News Disney World Cast Member unions to begin week of negotiations for wage increases, healthcare costs and more

[eliza61nyc]

None of this addresses anything. You’re arguing largely against a narrative that you have made up. You claim to be about the market and more than just showing up, completely ignore the existing market (Disney desperately needs more people) and try to make comparisons that ignore what makes working at Walt Disney World different from seemingly similar jobs.

I said absolutely nothing about a living wage.

The idea that there is no operational impact to not having enough staff is laughable in its outright ridiculousness. Venues operating at reduced capacity or sitting closed are not improving the Walt Disney World experience. And yes, creating a scenario where you’re keeping people and free to turn down applicants absolutely allows you to select the best candidates and retain the best employees.

If you didn’t “give a fuzzy navel” you wouldn’t constantly be arguing against raises, even when it means adjusting to to things you claim to consider important like the market. Disney has tons of open jobs, so clearly the market is saying they need to improve their competitiveness, but you and others are railing against that very sort of reaction to the market.

oh I'm just here because I'm frying chicken and have nothing to do while I'm cooking. Disney is a place I go for vacation period. the moment I get lousy service I stop going. I don't give a damn what they pay their employers. you're believing me or not has zero impact on my posting.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Because it’s too high of a wage for that skill set…same as flipping burgers, pumping gas (in my state), etc. We’ll always disagree…it’s an entry level job. Move up the latter and earn more.

How is this not just Scrooge-esque cruelty? You admit it has nothing do with financial viability. You just dislike the idea of someone making what you consider too much, even when you’re already paying more than enough to support it. Even when you have to wait more to get your Dole Whip because not enough people are interested in the job, it’s better to not let “those people” have more than you think they deserve.

 

[el_super]

You’d be so much fun at the CM recognition award nights.

"My first recommendation to the lot of you is this; put your own house in order, you can't accomplish a damn thing by sitting around and waiting to be told everything. If you're not progressing as you should, instead of grumbling and growling, do something about it."

-Walt Disney

 

[lazyboy97o]

oh I'm just here because I'm frying chicken and have nothing to do while I'm cooking. Disney is a place I go for vacation period. the moment I get lousy service I stop going. I don't give a damn what they pay their employers. you're believing me or not has zero impact on my posting.

It takes you more than a month to fry chicken? You were the first person to comment on this thread in November.

 

[mkt]

the moment I get lousy service I stop going.

You'll stop going soon then. With how short staffed they are, the quality of the service has already taken a massive hit.

All they need is a walkout and picket lines to send it over the edge.

 

[mkt]

"My first recommendation to the lot of you is this; put your own house in order, you can't accomplish a damn thing by sitting around and waiting to be told everything. If you're not progressing as you should, instead of grumbling and growling, do something about it."

-Walt Disney

Negotiating is doing something about it.

 

[el_super]

Negotiating is doing something about it.

Yes and no. I do think they should be paid more, but the pragmatist inside me knows they will always be at the bottom.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

and that's what should happen., THAT SHOULD ALWAYS BE THE GOAL!! the goal for all our youngins should be to get better careers

what’s a “better career”? Who decides that? “Better career” = “real job” I’m guessing? :-/

 

[Disone]

It takes you more than a month to fry chicken? You were the first person to comment on this thread in November.

Should he be paid the same hourly rate as those at your local chicken joint who can fry faster?

Just asking. Nvm..... I will show myself out.

 

[eliza61nyc]

It takes you more than a month to fry chicken? You were the first person to comment on this thread in November.

I'm col Sanders, gotta lot of chicken

 

[Disstevefan1]

TWDC can't afford wage increases, better healthcare and other things for their cast members. They need the money to throw away on creating forgettable content for D+ and creating box office flops.

Well at least the folks working on the creating forgettable content for D+ and creating box office flops are getting paid.

 

[mkt]

Yes and no. I do think they should be paid more, but the pragmatist inside me knows they will always be at the bottom.

Why should they be? If Disney pays below market wages, they'll continue to have staffing issues. If they continue to have staffing issues, their bottom line will suffer more than it would if they were to pony up an extra buck or two an hour.

Hell, let's do the math.

75k CM's - assuming they ALL get a $2/hr raise and they all work every day. That's an extra $150k in operating expenses daily. About $55 million per year.

The most recent numbers I've seen shown 12.7 million guests visiting WDW. That's an extra $4.50 in revenue needed per guest - not $4.50 per day: $4.50 total. Most guest will not feel that. A few cents here and there to adjust it is more than enough to get there without affecting Disney's bottom line. Hell, this could improve it given that a raise will likely cause more people to apply, helping out Disney's staffing shortage, and ultimately reducing overtime pay (which can be time and a half or double time), which will save Disney money.

But Disney doesn't look that far, or think that deeply.

 

[mkt]

getting paid.

Ehhh. Even in creative fields, Disney pays below market wages.

 

[peter11435]

Why should they be? If Disney pays below market wages, they'll continue to have staffing issues. If they continue to have staffing issues, their bottom line will suffer more than it would if they were to pony up an extra buck or two an hour.

Hell, let's do the math.

75k CM's - assuming they ALL get a $2/hr raise and they all work every day. That's an extra $150k in operating expenses daily. About $55 million per year.

The most recent numbers I've seen shown 12.7 million guests visiting WDW. That's an extra $4.50 in revenue needed per guest - not $4.50 per day: $4.50 total. Most guest will not feel that. A few cents here and there to adjust it is more than enough to get there without affecting Disney's bottom line. Hell, this could improve it given that a raise will likely cause more people to apply, helping out Disney's staffing shortage, and ultimately reducing overtime pay (which can be time and a half or double time), which will save Disney money.

But Disney doesn't look that far, or think that deeply.

I’m on your side. But you need to check your math. Those 75k CM will likely work more than 1 hour a day. So you need to multiply your numbers by about 8.

 

[mkt]

I’m on your side. But you need to check your math. Those 75k CM will likely work more than 1 hour a day. So you need to multiply your numbers by about 8.

Whoops, good point. Need to lay off edibles while doing math.

$36 per guest. That's it. Again, not a hard amount to extract over the course of a weekend visit to the parks. $1 here, $1 there.

 

[el_super]

$36 per guest. That's it. Again, not a hard amount to extract over the course of a weekend visit to the parks. $1 here, $1 there.

I'm one of the only people that think the parks are still underpriced, but I will say that Bob Chapek raised the low end admission price to MK by $15 dollars and basically got fired for it. $36 might be a lot to ask people.

One other weird factor is whether the union would even accept a flat across the board pay raise like that. They usually don't, preferring instead to reward seniority with the union and offering percentage increases which scale unfavorably for the lower end CMs. So you end up with that $2 each per hour being $3 for some and $0.50 for others.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Why should they be? If Disney pays below market wages, they'll continue to have staffing issues. If they continue to have staffing issues, their bottom line will suffer more than it would if they were to pony up an extra buck or two an hour.

Hell, let's do the math.

75k CM's - assuming they ALL get a $2/hr raise and they all work every day. That's an extra $150k in operating expenses daily. About $55 million per year.

The most recent numbers I've seen shown 12.7 million guests visiting WDW. That's an extra $4.50 in revenue needed per guest - not $4.50 per day: $4.50 total. Most guest will not feel that. A few cents here and there to adjust it is more than enough to get there without affecting Disney's bottom line. Hell, this could improve it given that a raise will likely cause more people to apply, helping out Disney's staffing shortage, and ultimately reducing overtime pay (which can be time and a half or double time), which will save Disney money.

But Disney doesn't look that far, or think that deeply.

This is what betrays that this isn’t actually about economics, the market or financial realities. Even accounting for your error that you corrected, the number is small. @lentesta did a rather thorough breakdown a few years ago and that’s where I got that a few cents in price increases going towards pay could be a meaningful difference. He also worked out the hit Disney would take if they just ate the cost and it was something like a less than 1% decrease in margins at Walt Disney World. So we’re ultimately talking such a small fraction of revenue that it would almost certainly go unnoticed by shareholders if Disney didn’t make that money due to anything else but wages.

As you note there are also ways that keeping employees can reduce costs for the business. It’s not just overtime that could be reduced. Turnover and those associated costs could be reduced. Theme parks are all about throughput and more experienced teams are going to be more efficient, handling more guests, reducing waits, helping to improve guest satisfaction which makes people open their wallets and buy more stuff.

We’re not talking about some small business barely making it. Walt Disney World is a somewhat odd and unique situation where the money is essentially just there to make this happen and yet people still oppose it. There is no absolutely economic problem with the viability of Disney paying more, it is a purely social problem, one that Disney lacks the confidence to justify even in purely business terms.

 

[Ayla]

Because it’s too high of a wage for that skill set…same as flipping burgers, pumping gas (in my state), etc. We’ll always disagree…it’s an entry level job. Move up the latter and earn more.
No I’m not…if I can’t support my life, my rent, my transportation on what I’m making, I find another job in addition to or instead of that pays more.

It's ladder.

 

[networkpro]

Why should they be? If Disney pays below market wages, they'll continue to have staffing issues. If they continue to have staffing issues, their bottom line will suffer more than it would if they were to pony up an extra buck or two an hour.

IMHO the current staffing model is madness given modern circumstances.

But Disney doesn't look that far, or think that deeply.

They lack critical budgeting ability. They are willing to toss bucketloads of money at SOME of the creatives regardless of the success of their products (and I'm talking about financial success, the only one that really matters in the long run... critical acceptance of any agenda not linked directly to remuneration doesn't pay bills no matter how many avant-garde cliques it tickles)

 

[Lilofan]

That’s a nice thought but it doesn’t truly work that way. Disney has 10’s of thousands of employees that barely make enough to live. There are not enough opportunities for all of them. And even if there were, there would still be a need to fill 10’s of thousands of underpaid rolls… and now those people would not make enough to live.

And those 10s of thousands how many work just their scheduled full time hours and not a minute more? Not willing to work OT, second job, reevaluate their living situation etc? I know of one who could not afford expensive Orlando but moved to Haines City which apt was less per month as one example. He chose to not just complain but did something about it .