Disneyland’s Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Pluto argue that they’re underpaid and deal with a harrowing work environment. Now, they’re trying to unionize.
Hundreds of employees at The Walt Disney Co.’s amusement park in Anaheim, California, have backed the launch of a new unit of the Actors’ Equity Association (AEA), a union under the AFL-CIO that represents stage managers and theater workers. The organizing group — which goes by “Magic United” — includes parade performers and dancers, entertainment hosts, and character performers that emulate everyone from Peter Pan to Darth Vader.
Magic United this week filed a petition with federal labor authorities to hold a union election as soon as next month. The group says it has won support of a supermajority of Disneyland’s roughly 1,700 eligible employees since it launched the union drive in February. If successful, they will join most of the other more than 35,000 workers at Disneyland and the roughly 43,000 cast members in Florida’s Disney World who have already joined unions.
“The Cast Members who bring the Characters and Parades to life have been non-union since Disneyland Resort opened in the 1950s and have watched other workers in the park unionize all around them,” said AEA President Kate Shindle in a statement. “They deserve a voice in their workplace, and meaningful negotiations over wages, benefits and working conditions.”
In a statement, Disney said it supports “cast members’ right to a confidential vote that recognizes their individual choices.”
The workers Magic United seeks to represent make $24.15 per hour plus varying premiums depending on their specific position, which can be as little as 40 cents per hour. Workers argue that they aren’t fairly compensated, lack job security, and fair schedules, and are subjected to unsafe working conditions.
In 2018, the Economic Roundtable found that 68% of Disneyland workers are food insecure and 43% of all employees have reported an inability to afford necessary dental care. 36% of employees enrolled in employed-provided health insurance plans said they have to give up other necessities to pay the monthly premiums.
“After a couple of months … the fairy dust fades away, and you see your friends and people you really care about hurting and burnt out and not able to pay their rent,” Adam Hefner, a member of Magic United and safety lead, told The Los Angeles Times. “ Despite it being ‘the Happiest Place on Earth’ … it’s not always the case for the people that are working there.”
The rise in union activism comes after a big year for the labor movement, which notched wins for autoworkers, actors, writers, and healthcare workers. The United Auto Workers union on Friday is looking to keep up that momentum as Volkswagen workers in Tennessee vote on whether or not to organize.