(NewsNation) — Full-time Walt Disney World employees who belong to the union will start voting on a new contract Thursday — although some say they do not think the company is offering enough.
Some members of the Service Trades Council Union who work at Disney say they want their co-workers to vote “no” on the new proposal.
Meanwhile, Disney says it’s offering at least $5 above Florida’s minimum wage. In a statement, it told NewsNation: “This very strong offer provides our cast members with a nearly 10% average increase immediately and guaranteed raises for the next four years.”
WESH reports that Disney is offering a $1 per hour yearly raise for most employees, which will have people making at least $20 an hour.
But if you ask union workers, it isn’t equal across the board, as some cast members are getting a bigger raise than others.
“There’s about 11,000 cast members that will be offered a generous raise versus the 33,000 that were only offered a $1 raise,” Annie Sierra, a Disney union employee, said. “The company is trying to create a divide amongst the cast members.”
There are cast members who are “homeless, hungry,” and even some working three jobs, Sierra said.
“The company knows it, and so they’re playing off of that,” she said.
To her fellow employees, Sierra says: “You deserve a living wage.”
“You are the wheels that keep that company, that store, that corporation running,” she said. “You deserve to not have to go home and worry that you can’t afford to pay a bill or put food on the table.”
Despite the dissatisfaction from workers, there is no talk of a strike — at least for now. Both union members and Disney say they want to go to the negotiation table and work this out to keep everyone satisfied.