Should cast members be paid more?

[kamik86]

I wish life was so black and white. There really is no place for many of these people to go. Another poster mentioned that many are non-skilled labor. That is true. It's not like they can just step into another position elsewhere.

I don't know what it is like in other parts of the country, but there are literally very few jobs available in the Orlando area at this time. They hold job fairs and thousands show up for a handful of jobs. It is such a sad situation. I'm sure many of the people currently caught up in low paying jobs would jump in a heartbeat if there was anything better available.

It isn't black and white but this is the reality that sometimes there are bad times and no jobs. So individuals have to ensure that you aren't on the bottom rung of unskilled jobs that everyone can do. Individuals also have strive to be the best at what they do so that when layoffs come they survive. The sad reality is some will also be unlucky, unskilled, unambious, or some combination of these and fall short.

 

[bicker]

And if that's too cold and heartless, then we as a society have to change our values, and adopt a different type of society, rather than try to avoid our responsibility for the troubles of these folks, by trying to foist responsibility onto others, such as businesses or government.

We - all of us in this society, collectively - are responsible for the difficulties these folks have to deal with.

 

[C.Ann]

And if that's too cold and heartless, then we as a society have to change our values, and adopt a different type of society, rather than try to avoid our responsibility for the troubles of these folks, by trying to foist responsibility onto others, such as businesses or government.

We - all of us in this society, collectively - are responsible for the difficulties these folks have to deal with.

Sounds good.. So could you share what you're doing on a personal level to make things better so that others might follow suit? Just tossing those statements out there - without being specific about what "we" can do - isn't terribly helpful..

Thanks..

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

The greatest fallacy being sold in that video is the notion that WDW is meant to be a job/career that pays well enough to raise a family. For the vast majority of the positions, that is simply untrue. These are low skill jobs, mostly meant for people who are not encumbered with the expenses associated with raising a family.

Today's economic climate doesn't change that. People who have these additional expenses cannot blame WDW for them, nor can they expect WDW to pay them more for them. If a single man gets married, does he automatically get a raise anywhere? How about when he has children? If you have a job that doesn't cover those additional expenses, you leave - you don't demand more money or complain that the pay doesn't meet your "needs". It isn't WDW that created those needs.

I, too, have worked in low skill / low wage jobs. There might be more work of that type in my future. Who knows what life has in store for me? But I won't blame someone else for my circumstances, especially when I knew what I was getting when I accepted the job in the first place. It is intellectually dishonest, to say the least.

Now, this doesn't mean that I have no sympathy for their circumstances. I do. That is why I always tip well - very well. I know how little these people make. But I don't expect their employer to pay them above market because of their individual circumstances. This is a road to ruin for us all.

My suggestion to WDW would be to make it very clear to every employee that this company will likely never pay a "living wage". The job/pay is what it is. Take it or leave it.

 

[bicker]

Sounds good.. So could you share what you're doing on a personal level to make things better so that others might follow suit?

For starters, posting that message. Also, voting people into office based on those principles. And, teaching those values to the youth I have the opportunity to influence.

Remember, we need to change society. That can only be done together.

 

[kamik86]

Sounds good.. So could you share what you're doing on a personal level to make things better so that others might follow suit? Just tossing those statements out there - without being specific about what "we" can do - isn't terribly helpful..

Thanks..

Well if that is what you want you vote in policy makers that create laws to help people who by being unlucky, not planning, or whatever have found themselves in these situations. You also donate to charities who help them etc.

Personally I'm a bit more selective on who I would want to help (Unlucky yes, stupid and didn't plan not so much) so I go more for the charaities with screening processes or selective help (like medical charities) then for more policies to extend welfare. Part of the reason for this is a think some compeition to be the best and not be on the bottom rung is good for society as it raises the entire society to be better. Need is a great motivation so there is almost a perfect size for the "bottom rung" that we have to strive for... unfortuantly right now its a bit too large. When it gets too small people get lazy and think it will always be this way which causes a rude awakening when things shift again.

 

[C.Ann]

For starters, posting that message. Also, voting people into office based on those principles. And, teaching those values to the youth I have the opportunity to influence.

Remember, we need to change society. That can only be done together.

Thank you for your response..

 

[bicker]

Well if that is what you want you vote in policy makers that create laws to help people who by being unlucky, not planning, or whatever have found themselves in these situations. You also donate to charities who help them etc.

Donating to charities won't change society. We do things like that for other reasons, to do our little part to make some of the misery go away, but it isn't an answer to the problem of people essentially working for wages that they cannot live on.

Personally I'm a bit more selective on who I would want to help

The problem is that other people might not support the kinds of charities that you and I support, choosing instead to direct their donations in other directions, leaving the problem only partially address. Indeed, we're already there... these people who are having trouble making ends meet are those that the donations-only approach simply don't address. If the objective is to remedy the problem, we need to do more than just rely on charitable donations.

 

[kamik86]

If a single man gets married, does he automatically get a raise anywhere? How about when he has children?

Only on welfare... which is one problem with our current society.

Personally I think welfare should be a work program. Those that can work would be expected to show up and clean parks, the sides of roads, if they have a child care licence watch the children of other in the program etc. Those that can't work for some real reason would instead be on disability (although this would mean fixiing that process so it doesn't take soo long). The work would obviously need to be flexible for interviews (since the point is to get them off this program) and such but if you don't show up for no reason you get cut off. It also should pay slightly less then the min. wage for real jobs so there is an incentive to leave it.

 

[crashbb]

Only on welfare... which is one problem with our current society.

Personally I think welfare should be a work program. Those that can work would be expected to show up and clean parks, the sides of roads, if they have a child care licence watch the children of other in the program etc. Those that can't work for some real reason would instead be on disability (although this would mean fixiing that process so it doesn't take soo long). The work would obviously need to be flexible for interviews (since the point is to get them off this program) and such but if you don't show up for no reason you get cut off. It also should pay slightly less then the min. wage for real jobs so there is an incentive to leave it.

Can I just ask that when you quote someone (especially when you only use one line of a quote), you leave in the bit that tells us who you are quoting? I'm just finding it hard to go back and find the original message that you are quoting.

Thanks.

 

[MushyMushy]

The greatest fallacy being sold in that video is the notion that WDW is meant to be a job/career that pays well enough to raise a family. For the vast majority of the positions, that is simply untrue. These are low skill jobs, mostly meant for people who are not encumbered with the expenses associated with raising a family.

Today's economic climate doesn't change that. People who have these additional expenses cannot blame WDW for them, nor can they expect WDW to pay them more for them. If a single man gets married, does he automatically get a raise anywhere? How about when he has children? If you have a job that doesn't cover those additional expenses, you leave - you don't demand more money or complain that the pay doesn't meet your "needs". It isn't WDW that created those needs.

I, too, have worked in low skill / low wage jobs. There might be more work of that type in my future. Who knows what life has in store for me? But I won't blame someone else for my circumstances, especially when I knew what I was getting when I accepted the job in the first place. It is intellectually dishonest, to say the least.

Now, this doesn't mean that I have no sympathy for their circumstances. I do. That is why I always tip well - very well. I know how little these people make. But I don't expect their employer to pay them above market because of their individual circumstances. This is a road to ruin for us all.

My suggestion to WDW would be to make it very clear to every employee that this company will likely never pay a "living wage". The job/pay is what it is. Take it or leave it.

I have to agree with you here. This same argument could be made in any area of the country. Where I live, people are LUCKY to be able to work minimum wage jobs like Walmart and/or or local grocery store. I can't help but think that there are many more options for people in a place like Orlando than there are in my small town in Pennsyltucky (my husband's fond nickname for our neck of the woods).

Minimum wage jobs are not meant to support families. Most of them require little skill and little education.

 

[kamik86]

Can I just ask that when you quote someone (especially when you only use one line of a quote), you leave in the bit that tells us who you are quoting? I'm just finding it hard to go back and find the original message that you are quoting.

Thanks.

ummm... sure now that I figured out how to do that. I was using the quick response so was just copy and pasting the part I wanted instead of using the quote button.

 

[cseca]

Only on welfare... which is one problem with our current society.

Personally I think welfare should be a work program. Those that can work would be expected to show up and clean parks, the sides of roads, if they have a child care licence watch the children of other in the program etc. Those that can't work for some real reason would instead be on disability (although this would mean fixiing that process so it doesn't take soo long). The work would obviously need to be flexible for interviews (since the point is to get them off this program) and such but if you don't show up for no reason you get cut off. It also should pay slightly less then the min. wage for real jobs so there is an incentive to leave it.

Exactly! I never understood if the gov is already not have enough $ as it is, how could we afford to "pay" people for doing "nothing". I quote unquote nothing because you won't look for a job 8hrs/day 5 days/week. Even if you have to "volunteer" several hours a week to get your unemployment there would still be enough hours to do job hunting/interviews. Plus you never know what could come out of the volunteering service. You might meet people who could help you or at least network.

 

[Jennasis]

My response to the original question is that CM's (and all employed folk) should be paid a salary commensurate with the job they do, that is both fair and equitable as well as supportable by the company they work for.

In other words, they should be paid a fair wage, in line with the industry for the job they are doing and a salary the company can afoord to pay.

 

[LukenDC]

When I visit WDW, I make sure that I tip generously. I am well aware of the fact that I have the good fortune to enjoy a nice vacation and that the people who make my vacation special are working hard for little money.

 

[Carly_Roach]

Exactly! and exactly as it should be. Disney is a business to make money for it's stock holders.

When they can't hire enough people to fill the slots then pay will go up.
And seriously most of the jobs that are being talked about are unskilled jobs and people should not expect to raise a family on them or even to live the rest of their lives on them if they want to do more than get by.

I am re-reading John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath and this comment SO reminded me of the California landowners and the men who ran those farms.

I am seeing so many similarities in what happened to Americans whose farms were lost during the Great Depression and how life is today for people who've had the misfortune of losing good paying jobs to other countries so businesses can "make money for their stockholders". I also see a tremendous amount of the, "I got mine, the heck with everyone else" attitude amongst people who haven't experienced that misfortune (yet).

This makes me believe that we WILL repeat history because we, as a country, are too foolish, stupid, greedy, ignorant, arrogant, or disinterested to want to learn from it.

FTR, I believe CMs should get living wage pay on full-time jobs with benefits. When you treat your workforce humanely, employees naturally invest more of themselves into their tasks and do a better job which, in turn, profits your company even more. Unfortunately, those profits long-term (5 years, 10 years, 20 years, and beyond) don't typically show up right away on a spreadsheet, therefore they're not considered 'valid' for today's greedy blood-suckers.

Pity.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

...FTR, I believe CMs should get living wage pay on full-time jobs with benefits...

They are paid a living wage, just not a living wage for a person supporting a family of four with a mortgage, etc. I lived on less than they are when I was single...

 

[JCJRSmith]

If a single man gets married, does he automatically get a raise anywhere? How about when he has children?

The US Military has different pay levels for those with and without dependents.

 

[WDSearcher]

Disney can be doable, for a single person with no other commiments. But this also includes sharing an apartment, and cutting back on lots of expenses.

When I started at Disney, I was single with no other commitments. I lived alone in an apartment for a year, although I decided to share because I wanted to travel more and save for a new car. I changed my living arrangements based on my priorities. And I traveled the world and bought a new car, both on my hourly wage. I know a lot of people who couldn't because they either lived beyond their means or because they didn't know how to budget.

Starting out at Disney is like starting out anywhere; you're not going to be able to buy a house on entry-level pay, you're going to have to scrimp and save. Then again ... I was in a "non-skilled" job and didn't expect to be paid more than I was making. Plus ... I knew going in how much I was going to make, and I'd done the math to know how I'd have to budget to make it work. I chose to take the job at the salary they offered. I think a lot of people in unskilled positions expect to make more than the job itself is worth. How much SHOULD an entry-level foods service worker get paid? Businesses structure pay scales based on the skills required for the job.

Toss in a family, and it's a joke and a half to survive. I knew quite a few families that were struggling with every day life, plus they were living in reduced priced rent.

I used to have guests ask me about my pay. Since I was non-union, I made decent pay in comparrison. The highest paying entry level job is a bus driver at about $9.50 per hour. Followed by security. Photopass used to be next, but I don't know the pay rate since they went union with Entertainment. Attractions, entertainment, custodial, parking, merchandise, main entrance... probably 90% of the people you meet are all just above minimum wage. Even those with seniority barely make a quarter more than those just starting out, plus there is a cap on union positions. But my response to them was "Those that truely love their job and create the magic for you, are here because they love Walt and what Disney used to stand for. They're not here for the money, because there isn't much".

My paycheck includes a lot of deductions, all of which I choose. And some of those deductions -- pension, for example -- is money that will go back to me eventually and money that is being matched in part by Disney. So to get a truly clear picture, you need to know which deductions in someone's paycheck are truly voluntary -- union dues, for example -- versus those that are necessary -- insurance -- versus those that are more like "holding areas" for money that I'll eventually get back -- stock purchase, pensions. My deductions are for pension, United Way, savings, 401k, insurance, stock purchase and long term disability. All of those were my choice. If I want / need more take-home pay, I can adjust those deductions.

As for why I stay -- I like it here. I worked my way up to a job I truly enjoy that pays me well. And it bugs me sometimes to hear people who have been here for a year complain about how badly they're treated and how slowly they've advanced. Disney is well known for promoting from within, and there are a lot of people vying for those promotions. Pay your dues -- there are alot of people in front of you, KWIM? And really ... there have been many years where Disney was making significantly higher profits than they are now, and none of the people who are "still making $8/hour" were out with picket signs then. If someone's been working for the company for 20+ years and is still under $10/hr, then they were presumably making that back in the banner years when stock was soaring and profits were high. So why are they complaining now?

It's also sad that there's many managers making less than their cast members. Because hourly can pick up over time to pull in some extra money.

That's true everywhere. When you jump from hourly to salaried, you lose the OT option. But you pick up other benefits, like a 401k.

CP's really are slave workers. Since they're on an "internship", they don't even have to be paid minimum wage. Plus the rent and other expenses that are automatically taken from their paychecks, they're not left with much.

Very true. But, again, they know about it before they take the gig. They are told their salary, how much housing costs, etc. There are PLENTY of places on line -- the DIS, Facebook pages, blogs, etc -- that will tell you all the ins and outs, goods and bads of CP. If you don't do your homework and don't know about the hours / pay before you go, then ... well ... you've just learned an important life lesson.

Now there is some money to be made. Bartenders, waiters/waitresses at V&A... but few and far between is some one gonna step in off the streets and land that position. You've got to put your years into the company to get there.

That's true anywhere. Why SHOULD someone be able to step off the streets and land the best jobs when there are people who have worked their way up learning the company and working in its parks and resorts? Everyone wants their first job to be their ideal job. It doesn't work that way. You generally don't marry the first person you date. You have to kiss a lot of frogs, as they say. Same is true with a job.

 

[Carly_Roach]

They are paid a living wage, just not a living wage for a person supporting a family of four with a mortgage, etc. I lived on less than they are when I was single...

$8.00 an hour X 30 hours a week X 52 (no vacations) = $12,480.00

(estimate) 11% Federal SS, medicare, etc, taxes = $1,372.00

Annual income = $11,107.20 before state taxes

The 2009 Poverty Guidelines for the
48 Contiguous States and the District of Columbia Persons in family Poverty guideline
1 - $10,830
2 -14,570
3 - 18,310
4 - 22,050
5 - 25,790
6 - 29,530
7 - 33,270
8 - 37,010
For families with more than 8 persons, add $3,740 for each additional person.

http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/09poverty.shtml

Sorry, but no - they're not paid a living wage. I'm being generous with the 30 hours per week and even then I don't see how anyone can afford food, rent and utility payments on $925.00 a month even if they are single. And I didn't deduct for state or local taxes, either. That means even less money in that worker's pocket.