Cynthia Carranza meticulously searches for a shaded parking spot for the car she calls home.
According to the criteria of
Carranza is a night janitor at Disneyland in California. Because of this, she has to sleep during the day, which is difficult for anyone, but even more so for her who lives in her vehicle with two dogs.
He claims that he gets paid in the park US$20.65 per hourLast summer, she couldn’t pay rent in a city in Southern California, where the average apartment can cost more than $2,000 a month.
Carranza cries as she recounts the struggles of that summer, including sneaking into Disneyland’s locker room to shower. She now shares a small apartment with her boyfriend, who also works at the park, but they barely make enough to make ends meet.
“This is something no one should experience working full-time for a company like Disney.”he told the BBC.
Carranza, like other park employees, recounts the financial difficulties that come with working in what is supposed to be the “happiest place in the world”.
Threat of strike
Some 10,000 unionized workers at Disneyland, the first of 12 parks built around the world, are threatening to strike to Demand better wages and denounce what they define as anti-union practices in response to the demonstrations.
Hundreds of workers protested outside the park last week, with a series of signs and pins showing the fist of Mickey Mouse covered by his traditional white glove, as a sign of defiance.
“Mickey would like a fair salary”they chanted near the park gates.
Workers voted almost unanimously to authorize the strike last Friday, just days before union contract negotiations were set to resume.
While the vote does not mean a strike is imminent, it could prepare workers to act quickly if negotiations fall through.
The last Disneyland strike was in 1984 and lasted 22 days.
Homeless employees
The contract for the Disneyland cast expired on June 16 and the current negotiations involve a coalition of unions representing nearly 10,000 park employees. This includes everyone from those who work as characters and operate attractions to sales, restaurant and cleaning workers.
Union representatives say that approximately 1 in 10 Disneyland cast members were homeless while working in the park.
A survey among employees showed that 73% say they do not earn enough to cover basic expenses each month and about a third said they had experienced housing insecurity in the past year.
“We are the ones who make the magic”says L. Slaughter, host of Toontown, a themed area at the park. “We need Disney to pay us a living wage.”
Slaughter lived in his car for two years while working at the park. He says he spent much of that time trying to find a safe parking spot to sleep, since staff are not allowed to sleep in Disneyland parking lots.
He now has a small apartment about an hour’s drive from the park. “My rent just went up by $200 and I won’t be able to pay it anymore”says.
Slaughter earns $19.90 an hour, thanks to a minimum wage mandate passed by the city in 2018. Disney unsuccessfully fought against wage increasesbut workers say it’s still not enough to make a decent living in Southern California.
A living wage calculator built by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) indicates that aA single person without children would need to be paid $30.48 an hour to live near Disneyland.in Orange County, which is 30 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
Workers who spoke to the BBC said they kept their jobs because they love the Disney brand and rely on generous health care benefits and the union-run food bank, which some workers described as a salvation.
Disney’s position
Disney maintains that it is committed to negotiating with its “cast members,” the term the company uses to refer to employees who play characters such as princesses and pirates, as well as chefs or janitors who keep the park running.
“We respect and value our cast members and recognize the important role they play in creating happiness for our guests,” Disney said in a statement.
The company said talks with unions representing its workers would resume on July 22.
The company said it is committed to reaching an agreement that “focuses on what matters most to our current cast members, helps us attract new cast members and positions Disneyland Resort for growth and more job creation.”
And remember that you can receive notifications in our app. Download the latest version and activate them.
#struggle #Disney #workers #forced #live #cars #motels #happiest #place #earth