Hundreds of Disneyland employees vote to authorize a strike

4 unions representing greater than 14,000 employees at Disney’s theme parks and resort properties in Southern California introduced late Friday that members have voted to authorize a strike, citing alleged unfair labor practices throughout contract negotiations.

The hundreds of employees at Disneyland, Disney California Journey, the Downtown Disney retail district and Disney-owned motels licensed a walkout, the unions introduced.

If a strike does happen, it might be the primary at Disneyland in 40 years.

The unions mentioned there was “a 99% membership vote in favor of authorizing their Disney Employees Rising bargaining committee to name for an unfair labor follow strike.” That doesn’t imply there’s a strike instantly, however that one is allowed.

“As a substitute of working with us towards a good contract, Disney has engaged in a number of situations of conduct we allege are unfair labor practices, together with illegal self-discipline and intimidation and surveillance of union members exercising their proper to put on union buttons at work,” the Disney Employees Rising Bargaining Committee mentioned in a press release forward of the vote.

“We all know these actions are solely an try to cease us from exercising our rights and saddle us with a contract that perpetuates the established order at Disney,” the bargaining committee added.

The union buttons in query depict a Mickey Mouse-style white glove raised in a fist.

The Walt Disney Firm didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark early Saturday.

The workers on the heart of the labor struggle embody custodians, journey operators, candymakers and merchandise clerks on the widespread theme park and resort advanced, a pillar of the tourism economic system in Southern California.

The employees — identified in firm parlance as “forged members” — entered into contract negotiations with the leisure big on April 24. Practically two months later, on June 10, Disney employees introduced that they’d filed unfair labor follow fees in opposition to the corporate.

The fees, regarding greater than 675 employees, are actually being investigated by the Nationwide Labor Relations Board, an impartial federal company that enforces labor legislation.

“We can’t settle for lower than what we deserve as a result of we all know our worth to Disney. The theme parks’ earnings come from our laborious work making a visit to Disneyland a magical expertise for visitors. By undermining our rights, Disney has solely made tougher our struggle to assist our visitors and hold our parks secure,” the bargaining committee mentioned.

In recent times, labor students have drawn public consideration to the financial struggles of staff at Disneyland and different main theme parks throughout the nation.

In early 2018, for instance, researchers at Occidental School and the Financial Roundtable, a nonprofit analysis group, launched a report that discovered 74% of Disneyland employees couldn’t cowl primary bills every month. The report surveyed staff who had skilled homelessness, meals insecurity and different challenges.

In an inner survey of union members performed earlier this yr, 28% of Disneyland forged members reported experiencing meals insecurity, 33% reported experiencing housing insecurity within the final yr, and 42% reported needing to overlook work for medical remedy as a result of they didn’t have sufficient sick depart.

The unions mentioned in asserting the strike authorization that 64% of forged members are spending greater than half their month-to-month paychecks on lease.

“Disneyland manufacturers itself as ‘The Happiest Place on Earth’ [but] the truth for park staff is basically one among financial hardship,” the unionized employees mentioned in a press release forward of the vote, which came about Friday.

The 4 unions that characterize the employees are the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Employees and Grain Millers (BCTGM) Native 83; the Service Workers Worldwide Union-United Service Employees West (SEIU-USWW); the Teamsters Native 495; and the United Meals and Business Employees (UFCW) Native 324.

The contract for forged members at Disneyland expired June 16. The contract for forged members at Disney California Journey and Downtown Disney expires Sept. 30.

The final time Disneyland was hit with a strike was September 1984, when practically 2,000 forged members walked off the job for 22 days.

Regardless of the strike authorization vote, negotiations are usually not over.

The Disney Employees Rising Bargaining Committee mentioned that it has dedicated to return to the bargaining desk on Monday and Tuesday.

However the strike authorization permits the bargaining committee to name a strike at any time, it mentioned.