WDW Still Struggling with Safety and Unions

[Lilofan]

Absolutely, and I have no problem with that as long as that freedom exists on both sides. Companies should have the freedom to say that they will not negotiate collectively, but only individually. Companies should be free to say that if you unionize, you don't work there any more. And employees should be free to take their services elsewhere if a company is hostile to their collective bargaining efforts. But that is not usually the kind of arrangement pro-union people want. They want freedom on one side of the equation only.

Reality that some don't want to accept.

 

[SoFloMagic]

Yup - every action has a reaction. Unionize? Awesome, meet your new IT peers in India. Unionize? Awesome, now guests will pour their own drinks and use kiosks to order. Unionize? Awesome, meet your replacement on the assembly line Mr. Robot.

When Amazon takes over the world and everyone has to work in rough conditions with no bathroom breaks for 8 bucks an hour (because they have no competition, they can do what they want...) there is no alternative. Workers cannot always just "walk away" and find somewhere else. That's a view from a place of privilege, and isn't possible for all.

Protections for workers and the ability to unionize are sometimes critical. I agree that businesses can respond in some ways (stop providing health care and making the union do so, for instance), but union-busting is ugly.

 

[SoFloMagic]

Ugly and often very, very effective.

Yep, there's a reason it's illegal

 

[Tom P.]

When Amazon takes over the world and everyone has to work in rough conditions with no bathroom breaks for 8 bucks an hour (because they have no competition, they can do what they want...) there is no alternative. Workers cannot always just "walk away" and find somewhere else. That's a view from a place of privilege, and isn't possible for all.

Protections for workers and the ability to unionize are sometimes critical. I agree that businesses can respond in some ways (stop providing health care and making the union do so, for instance), but union-busting is ugly.

Amazon is not taking over the world and eliminating all competition. Yes, they are a behemoth, but there is still plenty of competition out there. That scenario is also why we have laws in place to prevent the formation of a monopoly. Not to mention that Amazon led the way in setting a minimum wage for its employees of $15 per hour, when they absolutely did not have to.

Yep, there's a reason it's illegal

Union busting is not necessarily illegal. It depends on the specific tactics and techniques being used. It is certainly not as black-and-white as you say.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Yikes...it’s kinda “1900” in this thread, isn’t it?

 

[MarvelCharacterNerd]

Psst... speaking of Amazon, I heard a hot tip - to end 2020 with a bang, they are changing their logo! They will now be known as:

Here is some concept art for their upcoming mall takeovers:

As a countermeasure to try to stand out, Google will decide to finally use the logo it had originally planned in 1997 but opted against at that time as a branding choice:

 

[Lilofan]

Yep, there's a reason it's illegal

It's not illegal but the company they work can make their work experience less than peachy. Not cool but it happens.

 

[MythBuster]

Absolutely, and I have no problem with that as long as that freedom exists on both sides. Companies should have the freedom to say that they will not negotiate collectively, but only individually. Companies should be free to say that if you unionize, you don't work there any more. And employees should be free to take their services elsewhere if a company is hostile to their collective bargaining efforts. But that is not usually the kind of arrangement pro-union people want. They want freedom on one side of the equation only.

Florida is a right-to-work state, so workers have a choice if they want to join the union or not.

 

[WondersOfLife]

Uh... so anyways. Any idea when any shows reopen?

Uni has make up, animal actors, and their new stunt show operating. They even had Poseidon’s Fury up and running until recently.

 

[MaximumEd]

Uh... so anyways. Any idea when any shows reopen?

Uni has make up, animal actors, and their new stunt show operating. They even had Poseidon’s Fury up and running until recently.

I would say they really don’t want big crowds right now, are bleeding money, see how soft future bookings are and are keeping resorts shuttered, so live indoor entertainment is the last thing on their list. However, they have surprised me with a new or modified show here and there and things like the reopening of Stormalong Bay, so who knows?

 

[WondersOfLife]

I would say they really don’t want big crowds right now, are bleeding money, see how soft future bookings are and are keeping resorts shuttered, so live indoor entertainment is the last thing on their list. However, they have surprised me with a new or modified show here and there and things like the reopening of Stormalong Bay, so who knows?

I’d imagine the more they offer the more guests they’d get... I know my fiancé and I HEAVILY debated between pigeon forge and Disney for our anniversary the week after next, simply because the entertainment offering at the parks are slim. But we want to take advantage of the empty parks.

They’re offering so little right now, that it’s on them. Like everyone has kept saying. They keep charging full price (specifically for out of state peeps), and yet don’t give you the full experience. Of course they’re gonna hurt that way.

 

[MaximumEd]

I’d imagine the more they offer the more guests they’d get... I know my fiancé and I HEAVILY debated between pigeon forge and Disney for our anniversary the week after next, simply because the entertainment offering at the parks are slim. But we want to take advantage of the empty parks.

They’re offering so little right now, that it’s on them. Like everyone has kept saying. They keep charging full price (specifically for out of state peeps), and yet don’t give you the full experience. Of course they’re gonna hurt that way.

I agree. If they’d offer more, bookings would be better, but the only play in their book when things start slipping seems to be slash and burn.

 

[Basil of Baker Street]

Not to get off topic but I have officially swore off Amazon. It has always been so convenient to use them but I noticed they jacked up the prices of some goods during the lockdown. One example was I always bought my Black and Decker edger blades from them. about $8 because at Home Depot they were $9 plus tax. But while the lockdown was going on, I logged in to buy one because my current one was starting to wear down. $18! Went to Home Depot...still $9 plus tax. Then I started noticing other items where higher than usual.

Now I am an admitted conspiracy theorist but I think they were taking advantage of people in cities and states with mandatory lockdowns who could only shop online.

Another reason I quit was the 2 day shipping kinda went away during all this mess and my prime membership went to 120 something for the next renewal. So I'm trying to make an effort to by local again.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Florida is a right-to-work state, so workers have a choice if they want to join the union or not.

That’s not really what that means

 

[Jrb1979]

I agree. If they’d offer more, bookings would be better, but the only play in their book when things start slipping seems to be slash and burn.

I disagree with that. Outside of local AP holders most people aren't traveling right now. I don't think offering more would entice people to come. Til they start seeing am uptick in resort guests things will continue to be cut IMO.

 

[JoeCamel]

Not to get off topic but I have officially swore off Amazon. It has always been so convenient to use them but I noticed they jacked up the prices of some goods during the lockdown. One example was I always bought my Black and Decker edger blades from them. about $8 because at Home Depot they were $9 plus tax. But while the lockdown was going on, I logged in to buy one because my current one was starting to wear down. $18! Went to Home Depot...still $9 plus tax. Then I started noticing other items where higher than usual.

Now I am an admitted conspiracy theorist but I think they were taking advantage of people in cities and states with mandatory lockdowns who could only shop online.

Another reason I quit was the 2 day shipping kinda went away during all this mess and my prime membership went to 120 something for the next renewal. So I'm trying to make an effort to by local again.

Clear cache and cookies then look at the price again. Maybe use a different device from a different location altogether. Do not logon

 

[MaximumEd]

I disagree with that. Outside of local AP holders most people aren't traveling right now. I don't think offering more would entice people to come. Til they start seeing am uptick in resort guests things will continue to be cut IMO.

You may be right. I don’t know. I do know a few people that had trips booked and were willing to go, but cancelled because of all the cuts to entertainment and hours. I don’t know how much of an uptick they would get, but they’d get some. Maybe not enough to matter.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I disagree with that. Outside of local AP holders most people aren't traveling right now. I don't think offering more would entice people to come. Til they start seeing am uptick in resort guests things will continue to be cut IMO.

Exactly...

The “why don’t they let all the local APs in??” Line is just not productive.

There is a cognitive disconnect here. Opening up to fill on aps is a bad investment...it’s increasing overhead without providing enough new revenue and profits

You may be right. I don’t know. I do know a few people that had trips booked and were willing to go, but cancelled because of all the cuts to entertainment and hours. I don’t know how much of an uptick they would get, but they’d get some. Maybe not enough to matter.

I saw that last week a poll said 72% of Americans did not want to go to an amusement park - for whatever reason.

Take it with a Grain of salt...but attendance at amusements is Light everywhere...

It’s not like beaches and parks - where subconsciously people feel they’re protected by nature.

 

[ParentsOf4]

I saw that last week a poll said 72% of Americans did not want to go to an amusement park - for whatever reason.

The 72% doesn't say much. Consider this quote:

"According to a 2018 survey, 31 percent of U.S. adults said they would be very interested in going to a theme park in the next 12 months."

Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/194269/attendance-at-theme-and-amusement-parks-in-north-america/

In other words, 2 years before COVID-19, 69% of adults were not "very interested in going to a theme park in the next 12 months."

As shown by the number of posts you and I have made on these threads, we are theme park fans. Most adults are not.

COVID-19 certainly has scared away most WDW vacationers. However, I suspect that most adults have little desire to ever vacation at WDW.

Clearly, WDW attendance is way down because of COVID-19. I'm just saying, don't read too much into that "72%" number.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

The 72% doesn't say much. Consider this quote:

"According to a 2018 survey, 31 percent of U.S. adults said they would be very interested in going to a theme park in the next 12 months."

Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/194269/attendance-at-theme-and-amusement-parks-in-north-america/

In other words, 2 years before COVID-19, 69% of adults were not "very interested in going to a theme park in the next 12 months."

As shown by the number of posts you and I have made on these threads, we are theme park fans. Most adults are not.

COVID-19 certainly has scared away most WDW vacationers. However, I suspect that most adults have little desire to ever vacation at WDW.

Clearly, WDW attendance is way down because of COVID-19. I'm just saying, don't read too much into that "72%" number.

That would mean you have a somewhat limited audience to begin with...

Which amplifies any disruption.