Characters protesting

[goofy4tink]

First of all....there really aren't going to be kids seeing these CMs in 'character' simply because it's not close to a regular theme park. I suppose that if they are in DTD and on the roadway there, they could view it. Nothing I'm concerned about.
As to their 'right' to picket....it's the American way. But, I have to tell you...I get tired of people complaining that they aren't getting what they want...usually more health insurance for less money. I realize that these positions aren't huge pay spots, but really, the CMs knew going in what the pay is and what health insurance would be. And with the economy the way it is, they should be happy they have a job, with pay, and benefits. There are a ton of people working for Disney part-time, basically for the benefits. From what I understand, after talking to many CMs (in various areas of employ), the benefits at Disney are wonderful. This is one reason you don't see a ton of turnover...other than in the positions that young people fill. Why do you think so many of us know, or at least recognize, so many CMs..year after year.

With the numbers of people working for Disney, at WDW, you have to wonder why such a small number of CMs are 'unhappy'. The vast majority of them are pretty satisfied with what they have.

 

[Dorisk3]

For all those against those protesting you should check this out

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/11/30/walt-disney-world-em.html

and have a little sympathy- especially if you look at the CEO's pay increase that was discussed on this forum a few weeks ago.

 

[GinnyEmma]

For all those against those protesting you should check this out

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/11/30/walt-disney-world-em.html

and have a little sympathy- especially if you look at the CEO's pay increase that was discussed on this forum a few weeks ago.

While I am sorry for the people there working for less than they want, i feel bad for the workers at walmart, the hospitals, etc., too. But many people would be happy to take those jobs. Lots of families have to have two incomes, lots of singles have to rent rooms, life is difficult sometimes. No one has to stay with a company if they don't like it.

I don't know many people getting cost of living wages the last few years, do you? Heck, not even our teachers, police and firefighters are here.

 

[awilliams4]

I hope you never find yourself in a position where your take home check decreases because you need a more expensive health care package.

Also, to the poster who implied that the union workers should not exercise their right to picket wearing costumes, why don't you just explain to your child that the people are trying to make a living just like everyone else, and they put on costumes (like people wear on Halloween) toget attention. That would be much better than to condemn them for hampering your child's entertainment.

I haven't had a raise in 3 1/2 years. Food costs have went up, energy costs have went up and healthcare costs have went up.

Yet you don't find me standing outside my employment saying my work sucks.

How is it Disney's fault that the countries healthcare costs are going up faster then everything else.

Take a look at the country (their waists specifically) It is everyone's fault that the healthcare costs have been for many years now going up faster than salaries have. For unions to protest their employers, especially in the way they are protesting because most of our country is fat and lazy and EVERYONE's healthcare is going up faster than their pay is naive and self centered!

 

[Dorisk3]

While I am sorry for the people there working for less than they want, i feel bad for the workers at walmart, the hospitals, etc., too. But many people would be happy to take those jobs. Lots of families have to have two incomes, lots of singles have to rent rooms, life is difficult sometimes. No one has to stay with a company if they don't like it.

I don't know many people getting cost of living wages the last few years, do you? Heck, not even our teachers, police and firefighters are here.

I feel bad for anyone working in the underpaid service sector-unfortunetly that is what this country seems to be heading towards.

Teachers, police and firefighters are paid more than $8 an hour.

 

[awilliams4]

For all those against those protesting you should check this out

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/11/30/walt-disney-world-em.html

and have a little sympathy- especially if you look at the CEO's pay increase that was discussed on this forum a few weeks ago.

Healthcare costs have went up on average 119 percent since 1999.

So are you suggesting that a CM that was making $9 in 1999 should be making $19.71 per hour today for doing the same job? I would love to have a job where when I live work, work stays behind. I work in IT on a salary (like many others that have office jobs, work is always with you) I work almost every evening, every weekend, my responsibilities are constant. These guys get to go home at the end of the day and their work stress doesn't go with them. Financial stress may. But it is one or the other in today's society. If you don't want financial stress, chances are, you will have a job that will replace that kind of stress with another. I would love to make 119% more than I did 10 years ago and have responsibilities that begin in the morning and end in the evening!

Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Premiums Increase 119 Percent from 1999-2008; Projected to Double Again by 2020

http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Con...-Insurance-Premiums-Increase-119-Percent.aspx

 

[GinnyEmma]

I feel bad for anyone working in the underpaid service sector-unfortunetly that is what this country seems to be heading towards.

Teachers, police and firefighters are paid more than $8 an hour.

lol, they are paid for their education, and risk. Neither is necessary to take money at a ticket booth or to dress a mouse and pose.

 

[Dorisk3]

Healthcare costs have went up on average 119 percent since 1999.

So are you suggesting that a CM that was making $9 in 1999 should be making $19.71 per hour today for doing the same job? I would love to have a job where when I live work, work stays behind. I work in IT on a salary (like many others that have office jobs, work is always with you) I work almost every evening, every weekend, my responsibilities are constant. These guys get to go home at the end of the day and their work stress doesn't go with them. Financial stress may. But it is one or the other in today's society. If you don't want financial stress, chances are, you will have a job that will replace that kind of stress with another. I would love to make 119% more than I did 10 years ago and have responsibilities that begin in the morning and end in the evening!

Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Premiums Increase 119 Percent from 1999-2008; Projected to Double Again by 2020

http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Con...-Insurance-Premiums-Increase-119-Percent.aspx

So you would love a job standing out in the blazing Florida sun selling ice cream to frequently unpleasant people? Sure. You get paid well, so it's easy for you to judge those who work in the unskilled labor market. If you are so dedicated, what are you doing posting on the disboards, shouldn't you be grinding away at your stressful job?

And yes, I realize that we are discussing a lot of unskilled labor jobs that you don't need any special training to do- but when a company is turning a large profit and you are giving a CEO a 35 % increase while further sucking the life out of your front line workers, say what you want about pixie dust, that is kinda lame.

 

[GinnyEmma]

So you would love a job standing out in the blazing Florida sun selling ice cream to frequently unpleasant people? Sure. You get paid well, so it's easy for you to judge those who work in the unskilled labor market. If you are so dedicated, what are you doing posting on the disboards, shouldn't you be grinding away at your stressful job?

And yes, I realize that we are discussing a lot of unskilled labor jobs that you don't need any special training to do- but when a company is turning a large profit and you are giving a CEO a 35 % increase while further sucking the life out of your front line workers, say what you want about pixie dust, that is kinda lame.

if the life is being sucked out of them it is time to move on. and many jobs deal with unpleasant people. Teachers, police and ff, to begin with. We social workers make less than nearly any other profession based on education. I can choose to take what I can get, and that sure as heck isn't cost of living, or I can find another line of work.

i live in an area that lost 6000 of the 15000 jobs in the county. People have had to move to find jobs, walking away from homes and family.

 

[Dorisk3]

if the life is being sucked out of them it is time to move on. and many jobs deal with unpleasant people. Teachers, police and ff, to begin with. We social workers make less than nearly any other profession based on education. I can choose to take what I can get, and that sure as heck isn't cost of living, or I can find another line of work.

i live in an area that lost 6000 of the 15000 jobs in the county. People have had to move to find jobs, walking away from homes and family.

So you think it is easy for say someone with a high school education and a family to just move and find another job. What other job will there be? Most probably another crappy service job.

I agree with you, things are pretty bad for many people. That is why I find it so surprising that folks are so unsympathetic towards the disney workers. They are not making a living wage, and maybe they don't want to move across the country to get another crappy job. Three percent of eight dollars is .24 cents. Think about it. So three percent sounds generous, but its not.

Also, when one of the complaining threads about how unmagical the cast members are comes up, remember what these folks get paid, and what they have to deal with on a daily basis.

 

[awilliams4]

So you would love a job standing out in the blazing Florida sun selling ice cream to frequently unpleasant people? Sure. You get paid well, so it's easy for you to judge those who work in the unskilled labor market. If you are so dedicated, what are you doing posting on the disboards, shouldn't you be grinding away at your stressful job?

And yes, I realize that we are discussing a lot of unskilled labor jobs that you don't need any special training to do- but when a company is turning a large profit and you are giving a CEO a 35 % increase while further sucking the life out of your front line workers, say what you want about pixie dust, that is kinda lame.

What country do you think we all live in. If the job sucks that much, why the hell don't they find another one? They applied for the job, they got the job, I am sure that the pay scale and all the benefits are very easy to find and educate themselves on. They want more money, Disney is giving them 3% pay increases every year for the next three years in an environment where inflation is nill! And they still stoop to levels where they take up their companies intellectual creations and stomp all over them saying this place stinks, management is treating us like dirt, etc. Then do something for yourself and make a change in YOUR life, don't push your problems onto people that have nothing to do with your problems.

What they are getting paid is the going rate for what they do. My wife was a Medical Assitant for 15 years. The work was hard and the pay sucked. She went to night school for 6 years to become an RN. The pay is good and the work is even harder. She didn't run around saying her employer sucked because she was getting paid X and X is what Medical Assistants make everywhere!

If they have a problem with 3% increases, then they need to do something that rates more than 3% increases.

Selling ice cream in the blazing sun huh? Wait, do I have to actually stand the whole time too?

Geez, what a different reality you must live in.

 

[awilliams4]

So you think it is easy for say someone with a high school education and a family to just move and find another job. What other job will there be? Most probably another crappy service job.

I agree with you, things are pretty bad for many people. That is why I find it so surprising that folks are so unsympathetic towards the disney workers. They are not making a living wage, and maybe they don't want to move across the country to get another crappy job. Three percent of eight dollars is .24 cents. Think about it. So three percent sounds generous, but its not.

Also, when one of the complaining threads about how unmagical the cast members are comes up, remember what these folks get paid, and what they have to deal with on a daily basis.

I bet it is even harder to drop out of high school, have 10 kids and try to get up and move. How is that Disney's fault?

The job they get will be the job that their own life decisions cause them to get. This is not Disney's responsibility to parent them and suggest, well, maybe you should have went to school before having kids.

People aren't unsympathetic to Disney workers, the country (and culture) is unsympathetic to those that expect more than what the formula gives them. Why is a Disney worker entitled to more money than someone at Walmart doing the same thing (while the company makes even more money)

Why should Disney subsidize their employers healthcare costs even more while the rest of the private sector has to pay for the difference out of their own pocket.

For you to suggest that those that don't agree with their protests are unsympathetic to Disney CMs for not getting more than the going rate for what they do is really being unsympathetic to the rest of the working force that is going through the same damn thing!

 

[DanielleandBrady]

My health benefits have gone way up over the last few years and unfortunately merit increases haven't. Cost of living obviously has gone up. So, while I understand the frustration, unfortunately, it is the way of life right now. People work harder for less..and yes I am just as disgusted about the CEO's making what they make, since I work in corporate america..but I can only control the contrallable..what a CEO makes it out of my control. But I agree with some of the PP's on here..this is life..it's hard and difficult at times, but the fact is, if you are being offered a medical plan and you want that medical plan through your employer, most of us have to pay into it. If you don't want to, then don't sign up (which will change when the healthcare laws fully take effect..whole other story).

I think you will find a lot of people feeling helpless and frustrated about their job, the economy, etc. But many people don't take protests seriously anymore, because there are so many. It's almost like the boy who cried wolf. My sympathies are with the CM believe me, but they are also with me and for a lot of people I know who are working harder then ever and bringing home a lot less.

 

[GinnyEmma]

So you think it is easy for say someone with a high school education and a family to just move and find another job. What other job will there be? Most probably another crappy service job.

I agree with you, things are pretty bad for many people. That is why I find it so surprising that folks are so unsympathetic towards the disney workers. They are not making a living wage, and maybe they don't want to move across the country to get another crappy job. Three percent of eight dollars is .24 cents. Think about it. So three percent sounds generous, but its not.

Also, when one of the complaining threads about how unmagical the cast members are comes up, remember what these folks get paid, and what they have to deal with on a daily basis.

Eh, if you can't do your job and do it right you don't deserve to have the job. It is pay based. At least not if you have any ethical principles.

And no moving sucks. People have struggled with having to move to the jobs has been going on for centuries.

It has nothing to do with compassion. But the fact of the matter is that you can't expect what others aren't getting.

 

[Dorisk3]

What country do you think we all live in. If the job sucks that much, why the hell don't they find another one? They applied for the job, they got the job, I am sure that the pay scale and all the benefits are very easy to find and educate themselves on. They want more money, Disney is giving them 3% pay increases every year for the next three years in an environment where inflation is nill! And they still stoop to levels where they take up their companies intellectual creations and stomp all over them saying this place stinks, management is treating us like dirt, etc. Then do something for yourself and make a change in YOUR life, don't push your problems onto people that have nothing to do with your problems.

What they are getting paid is the going rate for what they do. My wife was a Medical Assitant for 15 years. The work was hard and the pay sucked. She went to night school for 6 years to become an RN. The pay is good and the work is even harder. She didn't run around saying her employer sucked because she was getting paid X and X is what Medical Assistants make everywhere!

If they have a problem with 3% increases, then they need to do something that rates more than 3% increases.

Selling ice cream in the blazing sun huh? Wait, do I have to actually stand the whole time too?

Geez, what a different reality you must live in.

I think it is you that live in a different reality. Get out of your office cubicle and see what is going on in the world.

The Disney union workers are protesting because they don't agree with what Disney is offering them on their contract. There is a difference between protesting for higher wages and not paying more for health insurance and saying your company sucks and you don't want to work for them.

So by your logic, once anyone works for a company can NEVER complain about or protest about it. You can never ask for a wage increase or protest about paying more for benefits, because after all, you took the job, and its just too bad for you. And I'm sure you never complain about your job, because if you did, you could just find another one after all.

Unfortunetly, some people do not have the education to get jobs that go into the next pay bracket. Are they then supposed to be left behind to eat the crumbs?

 

[SOnotLayuh]

I think it is you that live in a different reality. Get out of your office cubicle and see what is going on in the world.

The Disney union workers are protesting because they don't agree with what Disney is offering them on their contract. There is a difference between protesting for higher wages and not paying more for health insurance and saying your company sucks and you don't want to work for them.

So by your logic, once anyone works for a company can NEVER complain about or protest about it. You can never ask for a wage increase or protest about paying more for benefits, because after all, you took the job, and its just too bad for you. And I'm sure you never complain about your job, because if you did, you could just find another one after all.

Unfortunetly, some people do not have the education to get jobs that go into the next pay bracket. Are they then supposed to be left behind to eat the crumbs?

We live in a dog-eat-dog society. The people who don't have the education to get jobs that are higher paying are dealing with their life choices... you choose to have a family early and not go to college? It's your choice. 100%.

My DH took a pay CUT because his company wasn't doing well. Everyone else was getting an annual raise in the IT jobs around our city, but DH's company took a 10% pay cut. We didn't like it - so did we protest? No. He found a new job that paid a lot better.

He had that choice because he CHOSE to go to school and to not start a family or drop out of high school.



I completely believe and support the right to protest - BUT what I don't agree with the reasoning that these CMs have. At least they got a raise when so many in our country are facing pay cuts or pay freezes. I'm a high school teacher - our super intendent is making half a million a year, and we have been on a pay freeze for five years.

And if you think that teachers make at least 8$ an hour you are sorely miseducated on the state of affairs in education.

 

[GinnyEmma]

Why don't you take a big girl pill and realize some of us do know more about the world and the trouble in it than you do. Try being the teacher dealing with a classroom of children or a sw pulling a screaming child from the arms of her parent, who doesn't want to leave the parent who left cigarette burns all over her.

Standing in the sun isn't the worse thing in the world.

There are lots of people who want higher wages. Complaining isn't the issue. But Everyone's health care is going up. That is a fact if life. There is no promise there will always be money for cable, infernet, cell phones or cars. Check out the rest of the world.

 

[cdsulhoff]

Going to make my comment simple!
Bad decision on given CEO a 35% raise! Does he really need that increase on his pay, or does the average Joe working for him need that money?

People who are barely supporting them self and their family, hears that their boss just got a 35% increase on his salary! Well IMO surprise there are not more outrage and upset!

I understand that he is the CEO! But this is the WRONG time to be taken an increase! Maybe he needs to go on undercover boss and really spend a day working on those low paying jobs to see what they have to endure and hear their life stories! Maybe he will have a change of heart!

 

[Dorisk3]

We live in a dog-eat-dog society. The people who don't have the education to get jobs that are higher paying are dealing with their life choices... you choose to have a family early and not go to college? It's your choice. 100%.

My DH took a pay CUT because his company wasn't doing well. Everyone else was getting an annual raise in the IT jobs around our city, but DH's company took a 10% pay cut. We didn't like it - so did we protest? No. He found a new job that paid a lot better.

He had that choice because he CHOSE to go to school and to not start a family or drop out of high school.



I completely believe and support the right to protest - BUT what I don't agree with the reasoning that these CMs have. At least they got a raise when so many in our country are facing pay cuts or pay freezes. I'm a high school teacher - our super intendent is making half a million a year, and we have been on a pay freeze for five years.

And if you think that teachers make at least 8$ an hour you are sorely miseducated on the state of affairs in education.

Like I said before, 3 percent of 8 dollars an hour is .24 cents.

Look, I know no one is getting much of a pay increase and that's probably not going to change.

But what Disney is doing is offering a pay increase (which like I said seems generous on the surface) and then asking the same employees to pay more for their benefits, which results in a net loss of money for the employee. The employees are trying to bring attention to that fact.

As far as the having kids scenario before college, I'm not sure where that came from. There are people working at Disney over 25 with kids and in unskilled low paying jobs.

As an educator, what are the kids that aren't really college material supposed to do? What if they can't get into college, what if they can't handle college?

I'm not saying that you can pay unskilled labor tremendous amounts of money, but what Disney is doing is sneaky and wrong, and alot of other companies are wrong about what they do to their employees. So why the anger about Disney employees protesting, are they not allowed to because everyone here on the disboards loves Disney so much that it is a buzzkill to their vacation experience?

 

[awilliams4]

I think it is you that live in a different reality. Get out of your office cubicle and see what is going on in the world.

The Disney union workers are protesting because they don't agree with what Disney is offering them on their contract. There is a difference between protesting for higher wages and not paying more for health insurance and saying your company sucks and you don't want to work for them.

So by your logic, once anyone works for a company can NEVER complain about or protest about it. You can never ask for a wage increase or protest about paying more for benefits, because after all, you took the job, and its just too bad for you. And I'm sure you never complain about your job, because if you did, you could just find another one after all.

Unfortunetly, some people do not have the education to get jobs that go into the next pay bracket. Are they then supposed to be left behind to eat the crumbs?

Blame Capitalism, not Disney. If they are successful and their actions cause Disney more harm then good, more power to them.

Protesting in Disney Costumes is a low blow. They are doing a bit more than protesting in their actions. They are not just saying they aren't paid well enough, they are stepping beyond that and trying to discredit their employer while they are still employed with them.