Apparently Disney wants their workers to pay for their own health care. There is a sentiment in the community that the workers are already marginalized with low wages and that it doesn’t make sense for Disney to say that they have no budget to pay for healthcare.
I was over there the other day for a meeting at lunch and the lines were huge even at mid-day. So even in the recession we are in Disney appears to be doing very well.
There will be a protest at Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel on Thursday, August 14th,at 4:30pm. Here are the details regarding the protest:
1600 S. Disneyland Drive
4:30pm — Picket Line at the Paradise Pier Hotel
5:00pm – March from Paradise Pier Hotel to the Front Entrance of Disney (intersection of Harbor Blvd. and Disneyland Dr.).
6:00 pm — Action in front of Disneyland Entrance
Parking: Park at Downtown Disney Parking (3 Hours free) and then walk to the Paradise Pier Hotel. If you are arriving later that 5pm, then park at Downtown Disney and walk through the downtown walkway to the front of the Disneyland entrance on Harbor, and meet the marchers there.
For More Information Call UNITE HERE: 714-750-4373
or
714-906-3942
I attended one of their negotiations a few months ago. It seemed like they were making progress. Goes to show that Disney is a heartless corporation…
We should all pay for our own health-care (out of pocket or via insurance). Why should the self-employed & small businesses subsidize health insurance with taxbreaks for coporate employers? – small businesses create most of the new jobs through innovation.
Disney isn’t a “small business”.
Show me how a $40,000 a year employee with barely enough money for rent and food (much less clothes and transportation) can afford to pay the per procedure price on anything.
They don’t they go to the emergency room which is ten times more expensive – thats how you pay for their healthcare.
There are no taxbreaks for having your employees insurred if there was Walmart would provide health insurance for its employees instead of telling them to go to the Emergency Room.
4) I agree with you there!
It is extremely difficult to live on $40,000 a year in Orange County. Almost impossible if you have a family.
Corporations need to understand that their workers are the foundation of their success. Rewarding them with just a paycheck now a days is not enough. They should provide health care options to them. Yet some of them deny them the option.
Walmart is practically the poster boy for the evil corporation. They actually encourage many of their employees to go on government welfare rather than ask for raises or work overtime.
I was surprised when, leaving work (I’m a Disneyland castmember), Harbor was blocked because of an “unplanned special event,” which turned out to be the protest.
We work very hard. On the surface, putting people on rides at Disneyland doesn’t sound like it should be hard at all. But seriously, we spend our time on our feet, in the heat, trying to make sure that people get on the ride not only safely, but quickly. We have to comply with all the safety requirements, hit our counts, and still keep with the “show” qualities. Don’t get me wrong, but how would you like it if you went to work and got yelled at because apparently it’s YOUR fault someone’s kid is to short to ride, or the line’s to long, or an attraction on the other side of the park broke down?
We work hard because we love what we do. They tell us when we hire in that “we work while others play.” And yes, we are somewhat slower this summer than we have been, but that does not mean Disney should take away health care from the Castmembers. Many of us have children of our own, families to care for. We need health care, and can’t afford it on our own.
Once again, I LOVE my job, and I love Disney. But we’re supposed to be a family corporation. Walt once said that you could have the greatest dreams in the world, but without the people to work at it, it would only ever be a dream. Would Walt have wanted his Castmembers treated like this?
‘Walt once said that you could have the greatest dreams in the world, but without the people to work at it, it would only ever be a dream.‘
Walt was also a rabid anti-semite, so I guess his dreams weren’t all that wonderful.
Anne, you represent the sad, truthful underbelly of the modern theme park. You poor souls work yourselves to death in the hot sun, the tourists practically spit on you, you’re forced to smile through it all, and why do you do it? It’s not for the money! The Disney Company is not a dream, despite the way they market employment such as yours with ideas of ‘magic’ and ‘family’ and all that; really they’re just a big corporation like any other.
Do I think they shouldn’t cut benefits unless they absolutely have to? Of course I do, but look around. Times are tough and if want to keep your job, you may have to give something up to do so… although I think it’s pretty obvious that I suggest you get a better job.
SMS