WDW reaches tentative agreement with largest union

[jcb]

Sandra Pedicini, of the Orlando Sentinel, is reporting that Walt Disney World has reached a tentative agreement with the Services Trade Council. A "council" typically constitutes a group of unions.

The agreement would have to be ratified. If so, it would raise starting wage rates to $10 an hour. For that kind of an increase (starting rate is currently $8) I suspect WDW secured an agreement to close its defined benefit pension plan to new employees. So far, the article doesn't say one way or the other.

The latest update to the Sentinel story states:

The agreement keeps in place the company's pension plan for new hires, union representatives said. Disney had sought to eliminate that and replace it with a 401(k) plan with a 3 percent match. The contract would also freeze weekly health insurance costs for employees in 2015. Costs could go up from there, but the contract would provide a cap.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-disney-union-contract-20140718,0,1079795.story

More information (including details on the wage rate increases): http://www.mynews13.com/content/new...icles/cfn/2014/7/18/disney_agrees_to_wag.html

 

[GAN]

Wow... Trade a pension for a 3% match? Interesting.

 

[OKW Lover]

I'm a bit surprised that the pension plan was kept as companies have been shedding them all over the country. Presumably there was some kind of give-and-take during negotiations and the parties felt the health care benefit cap combined with a wage increase was a fair trade.

labor negotiations are a strange beast...

 

[jcb]

I'm a bit surprised that the pension plan was kept as companies have been shedding them all over the country. Presumably there was some kind of give-and-take during negotiations and the parties felt the health care benefit cap combined with a wage increase was a fair trade.

labor negotiations are a strange beast...

It is too early to tell what Disney got. I interpreted the health care premium cap as favoring the members, as Disney promised not to increase their costs in 2015. Disney did avoid percentage increases in future contract years. The rates are said to increase by specific dollar (or half dollar) amounts.

This is why the stage hands and Teamsters voted against approval.

I'll be curious to see how the market reacted.

 

[jcb]

Wonder if all is not well. Unite has deleted two tweets announcing the tentative agreement.

 

[OKW Lover]

Deleted tweets? Hmm. Will have to see what transpires at the member voting I guess.

As far as my comment about labor negotiations being a strange beast, IMHO that's being kind. It seems that no sooner do parties sign on the dotted line than the rhetoric starts anew about how this wage/benefit/work rule is unfair. I wish parties would remember that they agreed to the positions (compromises) in the contract and they should just shut up and live with them.

I wonder if FL being a "right to work" state leaves some employees not satisfied with their position. Is there a figure somewhere that shows how many "represented" CM's are actually members of the union?

 

[jcb]

Deleted tweets? Hmm. Will have to see what transpires at the member voting I guess.

As far as my comment about labor negotiations being a strange beast, IMHO that's being kind. It seems that no sooner do parties sign on the dotted line than the rhetoric starts anew about how this wage/benefit/work rule is unfair. I wish parties would remember that they agreed to the positions (compromises) in the contract and they should just shut up and live with them.

I wonder if FL being a "right to work" state leaves some employees not satisfied with their position. Is there a figure somewhere that shows how many "represented" CM's are actually members of the union?

What are you trying to do, put arbitrators out of business?

Union locals file LM2 forms with the DOL. These show the number of members but I've not seen a breakdown by dues paying members.

 

[OKW Lover]

Can we arbitrarily put arbitrators out of business?

I think the union negotiators have a difficult time because they have to face their members regularly. They can talk a good game with the members about how tough they will be with the company. Then they get to the table and have to actually make a deal that both sides can live with. So, then they have to find a way to "save face" when they go back to the members with the deal.

 

[jcb]

Can we arbitrarily put arbitrators out of business?

I think the union negotiators have a difficult time because they have to face their members regularly. They can talk a good game with the members about how tough they will be with the company. Then they get to the table and have to actually make a deal that both sides can live with. So, then they have to find a way to "save face" when they go back to the members with the deal.

You may want to read the Unite pages. They tried to get front line cast members involved with negotiations and strategy.

http://www.uniteherelocal362.org/20...cast-votes-in-support-of-new-union-direction/

 

[OKW Lover]

Very interesting read Jack. At the least, the union has a good writer.

 

[Tony NY]

wow !!! First let me say all Disney employees should be making $10.00 an hour now..

I fell this is a bad deal when a union agrees with such a bad deal as this is . lets steep back and look at it, yea their going to get a dollar raise now and a ninety cents cent's next year and then ten cents in 2016.. and that it untill 2020 that a fifteen year agreement that on bad deal when you look at other SEIU which has a 3 to 4 year contract witch gives the union a union member better deal in the long run especial when you have to look at the cost of living adjustments.

This is just my opinion but I for one would vote no on the against it just for the length of the contract which gives me a bad taste in my mount knowing that that I would be giving up my barraging power for future wages and for the new comers of employee to Disney world who know what the future cost of living adjustments are going to be for the next 15 years future will hold.

 

[JACKNAG]

Don't do it take the pension! Why would any one ever give you $2.00 an hour more to drop a pension. It's probably worth $4.00 an hour. Pensions from Disney are forever. No pension from Disney means working forever. An 401k matches are subject to company profits. If any one in the middle class younger than baby boomer age thinks they are going to retire on their 401k, You better wake up because you are not in Fantasy land any more.

 

[OKW Lover]

Like it or not, traditional pension plans are going away. Anybody just starting out their work career today needs to be big in their 401K program if they ever hope to retire.

 

[GAN]

Like it or not, traditional pension plans are going away. Anybody just starting out their work career today needs to be big in their 401K program if they ever hope to retire.

This is very true. But what bothers me is when you take away a pension from working class people, and a CEO receives a $10M bonus(et al). I have NO issue with the bonus, but you better be sure your flock is fed first. True "leaders" are few and far between in today's business world. Going from a pension to a 401k is a BIG win for the board, and a mixed bag for the small guy ....most of whom don't have the first idea how to manage such funds.

 

[OKW Lover]

According to a story this morning in the Orlando Sentinel the membership has approved this contract.

I found it interesting that the agreement covers approximately 23,000 cast members, only 7,000 of whom voted. They approved the contract by a 2:1 margin.

 

[jcb]

UNITE's local has posted copies of the MOU and wage scales.

http://www.uniteherelocal362.org/wdw-ft/

 

[jcb]

This is, to me, the most interesting of the posts. http://www.uniteherelocal362.org/wp-content/uploads/Local-737-Side-Letter-Agreements.pdf

Unite has posted several MOAs about various topics, including Disney's plan to upgrade the point of sale devices at outdoor vendors and providing CM's with a way to document when guests with food allergies purchase foods with allergens. The agreement generally reduces, slightly, housekeeper duties.

But what is most intriguing is the "pilot project" to do away with "general cleans" (build up removal conducted every 90 to 120 days) in rooms at YC, ASM and POR resorts as long as "daily quality standards" are maintained. The existing CBAs allocates one "general clean" per day per housekeeper if a specific resort has a specific number of checkouts.

If the pilot project is successful at these resorts, it will be implemented at the other resorts.

 

[GAN]

Wow ....while I understand it, seems like a strange concession. I'm pretty sure the guests will make the ultimate concession. I have no idea what else is in the contract, but was this in lieu of a (greater) pay increase?

 

[OKW Lover]

Looks like another union contract has followed the same pattern. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-disney-part-time-contract-20140815,0,6588214.story

 

[jcb]

Looks like another union contract has followed the same pattern. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-disney-part-time-contract-20140815,0,6588214.story

The stat that stands out to me is that there are 12,000 part-time workers. Couple that with the 21,000 full-time and you have a rather large workforce. It is just plain shocking that over half of the bargaining unit positions are part-time.