The Wonderful World of Disney aka

[malaise]

Fantasyland aka Mickey Mouse propaganda.

http://www.cpa.org.au/garchve1/968dis.htm
<snip>
The workforce

Disney World Florida has 50,000 employees. That is the largest number of
employees in the US at a single worksite.

The Disney Corp pumps out all kinds of statistics to leave people with a
sense of awe — but some things they are not keen to talk about. Like the
sweetheart deal they managed to swing with local and state authorities when
they first floated the Orlando scheme in 1965.

In a nutshell, in exchange for the promised millions of tourists, the state
gave the company all the rights and powers of an independent municipal
government.

Part of the deal included creative accounting in relation to local taxes,
all very legal and saving the company millions every year.

The workers, of course, don't benefit from these tax dodges.

Employees are given jobs according to age and experience — the company
calls this "casting". However, even when you've been "cast" in a front line
job (reserved in practice for pretty, young people), the wages are still
low.

The starting rate of US$5.95 an hour hasn't changed for five years. You can
earn US$10 an hour after ten years, but the turnover rate is so high that
two thirds of the workforce make US$6.75 an hour or less.

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney's former union, the Service Employees'
International Union (SEIU), represents 22,000 full-time and 5,000 part-time
workers at Disney World.

Disney boasts of being a progressive employer offering competitive
salaries. Mike Cohen, President of the local union branch, doesn't agree.

"Sure, they're competitive compared to the minimum wage which is at the
poverty level. And sure, we get 30 percent off Disney merchandise, stuff
that's already priced way beyond what we can afford."

[Nikki Stone 1]

1. Could you post a line or two?

I'm on dialup and loading pages is a bitch.

[RangerSmith]

2. And the point is what exactly?

I mean Eisner was cleary a Democrat and this is the first I've heard of any of this here and the story is from 1999 or earlier and deals with the past....

Does this mean we were all for it when we liked the direction the propaganda was going?

sheesh....

[nosillies]

3. Do you have current statistics? These numbers appear to be from 1999

[Selatius]

4. Actually, starting wage is higher now

The FL minimum wage is something like 6.25/hour now, so they had to give everybody a "raise."

I know.

I interned there as a college student last year in their College Program. I was a park custodian, those guys in white uniforms you see at the parks. I loved the comraderie I experienced with some of the workers. I can honestly say I was more loyal to them than I was to the company. I don't know if the management was too insulated and isolated from the workers or if the management simply didn't care, but there was a lot of tension between the "lifers," unionized workers working at the parks, and upper management. Some of the frontline managers most thought are good. Others considered by most not as good, but it's the upper managers most people loathed.

The labor contract for college students is heavily slanted against workers. Part-time employees who are not employed through the College Program get better terms for their employment.

Eisner's dream was to run the theme park on just part-time employees. He can't do that unless he first removes all the pre-existing labor unions. College Program students, a source of cheap labor, are one of the ways they can avoid hiring workers who could decide to unionize. The students who try to unionize or strike are automatically liquidated. The labor contract for the College Program does not let you unionize, and most front-line employees now are college students.

[nosillies]

5. Thanks for the wage update. I figured it was higher.

I too worked the College Program, many moons ago. Worst job I ever had! But for the most part, I knew what I was getting into.

My main complaint with Disney's labor practices is what you noted -- they'd have everybody part-time if possible. The local job market could possibly improve if they quit filling positions with college workers. I've even seen their employment ads where they're trying to fill middle-management positions with college interns. No offense, college students, but most of you don't have what it takes to truly be management -- you just have more energy to work more hours and don't need as much money as a "real" manager does.

But then again, they're not doing anything that most other businesses, especially those in the hospitality industry, are also trying to do. The hope lies in changing labor laws, not just Disney.

[malaise]

6. Thanks for the update

as well.