It’s been a pretty rough summer season at Disneyland Resort in 2024. A significant portion of Disneyland Park has been closed for several months, meaning that the normal summer crowds are packed into an even smaller space. But things were looking even more dire for the resort as 13,000 cast members, including ride operators, were on the verge of going on strike.
Last week the Master Services Council, which represents a variety of Cast Member positions from the people who operate the best rides at Disneyland to cashiers to the people who create some of the best food at Disneyland, was given authorization to go on strike after three months of negotiations had not yet resulted in a new contract. It appears the threat of a strike may have helped grease the wheels, as a tentative agreement has now been reached after two days of negotiation. In a post to Twitter, the council said…
We achieved our goals – a 3-year contract that contains significant wage increases for all cast members, seniority increases and additional premiums as well as the retention of premiums. We also addressed issues that will make the attendance policy work better for cast members.
This puts the threatened strike on the back burner for now. The union will vote on July 29th on whether to accept the tentative agreement. However, Disneyland fans should not simply assume that the contract will be approved. Back in 2021, Disneyland cast members rejected the tentative contract that the Masters Services Council presented, so this is by no means a done deal. If the rest of the union doesn't think the bargaining committee got enough from the resort, the contract could be rejected again.
Specific details of what the wage increases are or what the attendance policy changes are won’t be available until after the vote. Back in 2022, Disneyland made changes to its attendance policy that made punishments for missing shifts more severe. Considering that many Disneyland cast members work multiple jobs, specifically because they weren’t making a living wage at Disneyland, the policy made balancing multiple gigs more difficult for many.
If the contract doesn’t meet with the wider union’s approval, that doesn’t mean a strike will happen. The two sides will return to the negotiating table. However, the possible strike will still be there. If a strike were to happen Disneyland would likely continue to operate, but it would do so with a greatly reduced staff, and with people filling in for jobs they don’t usually have, making things less efficient at the very least.
Certainly, one hopes the new contract is everything that Disneyland Resort Cast Members want. They are the people who make the magic happen in the parks for so many of us, and they are a vital part of why we love Disney Parks so much.
With D23 approaching next month there were about to be thousands of serious Disney fans in Anaheim, and many were certainly going to be visiting the parks. With many big Disney Parks announcements expected, hopefully, the future also includes well-paid cast members.
