Dolphin And Swan Workers OK Contract

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL— Striking workers at two hotels on Walt Disney World property have approved a contract that will let many of them go back to work. Teamsters Local 385, the union representing housekeepers, laundry workers, seamstresses and public area attendants at Walt Disney Worlds Swan and Dolphin hotels, declared the strike two weeks ago. The contract covers 400 of the hotels 2,000 workers. Workers wanted a guaranteed work week, job assignments based on seniority, wages to match inflation and no cutbacks in medical insurance. Mike Stapleton, president of the union local, said the approved contract makes it easier for workers to file a grievance if they dont get a 40-hour work week and gives workers an extra holiday. Treva Marshall, a spokeswoman for the hotels, said the contract was similar to the one workers rejected twice previously with only “a couple of minor tweaks. Workers had been hired to replace the striking workers, and the striking workers will be brought back on an “as needed-basis, Marshall said. Although the hotels are on Disney property, they are owned by Tishman Hotel Corp. and managed by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. They account for 2,267 of Orlandos 108,000 hotel rooms.