rob0519
Well-Known Member
My take home pay has not increased in 10 years. I'm sure I make more than a WDW parks employee though. There is a difference between minimum wage and a living wage.
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Workers want pay boost
- Thread starter Figaro928
- Start date
My take home pay has not increased in 10 years. I'm sure I make more than a WDW parks employee though. There is a difference between minimum wage and a living wage.
Belowthesurface
Well-Known Member
If a typical front line Cast Members works 6 days every day for an entire year, they might make $30,000-35,000 a year. Based on various friends in low paying roles, working no more than 40 hours a week, they take home about $20,000.
Disney loses a lot of really talented people due to money.
Disney loses a lot of really talented people due to money.
Sped2424
Well-Known Member
Bless this ^ Also in before the thread lockdown!
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inDiG3nCe
Member
I have to take Disney's side in this battle. It is far from the PR nightmare a business like Wal-Mart is facing. Look at the benefits CM's have
Discounts at select Walt Disney World and Disneyland dining, merchandise, and recreation locations
Discounts at select Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort hotels
Disney Cruise Line Discounts
Discounts at participating local businesses
Theme park admission for cast members
Cast member exclusive sneak previews of new attractions, parks, and resorts
Wellness programs
On-site health fairs and seminars
Life-management services
Cast member clubs, instructional programs, and sports leagues
Credit union membership
The compensation CMs get is much more than just their hourly wage and it is a much better working environment than almost anywhere else a person can find. That is why so many people all over the world want to work there. There are plenty of college interns willing to take the place of any disgruntled entry level employee.
Discounts at select Walt Disney World and Disneyland dining, merchandise, and recreation locations
Discounts at select Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort hotels
Disney Cruise Line Discounts
Discounts at participating local businesses
Theme park admission for cast members
Cast member exclusive sneak previews of new attractions, parks, and resorts
Wellness programs
On-site health fairs and seminars
Life-management services
Cast member clubs, instructional programs, and sports leagues
Credit union membership
The compensation CMs get is much more than just their hourly wage and it is a much better working environment than almost anywhere else a person can find. That is why so many people all over the world want to work there. There are plenty of college interns willing to take the place of any disgruntled entry level employee.
alissafalco
Well-Known Member
Really? All that is fine and dandy, but it doesn't pay the bills!!!
WDWDad13
Well-Known Member
Oh good grief where do I even begin
First off its supply and demand ....if there are people lined up to work for what they are making now they aren't going to set a much higher minimum wage across the board with the current workers. A lot of people work for Disney as a CM for various reasons things like the college program...and how good Disney looks on a resume, etc.
Sure someone making $8.45 would like to make $10 just like someone making $50 would like to make $51. We all want more regardless of what we make and where we are but wait for it...wait for it....Disney is running a business...not just a theme park for us on the forums
No one is coming down on the workers....maybe the unions in general but not the individual workers.
Simple business logic (that many running the country don't have) is that if you raise the minimum wage by a substantial margin across the board two things will happen a) cost of items will go up and then it won't matter that people are making more or b) more people will lose jobs because the businesses they are running have to offset the cost somehow
I agree most companies are very top heavy and the range is massive from bottom to top pay...but taking from Peter to give give to Paul who doesn't have to work as hard anymore to move up in pay or playing Robin Hood isn't going to solve anything
So what if Disney or Uni decided to give every cast member or front line employee $15 an hour across the board but because of this it keeps them from building anything new for the next 15 years and making cuts elsewhere?
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TubaGeek
God bless the "Ignore" button.
This is a transparent argument.
Guess what: regardless of Disney CM pay, inflation happens. Who does it effect the hardest? People who were scraping by in the first place. The cast members aren't trying to be ahead of the curve, they're struggling to catch up.
And re: supply and demand, only by banding together and threatening WDW's happy little status do they have any pull. Disney is already paying them as little as they legally can.
Oh, and we are all aware that Disney is now more a business than it is a theme park. That has become painfully clear.
Zummi Gummi
Pioneering the Universe Within!
You really think those $9 an hour CM's can afford to take a cruise, even a discounted one? The people who regularly take advantage of those discounts are managers and CP's with rich parents.
Tonka's Skipper
Well-Known Member
This.
.............the economy is better and many people are starting to get the pay raises that they have not gotten in the last few years.And its about time to!
AKK
Actually, I believe the anecdotal evidence on the effects of raising the minimum wage have been neutral at worst. And as for the costs of goods being raised, Disney hasn't been bashful about raising its ticket prices (~60% increase over the past nine years) or food and merchandise costs (to say nothing of its room rates) without any dramatic increase in worker pay. And they've been cutting entertainment across the board to boot, even before this article came out.
xdan0920
Think for yourselfer
dannyboyindc
Well-Known Member
WDWDad13
Well-Known Member
If John Doe could get a job somewhere else making more where he wouldn't have to struggle to get by... he probably would... if he couldn't then he might take a job that was offered to him at Disney.... because that's still better than no job (and most people would say better than some jobs making more money)
let's take McD's for example... if there was a new law saying everyone had to at least start out making $10/hr there... your little value menu and value meals aren't exactly a value anymore (or they will get rid or other workers to help offset the new cost)
Big minimum rage increase = high costs for products/service/items, etc. and/or lost jobs
therefore
Big minimum rage increase = not much help...those "struggling" would still struggle
WDWDad13
Well-Known Member
yeah I agree with what you're saying... I mean Disney is making more and cutting more therefore they should have more to pay employees. The company I work for just set record earnings and growth last year but our bonuses are still the same as the previous year.
Sometimes having more cash on hand to be able to build more things, R&D, maintenance, etc. is better in the long term for a viable company than just using that extra money to pay the employees more...especially if things begin to go downhill more for that company or the economy in general in the future due to not managing their money well.
believe me I want to get paid more too...we all do... but sometimes we have to look at the big picture....we all know the higher ups get paid more (and too much in my opinion but it is what it is) I just hope Disney is smart with their $
xdan0920
Think for yourselfer
Figment2005
Well-Known Member
Nobody here seemed to mention that, per our union contract, cast members do get a yearly raise. Yes, most of us would like that raise to be larger but at least a raise happens. I've known many who have worked in other places that were lucky to get a raise every couple of years. The union is currently fighting to increase the annual pay increase.
WDWDad13
Well-Known Member
yeah... you know the money government takes out to waste so much it makes MM+ expenditures people complain about on here look like pocket change hahaTaxes?
roj2323
Well-Known Member
I've heard they are trying to change the definition of full time to 40hours a week as well.
maxairmike
Well-Known Member
Read the two bolded parts, multiple times. Maybe pay closer attention to the folks that are "staying" at the roach motels along 192 and watch the school busses that pick up and drop off at them on weekdays. All of my CM friends are lucky, they either had support from their family or planned and had a good amount saved up to move down here in the first place, but always with at least one roommate (that they met or knew through their College Program, typically). Oh, and the folks at the motels, you probably don't run into too many of them on your visit, because they're the ones who make the park look good for you if you're there at rope drop.
You're still young, fresh out of college, or still going, likely did a college program (maybe multiple). Maybe the best you can do in the current job market is Disney, especially if you don't have a specialized degree. Or maybe (and considering there's a very well respected college for this just up I-4 on Universal Blvd., this isn't hard to imagine) the easiest thing to do after graduating with a hospitality degree is staying right here in Central Florida and working for the mouse (or another park in the area, Universal and SeaWorld employees face mostly the same economic issues, only you don't hear much or anything about it because they're not unionized places). Well now you're likely to run into that invisible wall that Jason painted above. Now you're stuck. Move to a more affordable housing option and still be considerably safe? Well, if you can find something affordable, you're probably going to just end up breaking even or spending more on the time/gas/toll cost difference for the new place. Get a new job? Maybe, but in the local job market that is much easier said than done, and you're more than likely going to move laterally at best, but probably down, at least around here. What are the opportunity costs of the new job? Around here, it is likely to be another service industry job, which means you're just stuck in the cycle. It is vicious, and once you're in, it can be very tough to get out. Even if you do have the means, the mental aspect can be harsh and can make you think you can't, I've seen it with friends. Oh, and the RCID has a "Housing Plan" section in their 20 year plan...biggest joke I've ever read. All the housing and apartments popping up around the Cast parking lot area for MK, forget about it unless you're looking at a three bedroom with at least three total people (with the exception of the one income-restricted complex that has been there for years, but that's the only one).
I'm not advocating for or against, per se, but I don't think too many here understand what the situation here in Orlando is really like for things like this. It really is different, and I've lived in the Midwest, and now here, so I've seen the difference. Thankfully I'm not in it, but a lot of my friends are, so I see a lot of it firsthand. I don't think a forced minimum wage raise to $10 is a good thing, because it will force everything else up to the point where $10 is now the same as what we have now at about $8. However, outside of a select few companies, no one is going to raise their wages without being forced nowadays with the way corporations define their financial success. The situation, especially here in Orlando, is complex and not nearly as simple as saying "get a new job or move somewhere else," or "you knew what you signed on for" (hint: Casting spouts as much, if not more pixie dust than guest-facing marketing; lots of jobs, lots of opportunities for advancement, blah blah blah). All of the parks and the larger service industry in general have created a situation in Orlando that is a burden on taxpayers. Whose responsibility is it? The answer is complex, and the simple responses here are just...simple.