ANAHEIM, CA—Leaders from Disneyland Resort and representatives from Unite Here! Local 11 have reached a tentative agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement that will provide industry-leading wage increases for all Unite Here! Local 11-represented hourly, non-tipped Cast Members.
“We are pleased to have reached a tentative agreement with Unite Here! Local 11 that provides a 40% increase in minimum wages for our cast members over the next two years,” the company said in a statement. “Upon ratification, housekeepers immediately will receive $15.80/hour, with other minimum rate cast members moving to $15 in January, three years ahead of California’s minimum wage.”
Unite Here! Local 11, which represents 2,700 cast members, will join thousands of other cast members benefitting from recently ratified agreements, along with other hourly non-union cast members, all earning minimum rates of $15 or more by January 2019, three years ahead of California’s minimum wage.
Union representatives will be organizing a contract ratification vote this weekend and will recommend a yes vote by Cast Members.
This is the second significant contract agreement reached this summer between Disneyland Resort and it largest unions. In July, the resort announced it reached agreement with its largest labor unions for a minimum wage rate increase of 40% within two years of the agreement. This put 9,700 cast members represented by Master Services Council at $15 per hour by 2019.
The deal comes a few weeks after cast members at Walt Disney World Resort ratified a five-year contract that sets them on the path to $15 an hour starting wage by 2021.
This collective bargaining agreement will raise starting pay by 50% for more than 37,000 cast members in a variety of roles represented by the Service Trades Council Union (STCU) including lifeguards, bus drivers and housekeepers.
“Our 50% wage increase will have a real, meaningful impact on our cast and their families—and is part of our commitment to the thousands of cast members who make magic for our guests each and every day,” said George A. Kalogridis, president of Walt Disney World Resort. “Increasing wages for cast members represents a significant investment inCentral Florida, and will provide a powerful boost to the local economy.”
The shift to $15 an hour will be phased in over the next three years beginning in December when starting pay for hourly, non-tipped cast members will increase to $11 an hour. In March 2019, starting rates will rise to $12 an hour; $13 an hour in September 2019; $14 an hour in October 2020; and finally, $15 an hour in October 2021.
Eligible cast members will also receive retroactive pay of 50 cents an hour or 3%, whichever is greater, dating back to Sept. 24, 2017; they will also receive a one-time, $1,000 bonus. Additionally, the increase will substantially raise the earning potential of current cast members whose pay is already above $10 an hour, giving them at least $4.75 an hour more by October 2021.
Since Walt Disney World Resort opened in 1971, it has grown to be the largest single-site employer in the U.S., employing more than 74,000 cast members in more than 3,000 different job classifications.
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