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Disneyland workers say they live in cars and motels due to low pay

Cynthia “Cyn” Carranza meticulously scavenged for a shady parking spot in the car she called home.

The overnight custodian at Disneyland has to sleep during the day - a difficulty for anyone, let alone when you’re living in your car with two dogs. Ms Carranza says she makes $20.65 an hour (about £15.99) at the park but last summer, she couldn’t afford rent in this Southern California city where the average apartment can run more than $2,000 (about £1,550) a month.

…

Ms Carranza, like others who work at the park, detailed to the BBC the financial hardships that come with working at what’s supposed to be the “Happiest Place on Earth”. About 10,000 union workers at Disneyland - the first of 12 parks created around the globe - are threatening to strike over the wages and what they say are retaliatory anti-union practices.

Hundreds of workers protested outside the park this week, with an array of signs and pins showing Mickey Mouse’s gloved fist in defiance.

“Mickey would want fair pay,” workers chanted outside Disneyland near the park’s gates.

They voted almost unanimously to authorise strike action on Friday, just days before union contract negotiations for workers are set to resume.

brygphilomena ,

As a former Disney cast member, I wholly support this protest and I truly hope they strike.

In worked from 2008-2016 and started at $9.05/hr. We got 2% a year in raises, but in that time new hires would start at higher wages and they wouldn’t match the employees who had been there to the new employees wage. Brand new employees would make more than those that had been there years.

When Anaheim had a ballet measure to raise the minimum wage they raised a ton of cast members wages to $3 less than the measure in hopes they could discourage people to vote for it. Fortunately, the measure passed. However, during this period they didn’t retain the yearly raises, everyone was raised to the exact same wage. Those who had been there 30 years (no exaggeration) made exactly the same as new hires.

They’ve gotten hostile to their employees and the “perks” that employees for have been slowly stripped away. Each year getting slightly worse. Which is a problem because new hires don’t know how much better it used to be so they don’t know what to demand anymore.

I knew cast members that used to live 6 or 8 people to a two bedroom apartment. Most worked multiple jobs. Many of the entertainers who play as the characters ended up injured from wearing the Mickey and other character costumes. Multiple who had to have surgery to treat those injuries.

They have let standards fall, hard. The parks aren’t what they used to be and literally the only thing keeping them together is the cast. They try so fucking hard to bring the magic to guests each and every day. They have been kneecapped by management though. IMO, of all “attractions” at the parks, the cast are the best. And the one that management should be investing in the most. They are the differentiator between Disney and Knott’s Berry Farm, Universal Studios, and Six Flags. However leadership has constantly worked to move interactions from Cast Members to their half baked app.

Understand that all these cast members do it because they love bringing the magic to the guests. They endure shitty pay, shitty management, and injury for the guests. They care so much about making the public and tourists happy. They deserve so much more.

bappity ,
@bappity@lemmy.world avatar

big corporation under-pays workers, absolute shocker.

SirDerpy ,

There are so many seasonal tourist businesses in the US. Many of these places are either very remote or extremely popular. These businesses need seasonal workers for 3-8 months. The vast majority require housing.

Many of these businesses provide. The smaller ones may have a room or cabin. Larger ones may have salvage travel trailers and shanty apartments. In remote places the only store nearby is the company store. If a worker’s vehicle breaks they’re effectively trapped.

Back to the 1800s, I guess.

Burstar ,
@Burstar@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

To show how bad $20/hour is (some people might think that is a lot due to local situation) someone paying $2000/month rent should have $6666/month gross income (using 30% rule). That equates to just under $40/hour at 40hours/week.

They are literally making half what they need to live.

Diplomjodler3 ,

If I had to live in a car, I wouldn’t have two dogs.

FlyingSquid ,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

She probably had the dogs before she ended up in the car. And yes, expecting her to give them up is asking way too much of her before anyone suggests it.

DessertStorms ,
@DessertStorms@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

In other words you think it’s reasonable to criticise homeless people for not giving up and abandoning their companions and dependants, who provide comfort and love in the bleakest of times, as soon as times got hard… Classy.

Dran_Arcana ,

I would criticize anyone wasting money on an animal while living so close to their means that homelessness could conceivably be in their near future. Sometimes you have to make choices you don’t want to; she probably never had the means to support those animals. The argument isn’t that she should get rid of them, it’s that she never should have had them in the first place. Animals are expensive, and I also wonder what she could do now if she had all the money she spent on them over the years of ownership.

To be clear, I’m not advocating for $20/hr being considered a livable wage. Disney should be ashamed. Anyone working a full time job should be able to afford a pet if they want one. I just also believe in personal accountability.

DessertStorms , (edited )
@DessertStorms@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

I just also believe in personal accountability.

Something something bootstraps!

Jfc… 🤦‍♀️

You could have saved yourself a little typing and just said you’re a wilfully ignorant classist bootlicker… 🙄

Careful though, just like the majority of the population, you’re barely a missed pay check or two, or one big accident/disaster, away from being homeless yourself… That despicable attitude of yours may very well come back to bite you in your self cantered unempathetic ass sooner than you think…

Frank_weens ,

I think everyone deserves a chance at having a loving companion, even poor people.

verdantbanana , (edited )
@verdantbanana@lemmy.world avatar

this is becoming normal for most in the US

hardly anyone here makes over $20 an hour and it shows that people are unable to afford to go to work due to subpar pay

know a plumbing business in our area that pays its employees less than $15 an hour and that is considered good pay in this area with housing and food as high as the rest of the country

and the US has not had a proworker president ever

Biden threatened the last workers to protest for better with the threat of losing their livelihoods

cost of vehicle ownership is astronomical these days how could anyone in the US afford both housing and a vehicle with average US pay

know people skipping insurance and registration fees due to low pay and high cost

all this has to come to a head at some point

going to a grocery store that is not fully stocked and only the self-checkouts are open because the pay is so low no one can afford to work is more than normal now in the US

thanks Trump and Biden for making the US a better place for the elites

FlyingSquid ,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

Yes, this is about Trump and Biden and not the Walt Disney Company. We can’t possibly use this thread to talk about how awful the Walt Disney Company is and how they are to blame for this because they could afford to pay their workers more if they wanted to. That might be too relevant.

ImADifferentBird ,
@ImADifferentBird@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

The Walt Disney Company is awful, true, but do not make the mistake of thinking they are uniquely awful. This is every company. This is the world we live in. The whole damn system is rotten to the core, and the people with the power to fix it either do nothing to do so or deliberately make it worse for their own benefit.

FlyingSquid ,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

This is a story uniquely about them. Biden and Trump do not need to be brought into it. The person I replied to tries to make everything about this election and especially Biden.

ImADifferentBird ,
@ImADifferentBird@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

This is not a story uniquely about them, is my point. This story could be about any employer in Anaheim, or in many parts of the country. This particular one just happens to be about Disney.

You would have us ignore the context this story exists in, which is perilous. Even if Disney doubled everybody’s salary overnight, that wouldn’t fix any of the issues that brought us to this point; there would still be millions of workers who can’t afford to live, just a few less. But that’s the mistake everybody makes - “Look at these awful people! Aren’t they awful?!” without looking at the broader issues that enrich awful people and encourage people to be awful.

If you truly want things to change, you should welcome this talk, not push back against it.

FlyingSquid ,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

You would have us ignore the context this story exists in

No, I would have the person I responded to not twist this into their election agenda.

Please don’t tell me what I would have people do. You are not psychic.

ImADifferentBird ,
@ImADifferentBird@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

No, but I can read.

We absolutely should be talking about this story in the broader context of our society, including, yes, the election. I don’t know what conversations you’ve had with that user in the past, but the election and our leaders should absolutely be brought up here. They are the people with the power to fix things, after all.

FlyingSquid ,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

What, specifically, could a president do to fix this? They aren’t a dictator (unless Trump gets in). The president can’t raise minimum wage. He can’t force a corporation to pay people more. It has nothing to do with Trump and Biden.

Now if you want to talk about congress, fine. They’re the ones who have to fix this.

verdantbanana ,
@verdantbanana@lemmy.world avatar

has Biden at least visited Disneyland and talked to the workers to let them know he stands with them even though his power to fix anything is limited

he could at the very least show some solidarity to the working class that actually make the US great

FlyingSquid ,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

I know for a fact that if he did, you would complain that he hasn’t done enough because I remember what you were saying when he spoke to the UAW while they were on strike.

No one in the presidency will ever pass your purity test.

verdantbanana ,
@verdantbanana@lemmy.world avatar

all ask out of a president is to try to stand behind the people and make speeches in times such as this like he cares maybe even go to where the issue is and talk to people

that would be an awesome leader

FlyingSquid ,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

You literally criticized Biden for doing exactly that 10 months ago. I shared the screenshot.

FlyingSquid ,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

Oh, and in case you decide to pretend otherwise, I’ve brought a receipt:

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/eb405289-8cff-45ff-a2e5-b52fd77e53be.png

p.lemmy.world/post/lemmy.world/5542878

ImADifferentBird ,
@ImADifferentBird@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

I think you’re understating the power of the Presidency here. For one thing, they have veto power over Congress.

For another, many laws are broad and give a lot of leeway for interpretation, which is why presidents can accomplish a lot by executive order. As long as the Supreme Court doesn’t step in anyway.

And third, don’t underestimate the power of the bully pulpit. Presidents are looked at as the leaders of their party, and often set the legislative agenda. If a president says they want something done, their party members in Congress will find a way to get it done.

FlyingSquid ,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

Okay:

What would Biden veto? Is there a “give people less money” bill?

What executive order could he make beyond what he has already made? He raised federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.

And he did use the bully pulpit. He did it when he raised the federal minimum wage.

But, of course, that doesn’t pass the purity test.

Zipitydew ,

Squid is right. VB is a bOtH siDeS account trying to get people to not vote. You should check out their post history. Have had them tagged as a troll for a couple months.

ImADifferentBird ,
@ImADifferentBird@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Ah, OK. Fuck that then.

Vote. Vote like your life depends on it. It does.

Biden sucks, but he can at least be convinced to do the right thing sometimes (and even if he can’t, another election is four years away). Trump is a straight up fascist autocrat.

DessertStorms ,
@DessertStorms@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

going to a grocery store that is not fully stocked and only the self-checkouts are open because the pay is so low no one can afford to work is more than normal now in the US

Look at the upside - easier to shoplift.

On a more serious note though, this is all a feature, not a bug. As the meme goes - everything they threatened would eventually happen under communism is already happening under capitalism. At it will never get better until capitalism is abolished and a hierarchy free, horizontal society is built on its ashes.

friend_of_satan ,

That does not sound like the greatest place on earth to work.

FlyingSquid ,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

They call it The Happiest Place on Earth. Having been there as a non-employee, it was not even the happiest place in Southern California. In fact, there are a very large number of extremely overstimulated and entirely not happy children.

And they wish you a magical day as you are dropped off at your car where you get to have a very non-magical drive down a freeway in Anaheim.

And that’s for the people who pay them.

FlyingSquid ,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

Ms Carranza says she makes $20.65 an hour

Makes sense. They couldn’t afford to pay her more.

Disney Parks has just released its fourth quarter and full-year earnings, posting a record $32.5 billion in revenue for fiscal 2023, which ended September 30, 2023.

blogmickey.com/…/disney-parks-posts-record-32-5-b…

Disney has a market cap or net worth of $174.83 billion as of July 19, 2024. Its market cap has increased by 5.72% in one year.

stockanalysis.com/stocks/dis/market-cap/

TransplantedSconie ,

You don’t understand. If they paid her and the rest of the employees what would be a living wage, they would make only $32.4 billion. See? It can’t be done.

macaro ,

I ran the numbers and it’s actually $31.46 billion. But you’re not far off.

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