy LA Times article about how it isn't enough.

I'd agree that $21.50 is a decent base pay. I'd say someone there longer than 3 years should be around $22-$23. But I wouldn't expect a front line CM to make more than $23.50-$24 at this given time, even if they have been there for decades.

 

[Disney Irish]

This is a wonderful idea in theory- but if you talk to 20 different people you'll get 20 different responses on what should/shouldn't be covered by a minimum wage 'livable' wage.

So if we go off of MIT's living wage calculator- in Anaheim that's $21.53 for a single adult with no dependents. The lady in the article makes $21.25/hr - so she'd only need a few minutes of overtime a week to hit that $21.53 number. So Disneyland's churro job is already there, and the employees and union should be thrilled, yet there's a lengthy LA Times article about how it isn't enough.

Its funny how MIT has the LA-Long Beach-Anaheim Metro area at $21.53.

But for Orange County itself they say $23.66 -

Living Wage Calculator - Living Wage Calculation for Orange County, California

livingwage.mit.edu

Which shows that Orange County itself is a bit more expensive to live than the surrounding areas.

 

[mlayton144]

It’s rather obvious some folks on here don’t have much education on free market economics- price controls? Those farmers, warehouse workers , truckers, grocery store workers etc that support food production and distribution also need to make a living. There already are some forms of price controls in place , but it’s a slippery slope so be careful what you wish for. No one has a birth right to live in an expensive zip code. This is a tough and complex issue for sure. I personally think education and healthcare should be mostly taxpayer funded, then let people decide how much wealth they want to pursue with their own efforts

 

[Consumer]

I don't live in California. I live by myself and pay less than $700 for a 2 bedroom apartment. If you can't afford to live in CA, there are 49 other states, many with significantly cheaper housing.

 

[truecoat]

I don't live in California. I live by myself and pay less than $700 for a 2 bedroom apartment. If you can't afford to live in CA, there are 49 other states, many with significantly cheaper housing.

So Disney needs to pay even more for people to live and work in California.

 

[Consumer]

So Disney needs to pay even more for people to live and work in California.

Or just work for someone other than Disney.

 

[Professortango1]

I don't live in California. I live by myself and pay less than $700 for a 2 bedroom apartment. If you can't afford to live in CA, there are 49 other states, many with significantly cheaper housing.

You do understand that moving to another state to live cheaper is an expensive decision. Driving/flying back and forth to find housing, obtaining a new job in a different market, actual moving expenses. If you're living paycheck to paycheck, quitting your job and moving to another state isn't a realistic option. Especially if a bunch of folks do that, the cost of living increases in that area. Which means you need to move again.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

So Disney needs to pay even more for people to live and work in California.

Not if they can find employees willing to work for them at the rate they’re paying.

They’re already a more desirable place to work than the alternatives, they have no incentive to raise wages.

 

[Professortango1]

Not if they can find employees willing to work for them at the rate they’re paying.

They’re already a more desirable place to work than the alternatives, they have no incentive to raise wages.

That must be why their turnover is so high....oh wait.

 

[TP2000]

The bigger story is why Marlene Hackett after 13 years is still working a minimum wage job at Disneyland. Why hasn't she acquired better skills and moved on to other careers?

So many valid questions in the LA Times story about Marlene.

Interestingly, the LA Times reporter seemed entirely uninterested in asking some of those basic questions about Marlene.

Marlene started her entry-level minimum wage job at Disneyland at age 40. At 53, she was born in 1970 and graduated high school in 1988. She now makes $21.25 per hour to sell churros full time.

What was she doing between the two decades of 1990 and getting her minimum wage job at Disneyland in 2010?

Over five years ago Disney launched a rather lavish program called "Aspire" to pay for college or trade schools for any Parks Cast Member in good standing. Marlene had already been rolling churros in Critter Country for 8 years when Aspire was launched. Why did she not take advantage of that program? Especially an online school when Disneyland was closed for 13 months in 2020-2021 and Marlene was receiving very large unemployment checks and cash payments from the state and federal governments.

What is Marlene's real story? Why would a 53 year old woman fail to take advantage of all of the opportunities given to her by her chosen employer of 13 years, with a surprise dollop of thousands in extra cash payments on top of her unemployment checks for over a year of Covid closures at Disneyland?

So many questions left unasked by the LA Times for some reason...

Disney Aspire Marks an Incredible Life-Changing First Year - The Walt Disney Company

One year ago, The Walt Disney Company’s groundbreaking education investment program, Disney Aspire, began turning dreams into reality for eligible cast members and employees …Read More

thewaltdisneycompany.com

 

[TP2000]

After 13 years why isn't she running around wearing badly fitting khakis pants as a low level manager? .

Dockers. They're called Dockers.

Thus the treasured honorarium title of "Dockers-clad manager".

https://us.dockers.com/

 

[Lilofan]

So Disney needs to pay even more for people to live and work in California.

And if you are are CA resident, costs to pay staff more will be passed on to you in many forms.

 

[TP2000]

A tank of gas for the average vehicle was never meant to cost an entire day of your pay either.

That's a problem really only exclusive to California. California has the highest gas prices in the nation due to the highest gas taxes and an unwillingness by Sacramento to allow private companies to drill for oil in the vast known oil fields of central and southern California, or to allow exploration for new oil fields in the state. And there is objection to building a pipeline into California from the very productive giant oil fields of Texas, so most oil in California comes from OPEC nations on the other side of the world and must be shipped here via ocean tankers.

If Marlene needs to fill up her tank after her churro shift, prices in Anaheim range from $4.69 to $5.49 per gallon today.

If Marlene worked at Six Flags Over Texas near Dallas, there's a Sinclair station across the street selling regular for $2.59 per gallon today.

If Marlene worked at Epcot Center, there's a Shell station just across the freeway from WDW reporting prices of $2.97
per gallon today.

To fill up the 13 gallon tank in Marlene's Toyota Corolla, it would cost her this much at these locations after her churro shift;

Disneyland = $65
Six Flags Texas = $33
Epcot Center = $38

 

[truecoat]

And if you are are CA resident, costs to pay staff more will be passed on to you in many forms.

They are already raising prices, how can it be any different? We have a money funnel to the top and it's not sustainable. We are close to the great depression money disparities.

 

[truecoat]

Or just work for someone other than Disney.

And then who's going to work for Disney? We have a worker shortage in this country as it is.

 

[Consumer]

And then who's going to work for Disney? We have a worker shortage in this country as it is.

Nobody, unless Disney increases its wages.