https://ktla.com/entertainment/ap-entertainment/ap-disneylands-mickey-mouse-and-cinderella-performers-may-unionize/
DISNEYLAND’S MICKEY MOUSE AND CINDERELLA PERFORMERS MAY UNIONIZE
FILE PHOTO– Mickey Mouse interacts with guests at Disneyland in Anaheim,
Calif., Friday, April 30, 2021. A group of performers who help bring
Disney’s beloved characters to life at the company’s California theme
parks are forming a union. While most workers at Disneyland and Disney
California Adventure already have unions, these roughly 1,700 performers
do not, including those who play Mickey Mouse and other iconic
characters in meet-and-greets with guests and parades. (AP Photo/Jae C.
Hong, File)
by: AMY TAXIN, Associated Press
Posted: Feb 13, 2024 / 12:46 PM PST
Updated: Feb 13, 2024 / 12:50 PM PST
Workers who help bring Disneyland’s beloved characters to life —
including Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Cinderella — are looking to
unionize.
Labor organizers announced the campaign Tuesday, saying performers want
better safety conditions and scheduling policies to help them keep the
magic alive for visitors.
While most of the more than 35,000 workers at the Disneyland Resort in
Southern California already have labor unions, about 1,700 performers in
parades, character actors and support staff do not.
“This isn’t one of those situations where we’re out making
the employer the bad guy,” said Kate Shindle, president of Actors’
Equity Association, which would represent the performers. “It is
uniquely important Disney remains a place that people view as magical,
and I think that (unionizing) will improve that across the board.”
Union membership has been on a decades-long decline in the United
States, but organizations have seen growing public support in recent
years amid high-profile contract negotiations involving Hollywood
studios and Las Vegas hotels. The National Labor Relations Board, the
federal agency that protects workers’ right to organize, reported more
than 2,500 filings for union representation during the 2023 fiscal year,
the highest number in eight years.
Disney operates two theme parks — Disneyland and Disney California
Adventure — and a shopping and entertainment area called Downtown Disney
in Anaheim, California. Disneyland, the company’s oldest park, was the
second-most visited theme park worldwide in 2022 with 16.8 million
people coming through the gates, according to a report by the Themed
Entertainment Association and AECOM.
Union cards were circulated starting last week to promote forming a
labor union under the Actors’ Equity Association, which traditionally
represents actors and stage managers. The group already represents
theatrical performers at Walt Disney Co.’s Florida theme parks,
organizers told The Associated Press.
Actors’ Equity officials declined to say how many cards were
returned but said they hoped to collect them from more than half the
performers, which would let them ask Disney to voluntarily recognize the
union rather having to seek a vote through the National Labor Relations
Board. They expect the process will take weeks.
Disneyland officials said in a statement that they believe cast members
deserve the right to a confidential vote.
Those who want to form the union, which they are calling “Magic United,”
are seeking to address safety issues in costuming, such as keeping items
clean and using appropriate fabrics for high-intensity dancing. They
also want more stable scheduling. The group began organizing over health
and safety concerns that arose when the park started allowing visitors
to interact closely with characters again after the pandemic shutdown,
Shindle said.
Some performers are also concerned about being asked to wear tights and
make-up that don’t match their skin tones, erratic and unpredictable
staffing and fair pay. Still, they said they relish working at the
parks, where they play a unique role in creating the Disney experience,
union officials said.
“We have to consistently be living and breathing the Disney brand or
else the product suffers,” said Logan Benedict, a performer and union
negotiator at Disney World in Florida, who has been supporting the
organizing effort in California. “It’s vital that Disney takes care of
their frontline workers.”
The union has advised California workers not to speak on the record
about unionizing, said David Levy, an Actors’ Equity spokesperson.
In California, Disney’s cleaning crews, food service workers,
pyrotechnic specialists and security staff are already unionized. The
company has faced allegations in recent years of not paying workers
enough to live in Southern California, despite Disney raking in profits.
Wage issues have even wound up in the courts.
Last week, Disney reported stronger-than-expected earnings for the last
three months of 2023, boosted by cost cuts and growing revenue from
theme parks.
The effort to organize performers in the character and parade
departments in California comes more than 40 years after those who play
Mickey, Goofy and Donald Duck at Disney World in Florida were organized
in the early 1980s by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, a
union traditionally known to represent transportation workers.
At that time, the Florida performers complained about filthy costumes
and abuse from guests, such as children who would kick the shins of
Disney villains like Captain Hook or others who grabbed the chests of
Mickey Mouse performers to see if they were a male or female.
—
Taxin reported from Santa Ana, California. Associated Press writer Mike
Schneider in Orlando, Florida, also contributed to this report.<a
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https://ktla.com/news/local-news/disneyland-characters-and-parade-cast-members-announce-plans-to-unionize/
DISNEYLAND CHARACTERS AND PARADE CAST MEMBERS ANNOUNCE PLANS TO UNIONIZE
by: Iman Palm
Posted: Feb 13, 2024 / 01:55 PM PST
Updated: Feb 13, 2024 / 04:29 PM PST
Disneyland cast members, particularly those who work in the resort’s
Characters and Parades departments, <a rel="noreferrer noopener"
href="https://www.actorsequity.org/news/PR/MagicUnited/" data-type="URL"
data-id="https://www.actorsequity.org/news/PR/MagicUnited/"
target="_blank">announced their intent to unionize</a> with the Actors’
Equity Association, also known as Equity, on Tuesday.
Known as “<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://magicunited.org/"
data-type="URL" data-id="https://magicunited.org/" target="_blank">Magic
United</a>,” cast members who work in the departments began circulating
union authorization cards to 1,700 of their colleagues and will “seek
voluntary recognition from Disney Resort Entertainment when a majority
of the workers have signed,” according to a news release from Equity.
Employees within the Character and Parade departments <a rel="noreferrer
noopener"
href="https://ktla.com/news/theme-parks/disneyland/characters-from-turning-red-set-to-debut-at-disney-california-adventure-park/"
data-type="URL"
data-id="https://ktla.com/news/theme-parks/disneyland/characters-from-turning-red-set-to-debut-at-disney-california-adventure-park/"
target="_blank">&#8220;create Disney magic for guests by bringing
beloved characters to life in shows</a>, meet and greets and character
dining experiences,&#8221; the release adds.
Hosts, trainers, leads and other roles that support fellow cast members
are also included in the bargaining unit.
The concerns among cast members noted in the statement revolve around
“safe and sanitary workplace conditions, a fair wage and more
transparency in scheduling and rehiring decisions.”
“When we can speak with a collective voice, we can have a clearer, more
productive conversation with our employer. Ultimately, this will result
in a better experience for all – Cast Members, managers and more
importantly, our guests,” leaders of Magic United said in a statement.
It’s important to note that other departments around the Disneyland
Resort, like <a rel="noreferrer noopener"
href="https://workersunited.org/joint-boards/local-50" data-type="URL"
data-id="https://workersunited.org/joint-boards/local-50"
target="_blank">food and beverage</a>, have also unionized, and
Character and Parade cast members at Walt Disney World in Florida have
been <a rel="noreferrer noopener"
href="https://apnews.com/article/disney-labor-performers-characters-union-california-83e58888ec87bd3003a2e60256180506"
data-type="URL"
data-id="https://apnews.com/article/disney-labor-performers-characters-union-california-83e58888ec87bd3003a2e60256180506"
target="_blank">unionized since the early 1980s.</a>
The union creation isn’t a done deal yet. If Disney declines to
recognize the union, Equity will then file the authorization cards with
the National Labor Relations Board.
“Upon receiving the &#8216;petition,&#8217; the NLRB will schedule a
union recognition election for Cast Members in the Character and Parades
Departments. The company will be required under federal labor law to sit
down with Equity’s representatives at the bargaining table and negotiate
a contract, following a vote in favor of unionization,” the release states.
In a statement to KTLA, Disneyland officials said, “We believe that our
Cast Members deserve to have all the facts and the right to a
confidential vote that recognizes their individual choices.”
Equity also represents 51,000 professional actors and stage managers on
Broadway and live theatre across the U.S.</body>
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