Disney World Workers urged to vote against contract offer

According to a media advisory, the Walt Disney WorldDisney World workers they represent should vote against the contract offer from the entertainment company.

The six unions, which are members of the Service Trades Council Union STCU and represent 45,000 Disney World employees, are recommending that our members vote not on Disney's contract proposal to keep fighting for the raises workers need, according to a media advisory posted Friday by Union Unite Here. The vote is scheduled to take place in the coming week.

The unions said Disney was proposing raisings of $1 a year for most workers, but they argued that it wasn't enough to pay for the cost-of-living crisis workers are facing in Central Florida. The unions said they were holding a press conference on the matter late Friday afternoon.

Paul Cox, president of IATSE Local 631, told FOX Business that they wanted to see a wage increase that respects the inflationary pressures that the workers at Walt Disney WorldDisney World have faced in the past year.

He argued that Disney's contract offer of $1 in the first year does not meet that. In December, inflation measured by the consumer price index dropped 0.1% month-over-month, but rose 6.5% year-over-year. The costs of groceries and shelter increased as well as the costs of groceries and shelter, as previously reported by FOX Business.

Cox acknowledged that some workers would get more than $1 in the first year, but said many workers represented by Disney's contract offer won't. He said that all workers deserve an increase that recognizes the realities facing American workers, not just a few.

The wages of full-time, non-tipped cast members would be higher than Florida's minimum wage by at least $5 a year, Disney said. The minimum wage is expected to rise to $15 by the year 2026 in the Sunshine State, according to Axios Tampa Bay.

In year one of the contract, the entertainment giant said that the per-hour wages for nearly one-third of STCU cast members would go up 16%. In the same year, a quarter of non-tipped STCU positions would see their wages reach $20 per hour, according to Disney.

The pay of some positions like housekeepers and bus drivers would be at least $20 per hour when the contract goes into effect, Disney said. Those for culinary cast members would start at a $20 -- 25 range.

According to the company, the contract proposal also includes the same pension as currently exists and adds another option for 401 k s.

The annual report from Disney filed in late November showed that the company had some 220,000 total employees at the beginning of October, of which about 78% were full-time. Around 166,000 of the total headcount were in the U.S. at the time.