Try getting home insurance if you can even get it in FL. If you bought a home that was built before 2005, companies like AAA would not even insure it. Property taxes are lower no doubt, a $350K one can pay approx $2K a year on property taxes in Central FL.
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News Disney World Cast Member unions to begin week of negotiations for wage increases, healthcare costs and more
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
If CMs are quitting as you say for low pay, they can go apply to be an EMT which role is more complex, demanding and stressful at $16 per hour.
When it comes time for the contract to expire Disney and the unions will always negotiate ( to a point ) to come to a compromise. Some don’t recall when negotiations were not working out pre 9/11/01 and after the second vote to approve the contract was turned down by the cast, the CMs were sent a letter by Disney stating if the contract would not be approved on the third vote the contract would be implemented with changes prior to the first vote. The unions then convinced the members to approve on the third vote which they did.
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lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
Not necessarily because you’d have people saying it doesn’t matter, you can’t pay more for that job. That’s it’s exactly what is happening in this thread. For all the talk about the market people keep saying it’s be ridiculous for Disney to pay more even though they need to attract more people.
_caleb
Well-Known Member
The fact that EMTs are underpaid doesn’t mean that CMs are fairly compensated. Same goes for teachers.
EMTs that save lives should be paid a considerable amount more than entry level theme park staff.
eliza61nyc
Well-Known Member
My apologies, Not at all, what I do have a genuine issue with is what I see as a bit of entitlement. and the refusal to take responsibility for one's life. I enjoyed every cm I've interacted with on each and every trip and if you look back over my post I've been one of the few who's never experienced bad cm. and I tip well anyone who gives me service. lol I'm the gal that tips the guy who pumps my gas.
I totally admit that I don't like this attitude of "oh I showed up so I deserve to be able to get an apartment close to my job, eat what I think I should eat etc etc". I also don't care for this attitude that the job "owes" me anything more than what I signed on the dotted line for. I mean when you take a job do you not know what you are going to make and how it will be able to sustain you.
and lastly I do have an issue with what I see as "complaining without change". my kids weren't allowed to do it, I wasn't allowed to do it. this total abandonment of personal responsibility. I'm just different @TrainsOfDisney I never ever thought a job was responsible for anything more than what they said in the contract. but if you're in your 30's and you've been in a low paying job for years and years?? If you are a gas station attendant and that's what you like, but please take responsibility that this is a choice you made and WAWA should not and does not bear the responsibility to make sure you have decent housing. sorry yeah I'm not buying it.
_caleb
Well-Known Member
I agree.
Not all in the same role are unhappy . We met a custodial CM who had a 25 year pin on his name tag cleaning the streets. He told us he loves his job and he wants to make a difference in the guest vacations. He certainly does his part helping guests with questions and keeping his assigned area clean.
It varies by property. One 1br condo we were looking at (before rate hikes) would've only been $1500/mo mortgage with 3% down. But $1200/mo in association fees, and the insurance quotes we got were ungodly high. We could've put more down, but didn't make sense then to take a hit to our liquidity, and it also doesn't make sense to us to buy in a city that'll potentially be underwater before the house is paid offl.
Also... if you have a $1.3m house and are paying $1800/mo in property taxes, consider a $600k house to be affordable, rest assured, you're financially not - and never will be - an average Floridian. Not even close.
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eliza61nyc
Well-Known Member
lol I know you meant that as a dig but actually it makes my point. I've always received fast courteous friendly service at chipotle. YOu take that guy and slap him behind the counter at peco;s bill and he's doing the same ding dang job NO DIFFERENCE. but somehow because it's the magic kingdom he somehow deserves 25 bucks an hour?
I'm glad we agree. Government workers are drastically underpaid.
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Wanted to add. Starting with the baseline of a $600k house.
A property should rent for 1% of its value. That's $6k/mo.
Average household income in Miami Dade County is about $58k.
After taxes that's $47k-ish take home, which breaks down to about $3900/mo take home.
To spend 1/3 or less of your income, as is suggested, you're looking at $1300/mo in rent, which means a property that's valued closer to $130k. That doesn't really exist in Miami.
Hence why it's the most rent burdened city in the US.
You get high property values driven by developers who prefer to do market price luxury properties, foreign investors, and out-of-state remote workers who earn far-higher than local salaries.
Back in 1992 I was looking at a condo in the South Beach when seniors were still living on Ocean Drive on a fixed income , a 1 bedroom for $35K, no washer dryer or parking. The same condo is now valued at $450K. I believe it when foreign money ( legit or not ) buys real estate in Miami.
_caleb
Well-Known Member
It wasn’t a dig, it was my honest opinion. If you reduce the work down to its component tasks (say, “grilling chicken” or “spooning sour cream,”) your line of thinking makes sense. But if you flip it, and ask: “What would the best possible foodservice worker at Pecos Bill’s be like?” the list might include a lot more than these individual skills. It would for me, anyway.
Again, as a paying customer, you should be in favor of the best CMs, quality, and experience your money can buy. And I’m suggesting that currently, what we’re getting isn’t that.
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
To me, the definition of responsibility is working a full time job where you show up and work 40 hours each week. And obviously doing a good job while you’re there. I’m not suggesting that automatically gets you $70k - but working full time hours should get you a basic minnimum standard of living.
But the flip side is “look at these unskilled workers, they expect to be able to afford to pay rent and buy groceries!?”
Piebald
Well-Known Member
This conversation is fascinating but one thing that really makes Disney unique is the type of people it attracts to work there for the most part. It's an outlier when comparing to other similar (not that there are many similar scenarios) jobs. There are so many people who work there from local college and high school kids, to seniors looking for something to do, to college program kids, to people transitioning from one location to Florida , etc. It's an extremely diverse workforce. Some people love Disney and cannot imagine working anywhere else even to their own detriment. Some people just take it because it is (was?) a very easy company to get into if you needed a job quick.
I think this is what sets Disney apart from just about every employer. The brand loyalty and almost borderline obsession is wild. I work for one of the most recognizable companies in the world. You can stick the logo similarly like Mickey on a wall in Syria and a kid would know what it is. But even then for the most part it's still just a job. The employees may like the product a lot but if a better opportunity came by they'd probably take it no question. Some people who work at Disney find it extremely difficult to separate themselves from the company. It's almost like a cult. That's not to say people are or aren't deserving of better pay...it's just a very unique situation not often seen. When I worked there I met all sorts of characters (no pun intended) and I'm sure a lot has changed in almost 20 years but it's interesting nonetheless. As a somewhat unrelated issue from this nonsensical observation, why was it they moved from 2 day availability for part time to 3? Was it to strategically limit applications?
I think this is what sets Disney apart from just about every employer. The brand loyalty and almost borderline obsession is wild. I work for one of the most recognizable companies in the world. You can stick the logo similarly like Mickey on a wall in Syria and a kid would know what it is. But even then for the most part it's still just a job. The employees may like the product a lot but if a better opportunity came by they'd probably take it no question. Some people who work at Disney find it extremely difficult to separate themselves from the company. It's almost like a cult. That's not to say people are or aren't deserving of better pay...it's just a very unique situation not often seen. When I worked there I met all sorts of characters (no pun intended) and I'm sure a lot has changed in almost 20 years but it's interesting nonetheless. As a somewhat unrelated issue from this nonsensical observation, why was it they moved from 2 day availability for part time to 3? Was it to strategically limit applications?
_caleb
Well-Known Member
And this is brings up another aspect of the issue: marketing. Disney uses the glamor, nostalgia, and “magic” to help convince people to take low-paying jobs. It makes sense that in some cases, it’s only after some experience that CMs realize that the pay isn’t sufficient and that they’re being taken advantage of.
Some here will say, “Then CMs should quit!” But that’s obviously something that’s easier said than done. We’re talking about people who move from out of state to work at WDW. Disney is happy to let them think these jobs are more than menial labor, but then treats them as though that’s all they are.
eliza61nyc
Well-Known Member
So I've admitted that I've never had anything less than wonderful service for anyone I've come into contact with at Disney. Now I'm a dvc member so housekeeping is different from the normal . My waitstaff has been great and I've never once seen the nasty bathrooms (not saying it's not a problem just we've never encountered them)
So I've got no complaints
_caleb
Well-Known Member
But I’m saying you SHOULD have complaints. Not about the level of service you’ve received, but about the way those CMs who provided it are treated like disposable equipment—interchangeable with the people who clean rooms at the Motel 6 on I-Drive–rather than as a vital part of your Disney experience.