DISNEY UNIONS DIVIDED OVER CONTRACT ENDORSEMENT
Lake Buena Vista, FL, February 11, 2011 – After nearly nine months of negotiations, the Service Trades Council Union (STCU) and Walt Disney World will take a revised contract offer before the membership for a vote on February 25, 2011. Disney’s first offer was rejected in October, and a Federal Mediator was brought in to assist the parties.
Although Disney steadfastly maintained that it’s first offer was “fair and competitive” and not going to improve, the Company did reinstate a $100 bonus that was an incentive to ratify on the first vote and it subsequently pulled out of the offer when it was rejected. Disney also added an extra $100 for employees making $8.50 or less to the $550 bonus already on the table. This movement represents nearly 2.5 million dollars extra on the table than before.
United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1625 (UFCW) and UNITE HERE! Local 362 voted to oppose the current offer and will urge their members to vote to reject it. Four of the six STCU Affiliate unions: Local 737; Teamsters Local 385; TCU District 1908 and IATSE Local 631 voted to recommend the contract.
Throughout negotiations, the UFCW and UNITE HERE! maintained that raises were not equally distributed. Over 30 job classifications represented not only by their unions, but the other four STCU Affiliates, will be getting the lowest wage increases of 3%. Additionally, the rise in health care premiums will not be offset by the raises and many employees will make less at the end of the contract than they do today.
“We feel that we got the Company’s attention, and it made a difference,” said Isaac Cropp, Vice-President of UNITE HERE! Local 362. The opposing unions took action after the first offer was rejected by leafleting, holding rallies, and producing the video, “MOUSETRAPPED 2010”, in which union members told their stories about struggling to survive on Disney wages. “We are disappointed that our fellow unions did not choose to stand with us and fight for a fair contract for all, as we know Disney could have done more,” said Julee Jerkovich, Secretary-Treasurer of UFCW Local 1625.
The Service Trades Council Union represents nearly 29,000 hard working cast members at the Walt Disney World Resort.
