Hello everyone, I don't post here much but I do read posts on here regularly and was particularly interested in the views of various members here regarding the negotiations. I will preface by informing you that I am a current WDW full time cast member that is covered by the STCU contract (even though I am not a voting union member as I do not pay union dues), so some might question my objectivity in this post, but I will try my best.
In terms of the strike discussions, while the potential of a cast member strike is still unlikely, I can tell you that this tactic is being talked about more openly by cast members than it was earlier in the negotiations. Earlier in the negotiations even mentioning the word was unthinkable, now many cast members do support a strike if it were to go that far. I have talked to several higher up union officials and they are not very optimistic at this point. This brings me to my next point.
I could very much see the negotiations going to arbitration and at this point arbitration is the only way I see any new contract being signed. What you are seeing is years and years of cast member/company friction finally coming to the surface.
An interesting aspect of these negotiations is the long held Disney policy stating that if there was ever a strike by the STCU cast members, that they would fire all of those cast members and hire new people. As far as I am concerned this is a complete scare tactic by Disney, and for a lot of front line STCU cast members it might work. As someone who graduated with a degree in management however, I can not see where logistically Disney could even make good on this threat. Here is why:
1) While unemployment in Central Florida is higher than the national average, I seriously doubt Disney is holding the resumes of 20,000 people ready to take various jobs a day after cast members strike. The majority in people in Central Florida either work for Disney, have already worked for Disney at some point, or know somebody who has worked at Disney and would probably not be interested. The wage situation at Disney is no secret to people here in Central Florida.
2) Lets put the first point aside and say that Disney could actually have 20,000 people hired the next day, what are they going to do with them? Who is going to train them? All the trainers are STCU cast members, they will be on strike. Managers will not be able to train them, they will be too busy in their operation. I would like to see Disney's contingency plan for training if all the core trainers are on strike.
3) Many say Disney would simply be able to rely more on part timers, seasonal cast members, CP's, and ICP's. While this is certainly true to an extent, these cast members would not be able to cover all the hours currently worked by full time cast members. Most part time and seasonal cast members have jobs outside of Disney, so their availability is limited. ICP's have limits put in place by their various Visas, and that will limit their hours. CP's could be worked as many hours as deemed necessary by Disney, but that still would not be enough. Disney could attempt to hire more CP's and ICP's, however you would still have the training issue and Disney mainly hires CP's and ICP's to fill in the gaps, not to run the entire operation.
4) Building on point 3, remember that many STCU positions are not your basic park operations position. There are many back stage positions which require advanced training and even if not that, simply experience to handle to job responsibilities and stress. There are many positions where part time, seasonal, CP's, and ICP's are simply not trained because they are either not at work often enough or are not with the company long enough to perform these positions. Disney would have a terribly difficult time filling these positions quickly.
5) The final point simply comes down to money, firing all full time STCU cast members would cost the company money instead of saving money. The cost of hiring and training 20,000 new cast members as well as the revenue losses from hotels and potentially even recreation and park offerings being shut down due to staffing would be significantly more than simply presenting the union with a more competitive offer. Nevermind that if 20,000 cast members went on strike, it would not be on page 6 on the orlando sentinel, it would make national news. A strike would be a public relations disaster for Disney and would most likely cost the company additional revenue.
As for my personal views, I love Disney and do not want to see a strike occur. I am unsure at this point if I would even participate in a strike if it was authorized by the union. I understand the arguments from both sides regarding the contract negotiations. On the one side, Disney has to stay competitive in the business market, and these jobs are not meant to be career jobs. On the other hand, with the amount of profit Disney makes and the fact that Disney is a people-oriented company, a more competitive contract would show the Cast Members that Disney does value them. Disney also needs to be aware of the fact that the cost of living is going up in almost every facet of life (medical, food, gas, utilities, rent), and that without an appropriate pay raise every year, that Disney is essentially giving its cast members a PAY CUT, and that is simply unacceptable.
At this point, I would simply settle for a $650 bonus (add the $100 back on from the contract in October) and keeping the same percentage of a pay raise as previous years, which would be 5%. Dragging the process along and even the potential of the strike simply hurts both sides, and hopefully an agreement can be reached soon.
