Workers want pay boost

[copcarguyp71]

I had a similar situation with a senior employee who felt he was worth more. I gave him a healthy bump up hoping he would step up and become a team leader. In the end his productivity dropped and I ended up catching him on video multiple times surfing on his smart phone for quite a bit of the day and taking hour and a half lunches while still only putting a half hour down on his timecard. I was actually in this kids wedding and we were friends outside of work so maybe that had something to do with it too but ultimately I had to let him go and the damage he did to morale before he left is still a battle I am fighting in the shop.

A large portion of today's workforce seems to have lost touch with the fact that they need to provide services equivalent in kind to the amount of pay. So many think that because they show up on a daily basis that you owe them a living. Sorry for the cynicism folks but it is really how this small business owner sees it.

In 1985 I worked as a Pharmacy Tech at a small hospital. I was hired on at $8.21/hour. I had no idea WDW was paying wages this absurd in 2014.

...although if those hourly rates are accurate it does seem extremely low pay for people whom you want to bring their very best presentation to the public. It would kind of explain why the captains on Jungle Cruise "phone it in" in recent years. Pay rates and receiving fair labor concurrent to it needs to be a two way street, dangling the possibility of climbing to a low level management position in front of employees is not the answer to getting more out of them.

 

[jaklgreen]

Keep in mind that Disney does not hire anyone under 18. So those jobs that are normally filled by high school kids need to be filled by adults. And most of their positions require you to be flexible with your schedule so trying to get another job or going to school is really tough. There is no reason other then money greed why they do not pay people higher. I looked at the pay schedule someone posted and those wages are ridiculously low. Most of those positions already require you to have experience but then pay you at rock bottom. If I went to culinary school and became a pasty chef I would think that would be more then $9.40/hour. I used to decorate cakes for a grocery store before I had kids 15 years ago and I started out at $12/hour. I now work at a fast casual restaurant(like a Panera) and do the catering orders in the morning and take orders during lunch and make $11/hour. A big company like Disney should not be so behind in their pay. Like I said before, if we were able to get paid $8-$9/hour 15-20 years ago for these positions then there is no reason why they are paying the same or less for them now, especially since the cost of living has gone up so much. If companies could afford it then, they can afford it now. It is pure greed, plain and simple that they pay so low.

 

[copcarguyp71]

I wonder how many employees just suck it up and deal with it just so they can add a couple years working for Disney to their resume if they want to work in the hospitality,hotelier or food service field...

 

[ford91exploder]

Keep in mind that Disney does not hire anyone under 18. So those jobs that are normally filled by high school kids need to be filled by adults. And most of their positions require you to be flexible with your schedule so trying to get another job or going to school is really tough. There is no reason other then money greed why they do not pay people higher. I looked at the pay schedule someone posted and those wages are ridiculously low. Most of those positions already require you to have experience but then pay you at rock bottom. If I went to culinary school and became a pasty chef I would think that would be more then $9.40/hour. I used to decorate cakes for a grocery store before I had kids 15 years ago and I started out at $12/hour. I now work at a fast casual restaurant(like a Panera) and do the catering orders in the morning and take orders during lunch and make $11/hour. A big company like Disney should not be so behind in their pay. Like I said before, if we were able to get paid $8-$9/hour 15-20 years ago for these positions then there is no reason why they are paying the same or less for them now, especially since the cost of living has gone up so much. If companies could afford it then, they can afford it now. It is pure greed, plain and simple that they pay so
low.

I can it's called uncontrolled immigration thereby distorting the labor market and driving down wages when you have a group of immigrants pooling their resources and living 10-20 per household and some of these people are semi-skilled labor you are going to cause massive economic distortions one of which is driving down the labor rates for semi-skilled positions to near minimum wage levels.

It's why BOTH parties are for so called immigration reform one party wants their votes, the other the cheap labor which has the effect of driving down compensation for everyone.

The laws of supply and demand are still in effect but in this case labor supply is being artificially increased, I've always been in favor of a robust 'guest worker' program so temporary labor shortages can be allieviated without destroying the wage base for the country as a whole.

 

[jlsHouston]

Keep in mind that Disney does not hire anyone under 18. So those jobs that are normally filled by high school kids need to be filled by adults. And most of their positions require you to be flexible with your schedule so trying to get another job or going to school is really tough. There is no reason other then money greed why they do not pay people higher. I looked at the pay schedule someone posted and those wages are ridiculously low. Most of those positions already require you to have experience but then pay you at rock bottom. If I went to culinary school and became a pasty chef I would think that would be more then $9.40/hour. I used to decorate cakes for a grocery store before I had kids 15 years ago and I started out at $12/hour. I now work at a fast casual restaurant(like a Panera) and do the catering orders in the morning and take orders during lunch and make $11/hour. A big company like Disney should not be so behind in their pay. Like I said before, if we were able to get paid $8-$9/hour 15-20 years ago for these positions then there is no reason why they are paying the same or less for them now, especially since the cost of living has gone up so much. If companies could afford it then, they can afford it now. It is pure greed, plain and simple that they pay so low.

Pretty much I think I agree with this. Because of wall street (large shareholder expectations is the translation here) big companies have huge discrepancies in wage levels compared to say a small business, When we owned a small business we were pulling a quarter million in wages out, but our lowest paid employee ( the girl who answered the phones) was paid $ 12 bucks an hour and the majority of our employees were paid $ 45K/year. This was late 80's early 90's and it was a technical consulting business.
I know my BFF got her AA in something culinary related in the 90's and she has worked for a small oyster bar chain in management for almost 20 years. She has a base salary in the mid 5' figure and gets bonuses quarterly which bring her pay in the the 6 figure range. All the workers "behind the line" make over 10 bucks an hour.
In general I honestly believe the small business is much more concerned about attracting good employees and keeping them and compensation reflects that.

 

[flynnibus]

In 1985 I worked as a Pharmacy Tech at a small hospital. I was hired on at $8.21/hour. I had no idea WDW was paying wages this absurd in 2014.

Well that was great pay for that time... More than double or almost three times min wage jobs.

Even 8/hr for grocery 20 years ago was good pay. I seem to recall our grocery pay to be low 7s in the early nineties

 

[Disneyhead'71]

WDW "guests" deserve, for their considerable vacation expense, the very best service <$8/hr can buy. This may explain why a CM ate some fries off of my friends plate before handing it to her.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Ford, knew the assembly line work was hard and yes he raised the pay to improve productivity. He also build a state of the art, airy, heated. lighted and well designed plant to help production.

All these things also make it better for the workers and for the company. He didn't have to do all this to improve profits. He did it for his workers and to have a loyal work force. All this is called *TEAM* effort. The team being the employees on the line, management and the company working together.

Gee............maybe some of todays companies could take a lesson from Ford???........sadly the bean counters are often not that smart........look as Iger!

AKK

Ford's strategy really only worked because he was the outlier. It is how he created demand for his work carried out on his terms.

I have to say, I'm impressed with the level headed and respectful back and forth here. I expected a lock a while ago. It is possible to talk about a hot button topic without people getting all worked up and attacking each other. Good job everyone

Back on topic. I think if you have 25,000 people in an area working for under $10/hr at least some of them are trying to earn a living. There are probably a percentage that are kids with limited responsibility or who may be getting help from mom and dad but there are many who probably are supporting themselves and/or a family. People live in dive motels that rent rooms daily because they can't afford an actual apartment, they eat when they can, they get by somehow. Many probably do work a 2nd job. Bumping them up from $8 to $10 isn't going to solve all of their problems, but it could at least be enough to get them into better living conditions and provide some cushion for living.

Like I said, an increase like that is going to hit all of us. If it happened they would likely jack prices up (even more than normal). I personally would be OK with that if it was really going back to the CMs. Right now the price increases seem to be only going to the executives and shareholders.

But is there even an existing housing stock that exists between motels (which really are not cheap) and a cheap apartment? That's been a big part of a problem in central Florida (which existed even when Disney more) . Massive population growth means housing has to be built new, so there is no older housing that loses its ability to command a premium. A significant jump in people able to afford cheap apartments will only drive up rents. A real solution is, unfortunately, going to have to be a slow, coordinated process that deals with many areas.

I had a similar situation with a senior employee who felt he was worth more. I gave him a healthy bump up hoping he would step up and become a team leader. In the end his productivity dropped and I ended up catching him on video multiple times surfing on his smart phone for quite a bit of the day and taking hour and a half lunches while still only putting a half hour down on his timecard. I was actually in this kids wedding and we were friends outside of work so maybe that had something to do with it too but ultimately I had to let him go and the damage he did to morale before he left is still a battle I am fighting in the shop.

A large portion of today's workforce seems to have lost touch with the fact that they need to provide services equivalent in kind to the amount of pay. So many think that because they show up on a daily basis that you owe them a living. Sorry for the cynicism folks but it is really how this small business owner sees it.

Not as an owner, but a manager, I too saw a lot of similar attitudes. Employees wanting more hours and more money but refusing the training to add to their skill set (so they could do more as most jobs had little need beyond a few hours every week) and/or not being fully committed to their new hours.

 

[JerseyDad]

Well that was great pay for that time... More than double or almost three times min wage jobs.

Even 8/hr for grocery 20 years ago was good pay. I seem to recall our grocery pay to be low 7s in the early nineties

....key word being: "WAS".

....there is such a huge disparity between wages and cost of living (particularly since late 70's and into the 80's) that it's almost impossible to "make ends meet" with an hourly (min wage) job. That fact has been known for quite some time ...particularly with the loss of all the manufacturing jobs to overseas markets.

....that said ...it's pretty much impossible to live the "American Dream" on a min. wage salary (even when working 2 jobs of similar wages)

 

[JerseyDad]

WDW "guests" deserve, for their considerable vacation expense, the very best service <$8/hr can buy. This may explain why a CM ate some fries off of my friends plate before handing it to her.

....how exciting!!

....that was the ofter heard of ...but rarely seen ...'food safety inspector' ...insuring maximum taste for you Disney dollars!!

 

[copcarguyp71]

Not as an owner, but a manager, I too saw a lot of similar attitudes. Employees wanting more hours and more money but refusing the training to add to their skill set (so they could do more as most jobs had little need beyond a few hours every week) and/or not being fully committed to their new hours.

Case in point: I purchased a welder for our shop so that we did not have to outsource some of the more simple fabrication jobs at the request of the majority of the shop. We use it perhaps once a week or week and a half but now I have an employee who feels he should be paid welders rates...I am very close to selling the *&^# thing on craigslist or just telling them that nobody but myself is to use it if that is the attitude. Sorry to vent here but it does point to a general underlying problem across the board.

 

[jlsHouston]

Well that was great pay for that time... More than double or almost three times min wage jobs.

Even 8/hr for grocery 20 years ago was good pay. I seem to recall our grocery pay to be low 7s in the early nineties

Yes and I had great medical. My kids' dad with the degree in geology had to take a $ 10/hour geotech job when we moved back to CA and I was quite proud of myself for talking myself into that pharmacy job job. But hospitals always paid higher wages for semi-skilled workers back in those days. Now that position pays 15-18/hour and you pretty much need a 2 year degree and certification. My sister was a union checker for Ralph's Grocery during that same time period and made 10/bucks an hour.

 

[jlsHouston]

WDW "guests" deserve, for their considerable vacation expense, the very best service <$8/hr can buy. This may explain why a CM ate some fries off of my friends plate before handing it to her.

Okay I know you are joking.....there's a TR with the daughter giving her mom up about doing this ....

 

[jlsHouston]

....key word being: "WAS".

....there is such a huge disparity between wages and cost of living (particularly since late 70's and into the 80's) that it's almost impossible to "make ends meet" with an hourly (min wage) job. That fact has been known for quite some time ...particularly with the loss of all the manufacturing jobs to overseas markets.

....that said ...it's pretty much impossible to live the "American Dream" on a min. wage salary (even when working 2 jobs of similar wages)

And I agree here too. And middle class "wealth" was pretty much made not on wages but on homeownership. You rented til you could save the small down payment and buy. That real estate purchase not only put a roof over your head, but often gave a tax write off and gave you equity.

 

[jlsHouston]

Case in point: I purchased a welder for our shop so that we did not have to outsource some of the more simple fabrication jobs at the request of the majority of the shop. We use it perhaps once a week or week and a half but now I have an employee who feels he should be paid welders rates...I am very close to selling the *&^# thing on craigslist or just telling them that nobody but myself is to use it if that is the attitude. Sorry to vent here but it does point to a general underlying problem across the board.

Yah...there is something to be said for being a one woman show rather than a business owner. I don't have to suffer the malcontent and I don't have to play on any team but my own....

 

[ford91exploder]

Case in point: I purchased a welder for our shop so that we did not have to outsource some of the more simple fabrication jobs at the request of the majority of the shop. We use it perhaps once a week or week and a half but now I have an employee who feels he should be paid welders rates...I am very close to selling the *&^# thing on craigslist or just telling them that nobody but myself is to use it if that is the attitude. Sorry to vent here but it does point to a general underlying problem across the board.

If he wants to be paid welders rates, Then tell him to make HIMSELF a welder and get his AWS certification and make himself more valuable. None of my employers have ever paid for 'training' I've gotten all my professional certifications on my OWN DIME and my OWN TIME.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Okay I know you are joking.....there's a TR with the daughter giving her mom up about doing this ....

Actually, I wasn't joking. I have a CM friend named Sarah, and she had ordered a sandwich from the CS place in Germany@Epcot. The CM serving her literally ate some fries off the plate before handing it over to my friend.

Note to TDO: You get what you pay for. You get bottom of the barrel quality employees when you pay bottom of the scale compensation.

 

[copcarguyp71]

If he wants to be paid welders rates, Then tell him to make HIMSELF a welder and get his AWS certification and make himself more valuable. None of my employers have ever paid for 'training' I've gotten all my professional certifications on my OWN DIME and my OWN TIME.

He is a good kid and a hard worker but the ability to be ABLE to weld does not make you a Welder...along with the certs that go along with it so I totally agree. I am not sure if he is too far gone or if he can be brought back to reason but I guess this just points to the other end of the spectrum where employees try to bend the company over a barrell...guess what, I don't bend at the waist especially where business is concerned so there is the door.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

America!: Where employers loathe the people who make their vast wealth possible.

 

[copcarguyp71]

America!: Where employers loathe the people who make their vast wealth possible.

I sincerely hope that is not a jab at me and small business owners. While I agree if you are referring to corporate america but those of us in the "cottage industries" certainly do not fit that description. I have been at it for 15 years and if I have vast wealth then it must be in some bank account I am not aware of.

My employees have benefits I myself cannot afford and my wife works a regular salaried position for the bennies in the family.