Should cast members be paid more?

[rie'smom]

Were You Born on the Wrong Continent?: How the European Model Can Help You Get a Life

is a great book about some of these topics and talks a lot about the German model of business

http://www.amazon.com/Were-You-Born...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1291521349&sr=8-1

"Labor lawyer and Europhile, Geohegan (Which Side Are You On?) makes a passionate case for the high-tax, regulation-heavy model of life on the Continent. Using Germany as a model, he argues the middle class is the real beneficiary of European social democracy--its members reap free education, free child care, free nursing home care, guaranteed vacation time, and generous unemployment payments--while their white-collar American counterparts struggle to pay for the same. "Europe is set up for the bourgeois," writes Geohegan. "America's a great place to buy kitty litter at Wal-Mart and relatively cheap gas. But it's not set up for me, a professional without a lot of money." While he's quick to acknowledge that critics seize on labor's costs and prominence as a potential path to the collapse of the system, he's convinced of the framework in place. The narrative unspools in a chatty, anecdotal style; it's jumpy, appealingly digressive, and winning, all the more so for being such an unabashed polemic that refuses to be resigned to the rising rate of inequality in the U.S.

The problem with this is many European countries are broke or going broke including Germany because they underwrite their citizen's lifestyles.
There have been riots in Greece and Italy, expect more.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

The problem with this is many European countries are broke or going broke including Germany because they underwrite their citizen's lifestyles.
There have been riots in Greece and Italy, expect more.

And isn't the EU in danger of being no more. I haven't been following too closely, but things do not seem so rosy for the EU right now.

 

[morethananyonex]

I'm a bit late to this thread, but truthfully I'm not sure where I stand on this issue.

On one hand, Disney is going to get what they pay for. If they paid a premium they will get premium employees. However, as outsiders to the company none of us have any idea if Disney truly can afford to raise pay by much. Sure, it seems super easy seeing Disney profit margins, but think of how quickly that can be used up (simply increasing salaries by $1 an hour, which probably wouldn't do much for the employee anyways), and the prices will go up to reflect this.

And please, let's get real here. Was anyone here brought up to believe entry level positions were made to live off of? There's a reason there are so many of these positions and they're relatively easy to obtain. If people go into these entry level jobs with the delusion they will be able to support a family on them or even just themselves (this is any company, not Disney), they are very very much mistaken. I don't care how "magical" Disney is, if you know the pay is lousy, free park tickets won't change that. These are jobs, not careers.

Also, nothing will be done until people put their money where their mouths are. Simple supply and demand, Disney is not going to pay workers more money if they will accept less.

Has the pay at Disney always been an issue like this? Or were they ever actually paying a premium for workers?

 

[Donalds_best_pal]

Well I'm a Cast Member and yes I think we should get paid more! However I knew going in what I would be getting paid so it wasn't a huge surprise. A huge reason Disney is able to pay less yet still obtain good quality cast members is because sooo many people want to be able to work for The Walt Disney Company. The fact is, most people see The Walt Disney Company as an extremely desirable company to work for. Some of the perks and opportunities we get are amazing and I am so thankful for them.

Additionally if you looking to move up within the company and build a career there, the opportunities are definitely available. I have recently started moving up into the ranks of leadership and hope to continue to build my career there. Its certainly extremely competitive and there are lots of people fighting you to move up the ranks but anything worthwhile takes perseverance, determination and hard work.

The low pay that most frontline entry-level CM's get is absolutely not an excuse to provide poor guest service or not work as hard! If you want to make more, you gotta work for it. Put in the effort, time and work to develop yourself and then you can move up into bigger and better roles.

 

[Acklander]

The problem with this is many European countries are broke or going broke including Germany because they underwrite their citizen's lifestyles.
There have been riots in Greece and Italy, expect more.

We're having the same problem in the U.S.

 

[Donalds_best_pal]

Disney has about 50,000 employees at Disney. Some are full time and others are part time. Lets use 20 hours average per employee per work week. That is 1 million work hours per week. There are 52 work weeks per year or 52 million work hours per year. If you raised everybody's salary by $1 that increases the salary by $52,000,000 + FICA and all the other expenses that are tied to salary.

I don't know where that number came from but TWDC employs approximately 150,000 people worldwide!

 

[Acklander]

What do you think would happen right now to Disney stock if CNBC reported this: "Disney Management voluntarily raises all CM wages by 50%."

And what would happen to Disney stock if all the workers decided to strike? You can't run a business without the worker bees. This goes both ways, which is why you have contract negotiations. To find that happy medium that both sides can live with.

 

[bicker]

And what would happen to Disney stock if all the workers decided to strike?

It's happened before and Disney came out of the situation just fine. The issue is to what extent Dis4's scenario and your scenario are probable. The whole point is that Disney is paying market rates for labor, considering all factors, so your scenario is mostly an empty threat, while if Disney unilaterally increase its costs in the manner Dis4 outlined the probability that Disney will be punished severely, in the manner Dis4 suggested, is very high.

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

The problem with this is many European countries are broke or going broke including Germany because they underwrite their citizen's lifestyles.
There have been riots in Greece and Italy, expect more.

The US is broke too! When services get cut and taxes raised - you don't think there will be protests and riots here?

 

[NHdisneylover]

The problem with this is many European countries are broke or going broke including Germany because they underwrite their citizen's lifestyles.
There have been riots in Greece and Italy, expect more.

Germany is having issue mainly from bailing out other EU members--but it has recovered better than just about anyone in this economy--better that the US from what I have seen living on both sides. It is a pretty well structured set up. It is not what we have in the US though, so Disney works within what we do have.

 

[Uuaww]

Germany is having issue mainly from bailing out other EU members--but it has recovered better than just about anyone in this economy--better that the US from what I have seen living on both sides. It is a pretty well structured set up. It is not what we have in the US though, so Disney works within what we do have.

Yeah, Germany may be single handedly keeping the EU afloat.

 

[TDC Nala]

If people don't go to Disney because they don't believe CMs are being paid enough, then it's pretty much guaranteed that they'll not be paid any more, and some may be laid off. They won't hire people to work serving guests if there are fewer guests.

I guess even if you're being paid too little, if you signed up for the job it's still not any excuse to be rude to the guests. Enough of that and you will get reported and won't have a job anymore. A lot of the examples here of "not happy" appear to regard complaining about guests to their co-workers. That doesn't count as long as they are not rude to the guests' face.

 

[snowywhite89]

I don't know where that number came from but TWDC employs approximately 150,000 people worldwide!

I was talking about WDW only. That is what most were talking about on this thread.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Well I'm a Cast Member and yes I think we should get paid more! However I knew going in what I would be getting paid so it wasn't a huge surprise. A huge reason Disney is able to pay less yet still obtain good quality cast members is because sooo many people want to be able to work for The Walt Disney Company. The fact is, most people see The Walt Disney Company as an extremely desirable company to work for. Some of the perks and opportunities we get are amazing and I am so thankful for them.

Additionally if you looking to move up within the company and build a career there, the opportunities are definitely available. I have recently started moving up into the ranks of leadership and hope to continue to build my career there. Its certainly extremely competitive and there are lots of people fighting you to move up the ranks but anything worthwhile takes perseverance, determination and hard work.

The low pay that most frontline entry-level CM's get is absolutely not an excuse to provide poor guest service or not work as hard! If you want to make more, you gotta work for it. Put in the effort, time and work to develop yourself and then you can move up into bigger and better roles.

Exactly. I knew if I had stayed down there I would have probably been able to move up the ranks fairly quickly, but I also knew I wouldn't be able to continue performing if I went into management. And that is what I love. Unfortunately, like others have said, entry level positions really are not paid enough to make a career off of so I had to make the difficult coice to leave the mob I love to seek a more viable alternative.

 

[bicker]

The US is broke too! When services get cut and taxes raised - you don't think there will be protests and riots here?

"... there will be ..." Do you know something? I think it is pretty speculative to suggest that the United States shall experience the same amount of riot here as has been experienced in Europe. Our situation is different, and our collective perspective is different. (That's not always a good thing - there are some things that, if we did those things here, like they do those things there, we'd be better off...)

 

[CanadianGuy]

I have had the unique pleasure of making friends with a number of castmembers over the years..

One gent that I befriended back in the 90's was 'on stage' primarily as a performer in shows and parades. A particular costume (the Clock from B&B Stage Show at MGM) .. really messed up his back.

They didn't fire him. They moved him over to basically baby-sitting the kids of those attending the Disney Institute programs. It was a demeaning role for an accomplished performer whose back was wrecked by a poorly designed costume. He's no longer with the company.

Another good friend spent over a decade with the company and by the end of his time there... he wasn't doing much better than any of the people in this video. He is no longer with the company...

These are two people who worked HARD for Disney and while nothing is guaranteed, they certainly were led to believe that a career was possible with Disney. Most often, nothing could be further from the truth.

It's a tough situation. I moderate the Discounts board for the Disney Resorts here on the DIS. Everyone is always after the 'deal' because they got kids and mouths to feed too..

 

[Jellical Cat]

If people don't go to Disney because they don't believe CMs are being paid enough, then it's pretty much guaranteed that they'll not be paid any more, and some may be laid off. They won't hire people to work serving guests if there are fewer guests.

I guess even if you're being paid too little, if you signed up for the job it's still not any excuse to be rude to the guests. Enough of that and you will get reported and won't have a job anymore. A lot of the examples here of "not happy" appear to regard complaining about guests to their co-workers. That doesn't count as long as they are not rude to the guests' face.

Absolutely true. Boycotting a company only hurts the workers.

 

[Dis4]

I have had the unique pleasure of making friends with a number of castmembers over the years..

One gent that I befriended back in the 90's was 'on stage' primarily as a performer in shows and parades. A particular costume (the Clock from B&B Stage Show at MGM) .. really messed up his back.

They didn't fire him. They moved him over to basically baby-sitting the kids of those attending the Disney Institute programs. It was a demeaning role for an accomplished performer whose back was wrecked by a poorly designed costume. He's no longer with the company.

Another good friend spent over a decade with the company and by the end of his time there... he wasn't doing much better than any of the people in this video. He is no longer with the company...

These are two people who worked HARD for Disney and while nothing is guaranteed, they certainly were led to believe that a career was possible with Disney. Most often, nothing could be further from the truth.

It's a tough situation. I moderate the Discounts board for the Disney Resorts here on the DIS. Everyone is always after the 'deal' because they got kids and mouths to feed too..

The way to move up Disney is this: Get a bachelors degree from an Ivy League, do 2 years at an investment bank, do 2 years at a private equity firm, get your MBA, then join Disney's Corporate Strategy group. That's the fast track to upper level management.

 

[WDSearcher]

I have had the unique pleasure of making friends with a number of castmembers over the years..

One gent that I befriended back in the 90's was 'on stage' primarily as a performer in shows and parades. A particular costume (the Clock from B&B Stage Show at MGM) .. really messed up his back.

They didn't fire him. They moved him over to basically baby-sitting the kids of those attending the Disney Institute programs. It was a demeaning role for an accomplished performer whose back was wrecked by a poorly designed costume. He's no longer with the company.

Considering the number of performing jobs at Disney, I'm surprised he didn't audition for something else so that he could continue performing. It sounds like he was a character dancer / character performer, but if he was an accomplished performer with vocal and acting skills, I can't believe he couldn't have found something else that would take advantage of that. Teaching "traditions", working as a VIP tour guide, leading workshops, working with Magic Music Days ... did he look at these other options? A lot of people at Disney don't realize just how many types of things there are to do here, or they just don't want to do the legwork to find out. It's a shame that he couldn't find something he enjoyed.

Another good friend spent over a decade with the company and by the end of his time there... he wasn't doing much better than any of the people in this video. He is no longer with the company...

These are two people who worked HARD for Disney and while nothing is guaranteed, they certainly were led to believe that a career was possible with Disney. Most often, nothing could be further from the truth.

I contend that a career WOULD BE possible for both of the people you describe. But it is also possible that they'd have to work in an area they didn't enjoy in order to get to one they did. Or that they'd have to get to their ideal job in a roundabout way.

Too many people come to Disney and expect that Disney will define their career path for them. If I settled for the first Disney job I had, I wouldn't have lasted either. But I networked and met everyone I could, volunteered for special events to pick up new contacts and skills, learned everything I could about the areas I wanted to work in, shadowed people, applied for lots of things. Eight years after I started, I had my dream job. Eight years later, I got my next dream job. If someone is disappointed because they were "led to believe that a career was possible", then I have to wonder what steps they took to find that career. There's a lot of frustration before you get to the finish line.

 

[Dis4]

Considering the number of performing jobs at Disney, I'm surprised he didn't audition for something else so that he could continue performing. It sounds like he was a character dancer / character performer, but if he was an accomplished performer with vocal and acting skills, I can't believe he couldn't have found something else that would take advantage of that. Teaching "traditions", working as a VIP tour guide, leading workshops, working with Magic Music Days ... did he look at these other options? A lot of people at Disney don't realize just how many types of things there are to do here, or they just don't want to do the legwork to find out. It's a shame that he couldn't find something he enjoyed.


I contend that a career WOULD BE possible for both of the people you describe. But it is also possible that they'd have to work in an area they didn't enjoy in order to get to one they did. Or that they'd have to get to their ideal job in a roundabout way.

Too many people come to Disney and expect that Disney will define their career path for them. If I settled for the first Disney job I had, I wouldn't have lasted either. But I networked and met everyone I could, volunteered for special events to pick up new contacts and skills, learned everything I could about the areas I wanted to work in, shadowed people, applied for lots of things. Eight years after I started, I had my dream job. Eight years later, I got my next dream job. If someone is disappointed because they were "led to believe that a career was possible", then I have to wonder what steps they took to find that career. There's a lot of frustration before you get to the finish line.

So what's your job at Disney now? If you don't mind sharing