#Disneyland Strike

[thepoetrytheorist]

If you love Disney, its parks, its media, and its merch, listen up.

So I work for Disneyland, and we are talking about striking very soon. So soon, in fact, that we've been hosting rallies just outside of the parks. Yesterday was the 69th birthday of Disneyland Anaheim... it was also a monumental rally.

I haven't seen anyone on tumblr talking about the impending strikes against Disney. Not even going through the Disney tags or searching tumblr for "Disneyland Strike."

Let's talk about why we're striking:

Cost of living in the immediate SoCal region is nearly 2x as much as we are getting paid.

Cast members that have worked for the company for long periods of time are still paid as mucha s new hires.

Disney has showed up to union negotiations with insulting offers, including at 25 cent raise. Most cast members make $19.90

Disney rarely schedules you. In some areas and departments, you are fighting with your fellow cast members for hours. I have heard of cast members who are only scheduled for 1 4-hour shift per week. Many of those cast members have upwards of an hour commute to and from work.

Disney Admin has told attractions castmembers [so: rides, rollercoasters, and anything fun you get to do and see at the parks] that we are losing them money, which is why they refuse to schedule us and pay us. In the words of my partner, who also works at the parks, Disney without attractions is an over glorified mall and a food court. Disney needs us, and they know it, but they do not respect us.

Disney has an unfair attendance policy. It can be very difficult to get a needed day off, even when it has been requested weeks or months in advance. When you do take a day off [with-out accrued sick or vacation time] it counts against you. You can have 3 a month, 6 in 90 days, 9 in 180 days, or 12 in a year. How do you accrue sick/vacation? Hours worked, which can be impossible with the scheduling practices mentioned above. (Most cast members trade shifts among themselves to get around this.)

Cast members feel unsafe and unsupported in the parks. Many cast members have felt threatened by entitled guests upset that they are following policy. Disney Leads and Managers have to say yes to these guests and make things happen, though. [Which only makes this behavior worse and more dangerous for cast members who are only doing their job.]

Cast members also report feeling threatened, or even being literally threatened, by management in the parks. Especially cast members who have a second job. Especially cast members who know their rights.

Further, cast members work in hazardous conditions with pay that does not reflect that. Many cast members report losses of hearing, sore throats, and severe back and shoulder pain. Cast members are also exposed to infectious diseases at a much higher rate.

https://www.sfgate.com/disneyland/article/union-button-contract-dispute-19515296.php?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2u5o_mvU3i6jpIyHxBUZpEzD2GRSKFf5Pem4uRXqa6vKWDgZuffvINd1g_aem_AA1L0fI1phugJIluYMcDSw

[foggyfanfic]

Did you guys hear Disneyland Cast Members voted to strike?

It was nearly unanimous too, 99% of the unionized cast members voted in favor of the strike. This doesn't necessarily mean they will strike, more that when the union rep shows up to the negotiation table on Monday they'll have that extra bit of leverage. Hopefully that'll be enough to win them living wages and such. I don't have anything intelligent to say, I just feel a kind of way about this subject, I'm going to put my opinions under the cut.

Ok, look, I love Disneyland. Love it with a passion. You know what reminded me this was happening and prompted me to look up the story? I was thinking of updating this card I made for one of the many games I've come up with to play in Disneyland because I have a weird variety of hyper-fixation when it comes to that park specifically.

So I am not speaking an ounce of hyperbole when I say Disneyland is my favorite place in the world.

But! Whoever the hell is making the big decisions around there needs to get their head out of their ass. I don't know if I should be blaming Bob Iger or Josh D'Amaro for the way the parks have been since the pandemic, but I'm going to blame both. I can deal with them experimenting with Genie Plus (I hate it but I'm used to capitalism), and I can sort of deal with the prices (I can't afford them easily but I'm saving up), but Disneyland has very clearly been trying to cut labor costs for a while now and it's incredibly baffling to watch. It feels like the parks are being run by somebody with a business degree from a sketchy "college" and zero experience with the real world.

They're cutting back on shows, overworking their existing staff, and skipping regular maintenance so they can operate the park with a smaller maintenance team. Overall it results in a worse experience for the customer, making it less likely that they'll convert new guests into returning fans like myself. While Disney World is a major tourist attraction that most people consider a once in a life time experience, Disneyland has always had a steady revenue from local Californians that return again and again. If you frequent forums about the parks you hear all about folks who live in SoCal that buy their annual pass (I know that's not what it's currently called, but that's what it is) and use it to get into the parks just to have dinner or rove around and maybe grab a churro. They might not be paying for Iger's next yacht, but those folks are providing a reliable revenue stream, and they go back again and again because for decades Disneyland has maintained a "magical" atmosphere.

And I feel like it's fairly obvious that the front line workers are the ones that make Disneyland what it is. Right? Like I'm not crazy, we all agree Disneyland would be nothing without the hard work of these cast members, right?

Why are they-? You need front line workers, why wouldn't you-? Do they not have years of research and experience backing up how beneficial a well paid staff is? I love the Incredicoaster but if all I wanted was thrill rides, Six Flags is an hour closer and a whole lot cheaper. I'm going for the complicated rides that require their own pit crew like Mickey's Runaway Railroad. Why are we even still having this conversation? I get that people like Bob Iger are a bit insulated from the rest of us, but the relationship between a happy staff and profit is well documented. Why wouldn't they just...? In the Disneyland subreddit a retired cast member post the Benefits Binder he got back when he worked for Disneyland and this thing was thick, it included health, retirement, and stock options. Somebody somewhere must have known that whittling down benefits while stagnating pay was not sustainable. Right?!

Like I said, I don't have anything intelligent to add to this conversation, but to be honest, I think everything intelligent to add has already been added. I'm just annoyed for my own sake and downright pissed for the sake of the cast members. I hope they get everything they ask for on Monday, and if they don't, I hope the strike knocks some sense into everybody it needs to.

[simplyfandomish]

💫Please show your support to all the Disneyland Cast Members going on strike in the next month!!💫

🐭 We need all the help we can get!!🐭

Aka: let’s make a major corporation shake in their boots! Give them their comeuppance!!!

UPDATE: We vote tomorrow to strike or not!!

[acrossthestars02]

We deserve fair contracts and living wages. Please sign this petition in support of over 13,000 Disneyland cast members fighting for what we deserve.

This effects attractions, custodial, merchandise, candy makers, main entrance ticket takers, parking, and costuming both operational and entertainment cast members.

[nando161mando]

Disneyland strike authorization vote!

[momojedi]

I was at Disneyland a few days ago and got to meet Darth Vader during it (and Mando, but that’s for another post).

I’m a wheelchair user and mostly stays in my wheelchair but I really wanted to stand up while talking to Vader, I thought it would be cooler because he’s already so tall. (He liked my stormtrooper cap btw)

When I stood up to stand next to him, he froze for a second to stare at me and then nodded and said “very good”. I thought that was pretty wholesome.

[trama-and-drama]

To some disney fans, please show some support for cast members of disneyland as we will be voting if we'd like to strike or not on July 19th. I will provide a link for the petition as people are being written up for supporting their union and union signage is being taken down behind the scenes. Since April, there have been negotiations and disney wants to give 25 cents more and refuses to budge. We are asking for a safe working environment, better attendance policy, and better wages.

Disney has $1.9billion to spend on a new land instead of fixing what is broken. They have enough to buy a soccer/football team (Angel City FC) , but they don't have enough to pay their cast member working less than a liveable wage.

[carryingthebanner]

THIS is how it’s done

[troythecatfish]

[live-from-flaturn]

Anybody else really mad about the way corporations abuse and overwork their incredibly talented employees?

[99tech99]

disney fit no. 1!

(dont come at(at) me about the ears haha i was going with color scheme 😅)

[curatedstupidity]

:(

Why are the nightmares back. Its over. Its past. Nothing more to be done. Why.

[nando161mando]

Over 14,000 California Disney workers authorize strike

[momojedi]

I think he likes me.

He told me the force is strong within me. I like his humour. Now excuse me while I draw myself as a Sith.

Oh, face reveal btw. excuse my awkward stance, I’m usually in a wheelchair and I was trying very hard to keep my balance in front of this grand Sith Lord.

[l8news]

Villanos de Disney le hacen un favor a Mickey: Este domingo 16 de julio, el parque temático Disneyland en Estados Unidos fue sede de la premiere mundial del filme Haunted Mansion. El elenco de la película no fue al evento en solidaridad a la huelga del sindicato de actores de Hollywood, así que Disney tuvo que poner a personajes del parque en la alfombra roja para "sustituir" a las estrellas ausentes. Aparte de Mickey Mouse y de Minnie Mouse, casi todos los personajes en la alfombra roja fueron villanos de películas animadas de Disney. Este es el primer ejemplo notable de una premiere mundial afectada por la huelga actoral de 2023. [x, x]