Police arrested 32 protestors who were involved in a labor protest staged outside the Disneyland Resort.
Misdeameanor charges of failure to obey a police officer and two traffic violations were filed against the protestors. Those arrested were sitting in a circle in a main intersection disrupting traffic. As they were taken into custody, they were cheered by Disneyland hotel staffers.
At issue is the contract for the 2300 cooks, dishwashers, maids and bellhops at the Disneyland, Paradise Pier and Grand Californian hotels.
The union members have been working without a contract since February. According to reports, Disney’s latest offer dramatically increases the cost of healthcare for their workers and will include the implementation of a two tier wage system. Additionally, Disney is seeking to put a new category of part time employees into place. Those in this employment level will have fewer benefits.
Ava Briceno, president of Unite Here Local 681 stated “The other hotels around the area all have health care that is provided by the boss and have been able to get wage increases. At the other hotels in the same classification, for the same work, the workers get paid $2 to $3 an hour more.”
Lisa Haines, Disney spokeswoman, pointed out that the union has come to negotiations 11 times since the contract expired while staging 14 protests in the last six months. Haines stated “Clearly we’re disappointed that Unite Here Local 681 has spent more time protesting. Publicity stunts are not productive and are extremely disruptive to the resort district.”
Joining the most recent protest were local religious leaders and community activists. Some of the picketers carried signs reading “Disney is unfaithful” and “Mickey, shame on you.”
A Disneyland Hotel bakery worker expressed concern that Disney’s latest proposal will further increase the challenges she has supporting her family on the $14.32 an hour she currently makes. Vasquez commented “Disneyland is being unfair with us because we’re fighting for our health care and they’re trying to take it away. They’re trying to cut our hours and take away our seniority.”
The main issue is the free health care that workers have access to through a trust fund that area unionized hotels, including Disney, contribute to. Disney workers have accepted lower salaries for their first three years of employment in exchange for the health coverage.
According to the Union, Disney wants to do away with free health care for new employees while increasing the hours needed to be eligible for coverage. The other proposal which the Union objects to is the creation of a new classification for workers who have less than 30 hours a week. Employees in this category will not get sick, vacation or holiday pay.
Haines commented that host of the other Disneyland employees contribute towards their health coverage, with Disney covering close to 75 per cent of the cost. She said that this is also an issue of fairness to those workers who pay for this benefit.
