Disney World unfairly slammed for wages.

[raven]

What should Disney start hiring at for the position of ride operator for Dumbo?

I also don't think anyone would say a Dumbo Operator needs or deserves $15/hr. But maybe they deserve more than they are getting, I don't know that for sure, but it seems so judging from the disgruntled employees, former employees, and disappointed guests represented here. While the work may not be technical a Dumbo Op does provide that Disney difference, a very difficult quality to quantify.

To be the CM working at Dumbo loading and unloading, it just isn't worth $15 an hour. If it was I would move back to Florida and become a Dumbo CM because it would be more money than I am making now.

...is the guy running Dumbo supposed to be able to support his kids and wife and dog for his whole life pushing the button on Dumbo to make it go? Absolutely not.

Why everyone has catagorized most CM's as the guy who pushes the button at Dumbo is beyond me. That's a tiny percentage of CMs and obviously no one is saying they should be making $15/hour by any means. But people are using the Dumbo operator example as an extreme low role and asking for extreme high pay and they are not. So stop.

But take for instance in the other thread when I talked about the 2 guys that clean the outside of SSE on a High Reach and have to repel from the top. You'd think they'd be paid well for such a high risk job. Reality? Disney pays them less than $9/hour base pay and only an extra $1.00 for their high work. Certainly the only 2 people qualified for this job are worth more than that.

 

[Space Mountain]

How much do Monorails get paid?

 

[Erin_Akey]

How long are you all gonig to debate this? It seems pretty obvious after 18 pages that there is one camp who thinks the wages are a sin and need to be increased and another camp who feels like these people took these jobs knowing what their pay would be so deal with it or quit.

In the grand scheme of things, no one on this board is going to change the reality of Disney wages....sheesh!:brick:

 

[Mr Bill]

How much do Monorails get paid?

They don't pay the monorails, although they do spend a significant amount of money to operate them.

 

[Space Mountain]

^...........

 

[raven]

How long are you all gonig to debate this? It seems pretty obvious after 18 pages that there is one camp who thinks the wages are a sin and need to be increased and another camp who feels like these people took these jobs knowing what their pay would be so deal with it or quit.

In the grand scheme of things, no one on this board is going to change the reality of Disney wages....sheesh!:brick:

Much like debating anything on these boards will change anything the company does.

It's a "forum." People debate. That's why we are here.

 

[s8film40]

^$7.90 an hour
http://www.disney.go.com/DisneyCareers/wdwcareers/hourly/transportation.html

 

[Erin_Akey]

Much like debating anything on these boards will change anything the company does.

It's a "forum." People debate. That's why we are here.

I'm all about a good debate, but at some point, when it is CLEAR no one is changing anyone's mind and the conversation goes FAR away from Disney, don't you get a bit bored?

 

[s8film40]

I'm all about a good debate, but at some point, when it is CLEAR no one is changing anyone's mind and the conversation goes FAR away from Disney, don't you get a bit bored?

People who get bored with a topic don't post comments about it, clearly your'e still interested in it.

 

[NedLand]

How long are you all gonig to debate this? It seems pretty obvious after 18 pages that there is one camp who thinks the wages are a sin and need to be increased and another camp who feels like these people took these jobs knowing what their pay would be so deal with it or quit.

In the grand scheme of things, no one on this board is going to change the reality of Disney wages....sheesh!:brick:

In the grand scheme of things no one on this is board is going change the reality that The Adventurers Club will not reopen or that Captain Eo is at Epcot again, doesn't mean that this shouldn't be discussed. No one is making you click on the thread. You got your 2 cents (and a :sohappyin as well.

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showpost.php?p=4179167&postcount=250

 

[wm49rs]

Does that make all Muslims bad? Does that make it worth spending billions on a decade+ war with lives of the innocent dying everyday? Does this have anything to do with the wage problems at Walt Disney World?!

I never said nor implied that. Simply responding to the post at the time....

 

[fosse76]

Why everyone has catagorized most CM's as the guy who pushes the button at Dumbo is beyond me. That's a tiny percentage of CMs and obviously no one is saying they should be making $15/hour by any means. But people are using the Dumbo operator example as an extreme low role and asking for extreme high pay and they are not. So stop.

I'll say it, then. It isn't just about pushing a button. It's overall being responsible for the SAFE operation of the attraction. It's providing excellent customer service while having to deal with the general public, who become abusive when they don't get their way. It's about compensating people who are out in the hot sun all day, or the cold rain, who are standing all day and can't simply just walk away for bathroom breaks or take a breather from a difficult situation. It isn't simply pushing a button. And if it weren't for these front line CMs, Disney couldn't "sell" its product. They are the ones that do all the hard work. CEOs and VPs and so on certainly don't do any work that is WORTH what they get paid, but the market dictates that's what they should get paid. Sure they should get paid a high wage, since theoretically their decisions can make the company a success. But in no way do they actually deserve the obscene salaries they receive.

In the end it's all about money. Yes, corporations should do their best to make money. But NOT at the expense of their employees. If you want to increase profits, taking shortcuts isn't the way to do. Make you product better so that MORE people will buy it. Lowering wages or layoffs to keep profits from dipping, is in my view, cheating.

 

[hrcollectibles]

disney is one of the lowest paying employers in orlando.. even in corporate jobs they pay bottom dollar. a friend of mine has worked for them for a decade in an office role and makes less than your average call center employee who has been on the job for a week. While universal also doesnt pay great... they pay more than Disney on average for equal jobs.

Secondly... Disney doesnt train like they used to. Traditions has been dropped to one day and in some cases 4hrs. And the on the job training has become very little as well... another friend who just started a couple months ago in a job i used to do in the parks was basically thrown to the wolves first day... where i didnt even see a guest for the first week i was there years ago.

This is one place you cant defend disney, they are one of the lowest paying employers in Orlando. Next time you are there think about that CM who is likely also collecting Welfare or living in a 2 bedroom apartment with 5 other people cause its the only way they can afford to live. Or the ones who sleep in their cars..

I am a current cast member who lives in a one bedroom apartment and has no problem paying my bills. How is it Disney's fault that some cast members have to live in the conditions you state.. No one has forced them to take their roles with the company... As far as the training goes, the role I have had a six week training course before we even had any interaction with guests. My traditions class was a full day. I was offered a role at Universal for far less then what I am getting paid currently.. I was offered 7.25 for a role at Universal.. How is that less than what Disney pays if its the same amount? No one can force someone to stay at a job where all they do is complain about how little or how much they are getting paid. Its not like Disney keeps their wages a secret when they hire someone..

 

[hrcollectibles]

These jobs are made for younger people ( I realize there are older CM) you aren't supposed to be able to raise a family as a JC skipper.

My point is that it has always been like this, I have worked for the mouse in the past and thought I was paid ok, not the best, and not the worst for what my job was.

There are several roles that people can take on at Disney that aren't attraction based.. I look at it this way anything is better than making nothing

 

[v_misses_epcot]

I am a former CM, I worked at Disney Quest at Downtown Disney.
I know for a fact that:

CMs do not make much at all. I think I made $7.50 an hour in 2002.
That's about $990 take home per month.

Training was mixed. If you were serious about learning your spiels and picking up on what buttons you needed to push for each attraction, you didn't need that much training.
That said, there where many for whom the training was not enough. There are many CMs that once you scratch the surface, are unfortunately either immature or are disgruntled. Not a high percentage, but more than I thought there would be.

If you gave half of the 50,000 employees a $20,000 raise, that would be:
$500,000,000 per year.
So over ten years that would come to $5,000,000,000 (Five Billion, or Five thousand million dollars for those of you playing along at home.)

So yeah, not that doable. One way to reward those making a career out of it would be to pay the managers a bit more, and go back to having "Leads". Senior CMs that take on more responsibility and would get paid more.

:wave: I'm seasonal now at DQ and Mousekeeping.

Anyhow, and that's why I'm seasonal. Publix pays more as a cashier then most of the jobs I have at Disney, but I don't do it for a career or money (since us cms know they don't pay well at all, plus I have a pretty good job here in MD,) I do it because I have a love for Disney. I do it for the children. As so do many of the retirees that work there day in and day out who also break their backs. We do it for the first time families, for the first time grandma visits <3 At least some of us do it for that.

Sadly, some of us also do it to raise families and most of them couldn't afford college back then or now so they don't have choices but to stay at Disney. To full timers, a job is a job and is better then having nothing at all. Being unemployed would hurt these families so they stay with what they know.

And since we love Disney a lot, we also do it for some of the benefits. Entrance to the parks, 50 percent off resort stays, Holiday discounts, pin events, tours etc. I live in MD, play at Disney once or twice a week a year, I'm pretty content. But I really do feel sorry for all the families that do work full time. But, if we know how to manage our money, we always somehow make it.

 

[WDW1974]

I've seen a lot of the typical MAGICal BS that gets tossed around in these parts ... and so many things that have nothing to do with the subject at hand (very classy on the WTC pics ... another reason I am not a regular contributor here anymore).

But no one ... not one of the defenders of da man that seem to be largely part and parcel here wanted to try and defend/explain my question, which I'll repeat below.

<<But I wonder ... why do people bristle at a living wage? Why is that so wrong? Why is that somehow anti-American? Intellectually, being that I don't believe titans of American industry post on this board, why do people seem to think the American Way is about subsidizing corporate profits through substandard wages that are kept artificially low by a corporate vicegrip on America (by the way, my homeowners insurance went up 83% this year, which I am required to carry by law, my health insurance went up 34% -- a basic necessity if one wants to keep living, my car insurance went up 26% ... I am sure you get the idea ... my wages? was that a standard 2% increase ... or did I have to take a 60% decrease just to stay in the work force?)>>

 

[Phonedave]

<<But I wonder ... why do people bristle at a living wage? Why is that so wrong? Why is that somehow anti-American? Intellectually, being that I don't believe titans of American industry post on this board, why do people seem to think the American Way is about subsidizing corporate profits through substandard wages that are kept artificially low by a corporate vicegrip on America (by the way, my homeowners insurance went up 83% this year, which I am required to carry by law, my health insurance went up 34% -- a basic necessity if one wants to keep living, my car insurance went up 26% ... I am sure you get the idea ... my wages? was that a standard 2% increase ... or did I have to take a 60% decrease just to stay in the work force?)>>

Because not all jobs rate a living wage.

There are many jobs that are filled by part timers looking to pick up some folding money.

The kid who sells you your stale popcorn at the movies. How much responsibility does he have? What sort of specialized skills does his job require? That job should not make a living wage per hour. However if you set your minimum wage at the living wage mark, then you have to pay that rate for the popcorn scooper.

There needs to be a way to differentiate between 'brainless' jobs that should not pay enough to live on - and that nobody should attempt to live on (Should a person be able to support a family of 4 if all he does is scoop popcorn and spill drinks at the local movies) and jobs that should pay a living wage because they are 'real' jobs.

BTW Why are you required to maintain homeowners insurance? Can Insurance yes, homeowners no. It's insane not to have it, but it's not required.

And if we want to talk about wages and compensation. When you see my pension, which was taken away from me about 3 years ago, be sure to say hello to it. It is probably the missing half of my raise, and the 30% or so missing from my bonus. Our bonuses are part of our salary. Salary tables were adjust years ago, where a chunk of your pay was put "at risk" the deal was they would take, lets say, $15,000 of your salary. If you met objectives, you would get the whole $15,000 back as a bonus. If you fell short, you got less, and if you did super, you would get more. I'll let you guess just how often that 'more' scenario plays out.

-dave

 

[Jimmy Thick]

And this thread has now officially jumped the shark, Fonzie style.




Jimmy Thick- Rawhide...

 

[mp2bill]

keep living in your delusions while the top 1% reaps the rewards.

While I agree with you in that the smallest percentage of people make the highest percentage of the GDP, I think you can only chalk it up to being an unfortunate side effect of capitalism.

That being said, I wouldn't want it to be any other way. I don't think another ideology would have us any better off, but like any Disney ride, the U.S. might be better off if it was "plussed." By that I mean, I feel as though many of the European countries and our neighbor to the north did it right by having a mainly capitalistic society, while sprinkling in some universal benefits.

Nevertheless, I think we're pretty far away from making any large changes, so for the time being, we'll all just have to suck it up. After all, all CMs chose to work at Disney. They were not forced into working for the amount they do.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

... another reason I am not a regular contributor here anymore).

I thought it was cause most folk think your a tool and you miss the fan boy adoration.