A coalition of four labor unions representing 14,000 Disneyland workers voted on Friday to authorize a potential strike, threatening the first major work shutdown at the Southern California park in four decades, as contract negotiations stretched on for scores of park employees.
“Today Disneyland Park cast members made their voices heard by voting to authorize the Disney Workers Rising bargaining committee to call for a strike to protest unfair labor practices by 99%,” the coalition said in a statement. “We stood up and showed Disney that we won’t sit by and allow them to intimidate, surveil and unlawfully discipline cast members for exercising their rights.”
The coalition represents workers including custodians, ride operators, candy makers, merchandise clerks, and parking attendants at the Anaheim park.
The four unions — Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM) Local 83; the Service Employees International Union-United Service Workers West (SEIU-USWW); the Teamsters Local 495; and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 324 — have been negotiating with Disney since April.
A contract covering 9,000 Disneyland workers expired on June 16, and another, representing another 5,000 at Disney California Adventure and Downtown Disney, is set to lapse on September 30, according to the Orange County Register.
Another round of bargaining is set for Monday and Tuesday next week.
“We greatly appreciate the important roles our cast members play in creating memorable experiences for our guests, and we remain committed to reaching an agreement that focuses on what matters most to them while positioning Disneyland Resort for growth and job creation,” Disney said in a statement after the strike vote.
Disney workers have consistently complained of conditions at the iconic Southern California theme park, including pay they say leaves them unable to meet basic needs.
More than a quarter of Disneyland employees face food insecurity, 33 percent faced housing insecurity last year, and 64 percent of cast members said they spend more than half their paycheck on rent, according to an internal union survey.
“It’s upsetting that the balloons that we sell in the park are more expensive than [what] I’m making an hour. I have to work an hour and a half if I want to afford one of those Disney balloons,” Cyn Carranza, who cleans floors on an overnight shift, told CNN.
Carranza said she had to live in her car for months last year, even though she worked two jobs in addition to being at Disneyland.
