Union asks Disney to increase worker pay

[speck76]

$.10 extra would give each employee an additional $200 per year.....after taxes....about $160 per year

Anyway.....it would hardly assist the employee, yet it would cost the company at least over $10million....

Besides....people adjust their lifestyle to their income....an entry-level employee will always have the same economic situation....

 

[DisneyMedic]

Well as a Cast member I have to throw my two cents in here. And with what I get paid I really should not do that. It is really Sad that we get paid the garbage we do. Ant that really is the proper term. Yes you know the amopunt going in but what is not really stressed is that if you are full time you can be working as little as 32hrs a week. I do not have a problem with this at all. I relocated here from Ca to go to work for the mouse and my plan was to work at WDW full time and if need be work another job to help off set. My problem is what they do not tell you in your interview is that if you are full time you will be working 5 days a week for those 32hrs. Disney loves to schedual you 6.5hr shifts. So in the real world to get a fourty hour pay check you HAVE to work 6 days. This is in the slow part of the year I am talking about now. It is really sad that I work six days some times seven and I am overdrawn on my checking account because even that will not cover my low rent.

Disney could increase moral and CM attitude and save money by doing two things. Will will never see a $10 hr starting wage. But if they paid everyone a min of $7.50 an hour and in the slow time of the year had there full timers work four 8hr shifts that would be hudge. Then a CM could pick up an extra shift and A) they would still have two days off B) Disney would not be paying time and a half for that first shift on the CM day off. Also if there were no shifts avail to pick up a CM could work a second job to make ends meet. They it is now you really do have to decide...work six to seven days and starve or not work for Disney.


Do not get me wrong Disney is a good company and they do provide some good benifits but the main thing that they need to do to increase CM moral and attitude is increase there wage to a human leval and schedula them properly.

Disney is a company and it is about the bottom line but Wlat himself once said, Disnyland is built but the CM. In fact the C in cast member stands for Compensation. I would love to know what Walt would think of how is CM's are treated and paid on both coast. If he is looking down watching us, that is the first question I plan to ask him after I shake his hand. Hopefully I will be going up there...lol lol

 

[Disneyland1970]

A final question is this.....if gas prices andthe local cost-of-living went down, and if WDW was fully staffed, would the union make the opposite suggestion....that they decrease wages?....

When does the cost of anything ever go down?? I will support a wage cut when they lower the gate price to go with it! But I do agree, for the price of the local economy, the WDW wage is just a crime!

 

[CaptainMichael]

I plan on CP'ing sometime in the next few years. I suppose I'm fortunate that in my situation, the pay doesn't matter. I've worked at two different places in Slidell, LA and have never made more than $6 an hour, so to me, the WDW wages are attractive. However, I understand how the Orlando economy is different than the New Orleans economy. I'm not going to WDW to make money, I'm going to make magic for guests, and to learn about myself and the Walt Disney Co. As long as Disney stays competitive with other local businesses, there shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Disneyland1970]

My issue with this whole subject is a singular item... unions. If it wasn't for the unions, you would see the good employees rewarded better and the bad employees weeded out. We have several corporations in our area that have fought hard to keep the unions out and they actually are the preferred jobs in the region. Better pay, better benefits and better working conditions.

I'm all for rewarding good workers, but a single raise of the same rate for everyone is not the right idea.

For all those that think the CMs should get a raise... where were you 3 or 4 years ago? Why weren't you behind all the CMs taking a pay cut when the company was having tough times? :veryconfu

I am trying not to make this a Pro union speech, but the reason most people make the wage they do is because of the Union worker living somewhere else who is making a good wage. Are unions the answer for everything...hell no. They go to far and mess things up.

How come we are not talking about the huge pay the Disney Execs get?? There is the real crime.

IMHO the tough times after 9/11 were blown way out of proportion(sp). I feel it was an excuse to cut back on the parks and resort up keep to save money. The parks have never fully recovered IMHO.

Let Disney keep the wage so low that the help gets worse and worse and see the tough times that follow that.

 

[speck76]

How come we are not talking about the huge pay the Disney Execs get?? There is the real crime.

How is that a crime?.....these people have worked hard, studied hard, and are now being rewarded.....they have the ability to make or break the company....no single CM can do that...

 

[wannab@dis]

How is that a crime?.....these people have worked hard, studied hard, and are now being rewarded.....they have the ability to make or break the company....no single CM can do that...

Exactly... they also receive a large portion of their income based on the profitability of the company. IF they thought the company was best served by increasing the wages of the frontline CMs, they would do so.

 

[speck76]

Here is a good question...

Would the general public rather see $300 million be spent on increasing CM wages $3 per hour, or on new attractions.....

(my vote is for the new attractions)

 

[wannab@dis]

Oh come on now...this is starting to sound ridiculous. Who in their right mind that has a high power position is going to give up money out of their pocket (greed money) to front line CMs because they feel its right for the company.

All that the higher ups in the company are worrying about is getting as rich as they can for as long as they can keep a position in the company.

Believe what you want...

When you have the opportunity to benefit from the profits of a company and you have the ability to affect employee compensation, let me know. I bet you'll see things much the way I already do. :wave:

 

[speck76]

Trust me I understand how things work...my family owns a major transportation company and a major automobile dealership. I know how employee compensation works.

and I am sure they pay everyone so well....

and I am sure your family would sacrifice their take of the profits to give the employees an unjustified raise....

/sarcasm

 

[landauh]

Everyone on this thread is assuming that Disney won't increase the base pay, I am not sure if they will or not, but Bob Igar seems to be willing to spend the money necessary to bring the company (at least the parks) back to their old glory and he might do the same with CMs pay.

 

[Disneyland1970]

How is that a crime?.....these people have worked hard, studied hard, and are now being rewarded.....they have the ability to make or break the company....no single CM can do that...

If I get upset with a CM and never return, that hurts the bottom line. If that happens over and over then Iger is out of a job....so yes they can make or break a company. Your above statement is what is wrong with the customer service in MOST companies today. No matter how much education Iger has ( I have nothing against the man, I am looking forward to his leadership so far), If he has no common sense and lets the customer down by having unhappy, unhelpful and unmagical CMs because of paying to low a wage, then he is leaving the comapny up to the frontline CMs.

How come Disney could afford to pay the help so well prior? I am not sure about WDW, but I know CMs made pretty good money at DL in the past, That is when the help was around season after season. You could actually get to know CMs in certain areas. They had people make a career out of Disney. Now Disney can't get them to pass a probation period, but who can blame them, Taco Bell is a magical place to work for also.

Why can Iger can make SUCH a good living off of the sweat and starvation of so many CMs? What is fair is fair. Spread the wealth around. The stockholders can hold out another year!

 

[Justin_K]

I have to respectfully but strongly disagree with both wannab@dis and speck76.

The CMs absolutely make a difference and should be compensated appropriately. Those people really do go above and beyond. I don't want DisneyWorld to become just another theme park, there are plenty of those. And that's exactly what you're going to get with that kind of attitude. There is something very special about that place, and you can attribute a lot of that to CM enthusiam.

And yes, wannab@dis I do run a business. I'm glad I don't run it the way you do.

 

[wannab@dis]

If he has no common sense and lets the customer down by having unhappy, unhelpful and unmagical CMs because of paying to low a wage, then he is leaving the comapny up to the frontline CMs.

Those "unhappy, unhelpful and unmagical" CMs should be fired... not rewarded if they are that bad...

Why can Iger can make SUCH a good living off of the sweat and starvation of so many CMs? What is fair is fair.

Oh please... the CMs have the freedom to get another job.

Spread the wealth around. The stockholders can hold out another year!

Well, you just showed that this reply is probably a waste of time. Stockholders' money is what keeps the company moving forward. Cutting them off would be corporate suicide.

 

[landauh]

How come Disney could afford to pay the help so well prior? I am not sure about WDW, but I know CMs made pretty good money at DL in the past, That is when the help was around season after season. You could actually get to know CMs in certain areas. They had people make a career out of Disney. Now Disney can't get them to pass a probation period, but who can blame them, Taco Bell is a magical place to work for also.

I have no proof about this, but it could be an effect of the Eisner tighting the budgets across the board at Disney. He was also known for getting rid of good leadership. Let's give Iger a chance and see what he can do ... so far it looks like he wants to bring Disney back. Hpwever, like any business recovering from a bad financial position, Iger needs to try things to see if they will fix the problems and then go onto another fix.

Bringing Disney back won't be cheap, easy, or fast. CM's pay may already be something that Iger is looking at and a solution might be soon forth coming.

 

[wannab@dis]

I have to respectfully but strongly disagree with both wannab@dis and speck76.

The CMs absolutely make a difference and should be compensated appropriately. Those people really do go above and beyond. I don't want DisneyWorld to become just another theme park, there are plenty of those. And that's exactly what you're going to get with that kind of attitude. There is something very special about that place, and you can attribute a lot of that to CM enthusiam.

And yes, wannab@dis I do run a business. I'm glad I don't run it the way you do.

So, you indiscriminately give out raises without merit at your business? That's what this union is calling for. If you actually read my posts, you would note that I fully agree with giving deserving CMs the wage they deserve. However, a simple across the board increase has zero substance. :wave:

 

[Justin_K]

So, you indiscriminately give out raises without merit at your business? That's what this union is calling for. If you actually read my posts, you would note that I fully agree with giving deserving CMs the wage they deserve. However, a simple across the board increase has zero substance. :wave:

Raises? I thought the main issue was starting wages?

 

[speck76]

Raises? I thought the main issue was starting wages?

if that is the case....raise the starting wage for new hires, and not the wages of those already employed...

 

[wannab@dis]

Raises? I thought the main issue was starting wages?

You are correct.. the primary concern of the original article was concerning starting wages. However, as you can see by the posts in this thread, most consider this move would require the existing CMs would also see a raise to bring them up to the amount suggested by the union.

In essance, you can't give NEW hires a higher amount than existing CMs without causing an even greater employee morale problem.

 

[Thelazer]

Ignoring the whole Pro VS Con union debate, I just can't belive what I'm hearing here.

I work there, I do a good job and I know my trade well. Recently I've met some folks who work, doing the same jobs I do, just as well as me. They however, do not work for Disney and make 3 times what I make. Now if I leave, there goes a great CM, one more CM who knows his job. I'll leave and be replaced by someone who works for less money, does a half assed job and doesn't really care. Now honestly, how can ANYONE think that this is the right way to run a company? In the short time, maybe it will increase the bottom line; maybe the stock will go up (hey, after all the theme parks have basically carried the company for the last 3 years, god knows that other areas of the company can't be the problem.) In the long term however it translates into more ride breakdowns, bad shows, bad CM attitude, and bad quality. That translates into a bad experience for the guest. Maybe I'll make more money, but heck I guess a "Good CM" doesn't care about the company or the guests, he or she just thinks for himself and says "screw this, I'm going to work for a company that treats me what I'm worth"

Those of you who follow Six Flags might know that Six Flags is making a BIG push to become more "like Disney" in how there employees treat the guests this year. Also a big push into more shows as well. Think about it, after all these years of cutting costs and treating the guests like crap, six flags now see's the damage it's done. To me, looks like Disney is now heading down that same dark path.