Group of unions call on Disney workers they represent to vote against contract offer

A group of unions said the Walt Disney World workers they represent should vote against the contract offer from the entertainment company, according to a media advisory.

The six unions, which are members of the Service Trades Council Union (STCU) and represent 45,000 Disney World employees, are "recommending that our members vote no on Disney’s contract proposal to keep fighting for the raises workers need," according to the media advisory posted Friday by union Unite Here. The vote is slated to take place in the coming week. 

In the advisory, the unions said Disney was "proposing raises of $1 a year for most workers," something they argued was "not enough to pay for the cost-of-living crisis that workers are facing in Central Florida." The unions said they were conducting a press conference on the matter late Friday afternoon.

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"In the simplest term, we are looking for a wage increase that respects the inflationary pressures that the Workers at Walt Disney World have faced in the past year," Paul Cox, president of IATSE Local 631, told FOX Business. 

He argued that Disney’s contract offer of $1 in the first year "does not meet that."

In December, inflation measured by the consumer price index dropped 0.1% month-over-month but rose 6.5% year-over-year. The costs of groceries and shelter respectively saw both monthly and annual increases, as previously reported by FOX Business.

Cox acknowledged that some workers would get more than $1 in the first year but said many workers "represented by Disney’s contract offer will not."

"All workers deserve an increase that recognizes the realities facing American workers, not just a few," he said.

"This very strong offer provides our Cast Members with a nearly 10% average increase immediately and guaranteed raises for the next four years with every single non-tipped Cast Member promised at least a $20 starting wage during the contract, and the majority seeing a 33% to 46% increase during that time," Andrea Finger, a spokesperson for Disney, told FOX Business.

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Under the proposed contract, the wages of full-time, non-tipped cast members would be higher than Florida’s minimum wage by at least $5 every year, Disney said. In the Sunshine State, the minimum wage is expected to incrementally rise to $15 by 2026, according to Axios Tampa Bay.

The entertainment giant also said that in year one of the contract, per-hour wages for nearly one-third of STCU cast members would go up 16%. In that year, a quarter of non-tipped STCU positions would see their wages reach $20 per hour, also according to Disney. 

The pay of some positions like housekeepers and bus drivers would become at least $20 per hour when the contract goes into effect, Disney said, while those for culinary cast members would start at a $20-25 range. 

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The contract proposal, among other things, also includes the same pension as currently exists and adds another option for 401(k)s, according to the company. 

At the beginning of October, the company had some 220,000 total employees, of which roughly 78% were full-time, according to the annual report Disney filed in late November. Of the total headcount, about 166,000 were in the U.S., it said at the time.