Disney Responds to Cast Member Union Protests

As negotiations are underway, Disney responds to protests. What do you think of their response?

Cast Members

Cast Members give guests magical Disney experiences. They go above and beyond for Guests to create a memorable experience. Disney offers many perks for Cast Members. In October, Disney announced another great Cast Member perk including the Disney+ bundle as well as the Main Gate Pass starting in 2023.

Bob Iger recently held a Town Hall meeting and invited Cast Members to share their questions and concerns as he recently returned to the Walt Disney Company as CEO. Over the past several months, one of Disney’s largest unions Service Trades Council Union (STCU) has been in negotiations for higher wages and better benefits for unionized Cast Members.

Current Negotiations

At this time, the STCU is fighting for $18 an hour immediately with the hope of $20 an hour in the near future. Disney agrees with this, but the timeline is where the disagreement begins between Disney and the STCU.

The Walt Dinsey Company shared their response with the Orlando Sentinel, “We have presented a strong and meaningful offer that far outpaces Florida minimum wage by at least $5 an hour and immediately takes starting wages for certain roles including bus drivers, housekeepers and culinary up to a minimum of $20 an hour while providing a path to $20 for all other full-time, non-tipped STCU roles during the contract term.”

The current “path to $20 an hour” could possibly be distributed over five years. This is currently where Disney and the STCU are at odds. We are hopeful that an agreeable solution may soon be found by both the STCU and the Walt Disney Company.

“We have presented a strong and meaningful offer that far outpaces Florida minimum wage by at least $5 an hour.”

Orlando Sentinel

What do you think of this disagreement? Do you think Disney should shorten the “path to $20 an hour”? Share your thoughts with us on our Facebook Page.