"For Your Consideration:" Statement of Disney hotel workers

[villager]

A couple of workers dressed as Buzz Lightyear were out on Wilshire Blvd. at the crack of dawn today, trying to get the attention of the entertainment press filing in to the Academy for the nomination announcements.

They had a three page photocopied handout. Here's the letter from the middle page:

"Dear Members of the Academy,

"I'm a Disneyland Hotel dishwasher. For three years, my co-workers and I at the Disneyland Resort have been struggling to keep Disney from slashing our children's healthcare. We've staged countless protests -- strikes, picket lines, a weeklong fast, a civil disobedience -- but nothing has made this powerful company cease its attack.

"I am hoping you can help.

"I have worked in Goofy's Kitchen, a hotel restaurant, washing dishes for 10 years. I earn about $11 an hour. The work is very hard on my body, and the wages are barely enough money to get by. But the one good thing is that I have healthcare for my daughter and myself. My daughter Alma has Down's Syndrome and requires regular medical care. In past contract negotiations, my co-workers and I made a deal with Disney -- lower wages in exchange for family healthcare. Now, Disney has decided they want us to shoulder the cost of healthcare. Within a few years, our costs will reach $500 a month, more than some workers take home in pay.

"If Disney gets its way, my life would be very difficult, and I would likely lose healthcare coverage for Alma.

"Disney doesn't have to do this to us. The corporation made $3.9 billion in net profits in 2010. CEO Bob Iger made $29 million in 2009 -- that's 1,395 times the amount of a first-year Disney hotel housekeeper.

"As you can see, like so many working-class people in this country, we're in a desperate situation. While the biggest media company in the world flourishes, we suffer.

"Members of the Academy, can you help be our voice? Tell Disney executives you support hotel workers, not Disney hypocrisy. Tell Disney to do the right thing and allow hotel workers to hold on to the affordable health benefits their families need. Please visit NoToyStory3.org and sign the pledge.

"Sincerely,

Blandina Rios
Disneyland Hotel Dishwasher and member of UNITE HERE Local 11."