“We make Disneyland the place for family vacations, birthdays and celebrations. We create the profits of our theme parks and the magic seen throughout our resorts. But instead of rewarding our hard work and dedication, Disney is intimidating, surveilling and illegally disciplining our members, undermining our ability to negotiate and win the contract we deserve,” the negotiating committee said in a statement Friday. “The overwhelming unfair labor practice strike authorization vote sends a clear message to the company: we are stronger together, not divided by intimidation tactics.”
The decision doesn’t necessarily mean that cast members will go on strike, but it does give union leaders the power to do so if Disney doesn’t reach a new contract. The union hopes the vote will increase pressure on the company after a rally earlier this week at the resort’s entrance, where members held signs with slogans like “Mickey will want his fair share!”
Disney Workers Rising said the union plans to meet with the company again on Monday and Tuesday, adding that “strikes will always be a last resort.”
“We deeply appreciate the important role our Cast Members play in providing memorable experiences for our guests,” Disneyland said in a statement. “We remain committed to reaching an agreement that focuses on what matters most to Cast Members, while also growing the Disneyland Resort and creating jobs.”
The company added that authorizing a strike “is not unusual as part of the negotiation process” and said Disneyland Resort “will continue to welcome guests.”
Gavin Doyle, founder of theme park media outlet MickeyVisit.com, said he expects Disney Workers Rising and Disneyland to avoid strikes or disruption to visitors because Disney needs the support of cast members and the local community to continue its growth plans.
Doyle said a series of theme park announcements will be made at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event in Anaheim, California, next month. Disney got the green light to build and renovate attractions, restaurants, retail and hotel space on the property after the City Council approved the Disneyland Forward Development Plan in May. The company also said last year it would increase investment in its theme park division to about $60 billion over the next decade. Doyle said Disney has many theme park enthusiasts on its side as employees seek a living wage under the next three-year contract.
“Cast Members are an essential part of the Disney theme park experience,” he said, “and we all want them to be fairly compensated for the work they do to provide our guests with a great vacation.”
Hundreds of union members rallied outside the entrance to Disneyland Resort on Wednesday, the park’s 69th anniversary, calling for higher wages and incentives for longtime employees.
They included Cynthia Carranza, a night-shift cleaner at Disneyland, who said management has intimidated workers by cutting their hours or forcing them to teach other employees how to do their jobs, instilling fear that they will be replaced.
She said she enjoyed her job keeping the grounds tidy before visitors arrived, but her hourly wage of just over $20 had forced her out of her apartment.
Carranza said she worked three jobs and lived in her car with her puppies from July to November 2022. To get to Disney, she would park at one of her part-time jobs and carpool with another cast member, with the sound of cars driving on the nearby freeway drowning out the sounds of her dogs barking, she said, adding that she used the showers and feminine products in the costume building.
Carranza now shares a studio apartment with her boyfriend, but the problems of being overworked and underpaid remain. “We are the people who make the magic of the park,” she said. “We’re willing to do whatever it takes to extend our contract, to be respected, to earn a livable wage, and to be valued.”
A Disneyland strike would be “devastating” for the company and the entire theme park industry, said Dennis Spiegel, founder and CEO of global consulting firm International Theme Park Services. During the last Disneyland strike, which lasted 22 days in 1984, Mr. Spiegel said department heads walked out of the office and ran rides.
Spiegel said if work stopped this year, Disney would be short more than 14,000 cast members for the peak summer season, disrupting millions of visitor, hotel and flight reservations.
“I’m sure everyone within the Disney organization is looking at ways to do everything they can to get around this issue,” he said.
Disney Workers United, also known as the Master Service Council, represents Local 324 of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 83 of the Bakery, Confectionery and Tobacco Workers Union and Grain Mill Workers Union, Service Employees International Union-West Chapter of the United Service Workers, and Local 495 of the Teamsters.
The union, which represents a range of workers from cleaners and ride operators to candy makers and merchandise sellers, began negotiating contract issues including wages and attendance rules in April. According to the union, 28% of Disney employees surveyed this year reported food insecurity and one-third reported experiencing housing insecurity.
The Disneyland Park contract expired last month, and contracts for Disney California Adventure Park and Downtown Disney expire on September 30. The union has since accused Disney of mistreating its more than 675 members, saying they “were threatened, surveilled and disciplined for wearing union badges in support of the union contract campaign.”
This article has been updated.
