Are Cast Members Getting Paid While Parks Close?

[OhMickeyUrSoFine]

Does anyone know, with all these overseas park closures, are the cast members still receiving pay? My thoughts are maybe the hourly cast may not be, but perhaps the salaried are? Just curious if anyone knows? Also, in the event of a black swan appearing and WDW closes, I worry it may severely cripple Central Florida's economy if cast are underpaid for any sustained period.

 

[L&Lfan]

Who cares?

 

[Brett Wyman]

I have no real info but...

1. Salaried employees usually will continue to be paid. But are probably more back office type roles.
2. Hourly employees will not
3. There are certainly some hourly employees there working even though there are no guests

 

[pryncess527]

Given the vast economic/political differences between China, Japan & here, I’m not sure you could extrapolate what would happen to American workers based on what’s happening with pay in other parks

 

[MamaBelle4]

Who cares?

Probably the workers and their families and people who care about other people.

 

[OhMickeyUrSoFine]

Who cares?

Certainly I do. I care about people, my community and my investments as well. Apparently you don't, and that speaks volumes with only those two words. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[OhMickeyUrSoFine]

I have no real info but...

1. Salaried employees usually will continue to be paid. But are probably more back office type roles.
2. Hourly employees will not
3. There are certainly some hourly employees there working even though there are no guests

That's what I conclude in my head, but not sure if that's actually the situation overseas right now. Thanks for your insight! I appreciate it.

 

[OhMickeyUrSoFine]

Given the vast economic/political differences between China, Japan & here, I’m not sure you could extrapolate what would happen to American workers based on what’s happening with pay in other parks

I wasn't sure if Disney as a company has a blanket HR protocol for this type of event. If it varies park-to-park or not? Just wondering if anyone knew?

 

[okeydokey]

Who cares?

As a human being, I do.

 

[belle032]

I hope it never comes to that in WDW or DCL, especially for front line cast members. Bottom line: cast members are grossly underpaid in general.

Speaking as a former WDW CM, that loss of pay would have been absolutely devastating. It was hard enough to make ends meet in general sometimes. Towards the end of my time there, I was only part time and my hours were capped due to working too much. I could barely pay my rent in a shared house with 4 other roommates. I can't imagine losing that entire income for any length of time, especially if you had a family to support.

 

[pryncess527]

My local hospital has put about 14 medical staff on quarantine, they will be paid for the 14 days.
It was originally 70, but luckily they determined not everyone came in contact with the infected patient.

I don't know Disney's policy, but I would imagine it varies based on the laws of the country where a given park operates. They may be generous though & provide to all what is required by some. My husbands company gives US workers a few perks because they are legally mandated in other countries and they want to minimize disparity.

 

[Donaldswife]

I wasn't sure if Disney as a company has a blanket HR protocol for this type of event. If it varies park-to-park or not? Just wondering if anyone knew?

The parks that are closed aren't owned by just Disney, they are owned by a company there and run by them under Disney supervision of use of the IP and branding. Anything they do there would not necessarily be what is done here in America.

 

[OhMickeyUrSoFine]

I hope it never comes to that in WDW or DCL, especially for front line cast members. Bottom line: cast members are grossly underpaid in general.

Speaking as a former WDW CM, that loss of pay would have been absolutely devastating. It was hard enough to make ends meet in general sometimes. Towards the end of my time there, I was only part time and my hours were capped due to working too much. I could barely pay my rent in a shared house with 4 other roommates. I can't imagine losing that entire income for any length of time, especially if you had a family to support.

Ohh I understand. I'm a former WDW CM 2000-2013 as well in various roles on/off while I worked other jobs as well between (side hustles and such). It's tough to make a solid living, even in an engineering role, at WDW unless you're one of the lucky few (but if you calculate the hours you are actually putting in as a salaried there, it will make you ill and want to go back to hourly). I know, in my community, the loss of income from Disney would have a huge impact and result in drastic measures I'm afraid.

 

[OhMickeyUrSoFine]

The parks that are closed aren't owned by just Disney, they are owned by a company there and run by them under Disney supervision of use of the IP and branding. Anything they do there would not necessarily be what is done here in America.

From what I do know a large amount of Shanghai's HR received training at WDW, so I don't know if their HR policies are separate, the same or similar. Regardless, I'd still like to know as they are under the Disney umbrella and I'd like to know how this is being managed and understanding it's effects as well.

 

[Donaldswife]

From what I do know a large amount of Shanghai's HR received training at WDW, so I don't know if their HR policies are separate, the same or similar. Regardless, I'd still like to know as they are under the Disney umbrella and I'd like to know how this is being managed and understanding it's effects as well.

I would like to know that too, I just know a lot of people aren't aware there is another company in the mix and things are not always run the same as the US because of that.

 

[OhMickeyUrSoFine]

I would like to know that too, I just know a lot of people aren't aware there is another company in the mix and things are not always run the same as the US because of that.

Very true. From those I know that visited Shanghai Disney, overall, I heard customer service was far superior at Shanghai when compared to WDW. Weird how that is, I thought it would be the other way around.

 

[dclpluto]

If this happens in Florida. Florida has a very very low unemployment pay. So probably lots of cast members will be in trouble paying their bills. California is a little better but they have a lot higher cost of living.
yes there is unemployment pay in china. I looked it up.

 

[3threebabies]

I would assume it would be no different than how Disney (and any other service related business for that matter) reacts to any economic downturn, severe weather event, etc. Or even like the government shutdowns. Salaried employees probably get paid for work and/or get paid for number of days specified in poliices that govern time off. Hourly employees get paid for what time they work, if any. People get laid off.

I was a retail manager in suburban DC on 9/11 and suburban NYC during recession of ‘08. We often ran the stores on management (salary) only. Everyone else saw a cut in hours at minimum. I have had to let people go for poor performance and that is hard. It does not compare to taking a pay cut, cutting people‘s hours and telling your staff there is nothing more you can do. And they know it.

I don't wish to add to hysteria, and I assume most of us have already considered the following. I also mean no disrespect and do not take this lightly. If we get to a place in the US where a company like Disney has to close its theme parks for an extended amount of time (more than a few days; weeks or even months), God help us. You will no longer be worrying merely about WDW employees. More than likely your own financial situation will be severely impacted. I am not a medical professional, but I do not see this happening. There is no doubt tourism is being affected by all this, but tourism is often affected by temporary market volatility.

France has laws that govern employment and time off that we cannot even imagine in the US. It is probably cheaper for Paris to stay open with reduced staff and have a few visitors than to pay thousands of people to stay home. I would guess that some people have moved to areas that support maintencne and frontline to help with sanitary maintenance.

 

[KrazyKoala]

Who cares?

Wow. Speaks volumes about you as a person.

 

[littlejimmy]

yes