Workers want pay boost

[Californian Elitist]

When I was a CM at Disneyland, I remember them telling us we could get into all the other Disney parks, except the Tokyo ones, for free with our work IDs. We all looked at each other and just laughed. When the hell were we going to get the time, let alone the money to travel to the other Disney parks with our wages?

I remember one week after getting paid and paying rent, I only had two dollars left. I ate mashed potatoes everyday for a week, and one of my roommates had a jar of peanut butter that lasted her a week. The struggle was real. Working at Disneyland was fun (at times), but I'll be damned if I ever work there again with those low wages and all that work I had to do.

 

[nyfrenchy]

I fall on both sides of this argument. I think a forced min wage hike is counter productive. Some jobs just don't deserve $10 per hour.

Please name some of those jobs that you think do not deserve a LIVING WAGE.

 

[WDWDad13]

And how about C) reduced profits but still a very profitable business with better better performing employes with a higher morale thus a lower turnaround.

so if companies are "required" by the government to pay minimum wage workers more, you're saying this would be a good thing because it would automatically give better performing employees with higher morale?

so how come that didn't happen with we all got an automatic check in the mail from the gov't during the bush years?

 

[WDWDad13]

Please name some of those jobs that you think do not deserve a LIVING WAGE.

a "living" wage varies by person... for example, someone might think they don't have enough living wages if they can't go out and buy a new xbox, iPhone, or the Deluxe Disney dining plan

I have had friends in the college program say they don't make enough working for Disney but fail to see what they are doing for their career in terms of college and Disney on the resume (or even foot in the door at Disney for higher jobs)

 

[xdan0920]

a "living" wage varies by person... for example, someone might think they don't have enough living wages if they can't go out and buy a new xbox, iPhone, or the Deluxe Disney dining plan

Also, I said it. Not you. But thanks for fielding the question on my behalf. I did cite one example of a job I feel does not deserve the $10 per hour we were tossing about.

 

[Hakunamatata]

Please name some of those jobs that you think do not deserve a LIVING WAGE.

Define "Living Wage". Make sure it's something that everyone in the market can live with and agree on.

 

[slappy magoo]

a "living" wage varies by person... for example, someone might think they don't have enough living wages if they can't go out and buy a new xbox, iPhone, or the Deluxe Disney dining plan

I'd say a living wage covers home, food, some manner of transportation to/from work, utilities (power, water, heat, and for the 21st I'd say cell phone internet and basic cable), and the ability to buy clothes, and cover your copay when you go to the doctor.

But if your definition of a living wage differs then please, by all means, tell us what you think a living wage is, and who doesn't deserve it based on the work they do.

 

[slappy magoo]

You are absolutely right, but unfortunately that's not how things would work in the larger picture with the way corporations react and pursue profits these days. It may not be immediate, and the wage increase may be great for those folks for a few years, but you can be sure that everything will price adjust as quickly as they think they can push it. The increase would mean more money flowing, but we all know companies don't really like to let it flow freely, they like to capture it and direct it to the profit line and C-level compensation. It may work on the local scale, and maybe even state scale, where companies may be weary of price increases in a certain region in our current online shopping world where the only real reason you need to visit a store is for groceries (and in some large cities, that isn't even a necessity), but put it on a national scale, and now they have an "excuse" to raise the price level all together.

I'd buy that argument were it not for the fact that they raise prices anyway, usually at least twice a year (for tickets, anyway)

 

[Hakunamatata]

But if your definition of a living wage differs then please, by all means, tell us what you think a living wage is, and who doesn't deserve it based on the work they do.

Living wage - a term coined by socially minded politicians to divert attention from their inability to affect the change legally they want and to build support from the citizenry to put pressure on a capitalistic system.

 

[WDWDad13]

I'd say a living wage covers home, food, some manner of transportation to/from work, utilities (power, water, heat, and for the 21st I'd say cell phone internet and basic cable), and the ability to buy clothes, and cover your copay when you go to the doctor.

But if your definition of a living wage differs then please, by all means, tell us what you think a living wage is, and who doesn't deserve it based on the work they do.

well let's see... lots of people have different thoughts on what a home should be, what type of car they drive, what brand name clothes they have, and I would NOT see a cell phone, internet, and basic cable would by ANY means be considered a necessity for "living" - this is part of the problem in this world now... exibit a) my job doesn't pay me what I want so I should be given free handouts because my neighbor who has worked harder in life has what I want

 

[maxairmike]

I'd buy that argument were it not for the fact that they raise prices anyway, usually at least twice a year (for tickets, anyway)

I'm not talking about Disney's prices, I'm talking about everything else (food, clothes, electronics, services, etc.). If there's more money in the system, everyone wants more of it, and they will find a way to capture it, mostly through increased prices. Consumers and employees are just dollar signs, there is no care for them beyond how much money they can pull out of their wallet, and if they all suddenly have more (I realize it isn't everybody, but an increase at the lower levels will have a slight impact up the chain to a certain level as well), well then they will raise prices and keep more because they could care less that the increase of money was supposed to help get their head above the water. The money is there to take, which means they can show higher profits (and resultantly, higher executive compensation), so they're going to take it. The only way to change it is to change the mentality on Wall St. and also of society as a whole. Unfortunately, that just isn't going to happen. I don't have a solution, I just know that the simple solutions probably aren't going to be the help we want or expect.

 

[slappy magoo]

Maybe a blanket minimum wage isn't the answer. I'm not an economist, so I don't know what the answer is. But I'm fairly sure paying 17 year old part time cart gatherers at the supermarket $10 per hour isn't it.

I think we actually agree though. Someone busting their hump 40-50 hours per week should not be making total crap money.

Well, the federal minimum wage is the "blanket." And if state senators or governors feel like it's insufficient, they introduce a bill to raise it. But if there's no blanket, then there's no minimum at all, and that's a scarier project, seeing the unemployed go all Thunderdome fighting for a job that pays 3 bucks an hour because there's no set minimum.

Meanwhile, I disagree with the notion that a kid should get paid less than a grownup doing the same job, with the possible exception of apprenticeships, where a kid is actually learning a trade while working. But even then, it should be livable, and part-timers should get paid per hour what would be comparable to a living wage were they full time (in other words, if the minimum wage is $10.10 an hour, someone working 20 hours a week should still get $202 a week, but not $404). I remember during the 2008 Republican Primary, Newt Gingrich getting some negative press for suggesting that young students who need free or subsidized breakfasts or lunches should be made to do janitorial work in schools and then the schools would each only need "one master janitor." While some applauded the notion that it would teach the kids the value of a dollar and the importance of work, either people (including admittedly me) thought "the most important job a kid has is to BE A STUDENT, to learn, and work towards a better future, and the notion that a whole custodial staff should be fired - to lose the dignity of THEIR hard work - so the schools could get indentured servitude from poor students who would presumably learn something about the value of hard work was nothing short of cruel." What better way to teach a grownup the value of hard work than to say "we firing you and making kids do your job for lunch money?"

 

[WDWoptmist]

Why is this news? When somewhere says Disney CM's demand pay decrease to expedite production of Star Wars Land or something then that is news lol for the record I want more money too no matter where I work I want more but thats just human nature

 

[slappy magoo]

well let's see... lots of people have different thoughts on what a home should be, what type of car they drive, what brand name clothes they have, and I would NOT see a cell phone, internet, and basic cable would by ANY means be considered a necessity for "living" - this is part of the problem in this world now... exibit a) my job doesn't pay me what I want so I should be given free handouts because my neighbor who has worked harder in life has what I want

For most people cell phones are a necessity because they don't have landline phones, and if you're a single parent, you need to be accessible if something happens to your kid. Doesn't have to be a smartphone, but a working phone. I'd argue internet is important because it's a way to look for more work and to improve skills to help you find more work. I'd add cable because I'm not cruel. Just maybe not HBO.

But fine, let's work on YOUR definition of what a living wage is. The cheapest possible apartment (let's say in your neighborhood that's $700 a month for 1BR, all utilities included, which is probably ridiculously cheap in most areas), no designer clothes, but clothes wear out, would you say $50 a month per person is fair for a pair of jeans or a shirt and some socks? And let's say this is a single parent with one kid, so that makes it $100 a month. $100 a week for food for the two people. They'd probably get subsidized health care from the ACA so no cost there, but she has to cover a copay. Let's say $10 a month set aside for copays, assuming parent and child each need to see a doctor twice a year, once for an annual physical, once because they're sick, and the rest of the money covers copays for medicine. Luckily, this single parent has access to a direct bus line to her job so she doesn't even need a car, just a monthly bus pass, which is $75. No TV, or at least no cable TV, no cell phone, no internet, no toys for the kid, no birthday or Christmas presents, no because life is hard.

That's $1285 a month, and it's a wildly conservative beyond-the-realm-of-possibility estimate for a parent and child to live on, with no government assistance and no incidentals. Assuming they only have to pay payroll taxes and state because they're too poor to afford federal taxes (are you one of those "you gotta have skin in the game" types?) they'd have to make about $1542. Which, BTW, is less than the current minimum wage. And technically that's 40 hours a week for 4 weeks, most months you may work an extra day or two, but I averaged all the expenses to weekly as well. So we're talking about someone making $9.64 an hour

What jobs do you think are not deserving of $9.64 an hour? What PEOPLE do you think are not deserving of earning $9.64 an hour for the work they work?

 

[Figment2005]

Another thing. It's not disney alone that is the cause for low wage. Central Florida in general is poorly paid. In comparison to other similar jobs, service/tourism, in the area Disney is actually on the higher end because of the unions. So don't blame Disney alone, blame the state of Florida.

 

[Minthorne]

Disney should probably take a page out of Costcos book though. Just cause min wage is $8 doesn't mean a place like WDW should be paying that. Guest facing CMs charged with providing a magical experience for guests paying in the thousands for that experience, should be of a higher quality and should be paid as such.

Somehow this rings true to me. I've seen CMs put up with some guests behaviors and thought they just aren't paid enough for this.
Have CMs always been paid at the low end like this? Even in the 90's?

 

[WDWDad13]

For most people cell phones are a necessity because they don't have landline phones, and if you're a single parent, you need to be accessible if something happens to your kid. Doesn't have to be a smartphone, but a working phone. I'd argue internet is important because it's a way to look for more work and to improve skills to help you find more work. I'd add cable because I'm not cruel. Just maybe not HBO.

But fine, let's work on YOUR definition of what a living wage is. The cheapest possible apartment (let's say in your neighborhood that's $700 a month for 1BR, all utilities included, which is probably ridiculously cheap in most areas), no designer clothes, but clothes wear out, would you say $50 a month per person is fair for a pair of jeans or a shirt and some socks? And let's say this is a single parent with one kid, so that makes it $100 a month. $100 a week for food for the two people. They'd probably get subsidized health care from the ACA so no cost there, but she has to cover a copay. Let's say $10 a month set aside for copays, assuming parent and child each need to see a doctor twice a year, once for an annual physical, once because they're sick, and the rest of the money covers copays for medicine. Luckily, this single parent has access to a direct bus line to her job so she doesn't even need a car, just a monthly bus pass, which is $75. No TV, or at least no cable TV, no cell phone, no internet, no toys for the kid, no birthday or Christmas presents, no because life is hard.

That's $1285 a month, and it's a wildly conservative beyond-the-realm-of-possibility estimate for a parent and child to live on, with no government assistance and no incidentals. Assuming they only have to pay payroll taxes and state because they're too poor to afford federal taxes (are you one of those "you gotta have skin in the game" types?) they'd have to make about $1542. Which, BTW, is less than the current minimum wage. And technically that's 40 hours a week for 4 weeks, most months you may work an extra day or two, but I averaged all the expenses to weekly as well. So we're talking about someone making $9.64 an hour

What jobs do you think are not deserving of $9.64 an hour? What PEOPLE do you think are not deserving of earning $9.64 an hour for the work they work?

there are so many directions I could go with this....but I had better not

 

[slappy magoo]

Living wage - a term coined by socially minded politicians to divert attention from their inability to affect the change legally they want and to build support from the citizenry to put pressure on a capitalistic system.

Or...you know...the right thing to do. Tomayto tomahto

 

[slappy magoo]

there are so many directions I could go with this....but I had better not

Yes, I suspect any one of those directions you take would be perilous, you're right to stop now.

 

[WDWDad13]

Yes, I suspect any one of those directions you take would be perilous, you're right to stop now.

no what I meant was so many things I could point out that is wrong with our society today