After months of negotiations that nearly led to a strike, thousands of Disneyland workers agreed to accept a new contract.
The deal mandates an increase in the park’s minimum wage from a previous $19.90 to a final $26 after three years, an increase of 31%.
The new contract grants most of that hike straight away, boosting the wage to $24 immediately.
It followed a campaign by a coalition of four Disney unions representing 14,000 workers.
Both the unions and Disney celebrated the deal.
During the campaign, workers voted to authorize a strike which would have been the first at the park in 40 years — but reached a deal before walking out.
The contract also provides more flexible attendance and sick-leave policies.
Cast members — who perform at the park and dressed as Disney characters — were also granted longevity increases to their wages.
People with 10 years of service get a $0.50 hourly increase, rising to $2 for 20 years of service.
The increases in the deal were retroactive from June 17.
The bargaining unit, which called itself Disney Workers Rising, represented a spread of park workers from custodians to retail workers and cast members.
Union reps had been holding talks with Disney since April of this year.
The company initially offered wage increases of less than a dollar per year for five years, which the group called “insulting” and rejected.
In July, a federal mediator joined the union at the negotiating table.
Earlier in July, 99% of unionized park workers voted to authorize a strike. The last Disneyland strikes were in 1984, where around 2,000 workers walked out for 22 days.
Union members also signed petitions, held rallies at the entrances of Disney theme parks, and passed out buttons to guests with Mickey Mouse’s hand clenched in a fist, a symbol of organized labor.
This video shows one of the rallies:
Workers complained to the National Labor Relations Board about Disney’s conduct, alleging that it threatened to discipline people over the buttons, and also attempted to surveil and intimidate its workers.
The case was unresolved as of Wednesday.
A statement from union organizers on X described the deal as “historic” and “the contract we all deserve.”
A Disney statement said it was “proud of its working relationship” with the unions, and that the deal “focuses on what matters most to our cast members while positioning Disneyland Resort for future growth and job creation.”
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