SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
"Congratulations to the courageous workers and their unions at Disney World for their historic victory," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) wrote in a tweet on Monday. (Photo: Brian Feinzimer/OC Weekly)
Sanders Applauds 'Courageous' Workers for Standing Up to Disney World and Winning $15 Minimum Wage
"I applaud everyone who stood up to demand that workers at one of the wealthiest corporations in the world should have a decent standard of living."
Aug 27, 2018
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) took to Twitter on Monday to congratulate Disney World workers and their unions for negotiating a "historic" contract that will boost the minimum wage at the Florida resort to $15 an hour by 2021, a pay raise that will benefit thousands of employees.
"Congratulations to the courageous workers and their unions at Disney World for their historic victory," wrote Sanders, who over the past several months has shamed Disney at rallies and town halls for paying starvation wages. "I applaud everyone who stood up to demand that workers at one of the wealthiest corporations in the world should have a decent standard of living."
\u201cCongratulations to the courageous workers and their unions at Disney World for their historic victory. I applaud everyone who stood up to demand that workers at one of the wealthiest corporations in the world should have a decent standard of living.\u201d— Bernie Sanders (@Bernie Sanders) 1535392229
The new contract--which union members are expected to approve in a final vote in September--was finally reached after nine months of grueling and often heated negotiations, during which workers accused Disney of holding $1,000 in bonuses "hostage" as a negotiating ploy.
"There's no doubt that this is going to change people's lives."
--Jessica Lella, Disney World employee
"Disney is a powerful company, they're a formidable foe," Eric Clinton, president of Unite Here Local 362--which represents Disney World employees--said in an interview with CNN. "To stand up to your boss that's that big and that powerful is really remarkable, and it's really inspiring."
The current minimum wage at Disney World is $10 an hour, and many employees report working at the resort for years without seeing a significant raise.
Jessica Lella, a 24-year-old ride operator at Disney World, told the New York Times that she has been working at the park for nearly six years and still makes just $10 an hour. (Disney CEO Bob Iger made over $36 million last year.)
"There's no doubt that this is going to change people's lives," Lella said of the newly negotiated pay increase, which comes just a month after Disneyland workers in California won a $15 minimum wage.
\u201cThe Union Committee celebrates after learning of our historic contract! #SiSePuede #UniteHere #disneyraise\u201d— UNITE HERE! Local 362 (@UNITE HERE! Local 362) 1535219605
\u201cThis victory made by Walt Disney World workers standing together to get done what any single person could never do alone. Cc @UNITEHERE_CFL #disneyraise #1u\u201d— UNITE HERE (@UNITE HERE) 1535239229
Disney World's decision to agree to the new pay hike comes as the company is under growing scrutiny from workers, lawmakers, and reporters over its long hours and low pay, which often force workers to live in their cars and cheap motels to get by.
"The dozens of motels lining a 15-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 192 just outside of Disney World have a secret inside: For the past two decades, they've increasingly served as home for many Disney World employees," journalist Michael Sainato noted in a report for Vice in June.
"Sometimes workers stay in the motels temporarily while they find permanent housing, others are forced by poverty and other circumstances to live in them for months or even years," Sainato added. "It's difficult to say exactly how many employees currently reside in these motels but three Disney World workers have told me the number is in the hundreds."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) took to Twitter on Monday to congratulate Disney World workers and their unions for negotiating a "historic" contract that will boost the minimum wage at the Florida resort to $15 an hour by 2021, a pay raise that will benefit thousands of employees.
"Congratulations to the courageous workers and their unions at Disney World for their historic victory," wrote Sanders, who over the past several months has shamed Disney at rallies and town halls for paying starvation wages. "I applaud everyone who stood up to demand that workers at one of the wealthiest corporations in the world should have a decent standard of living."
\u201cCongratulations to the courageous workers and their unions at Disney World for their historic victory. I applaud everyone who stood up to demand that workers at one of the wealthiest corporations in the world should have a decent standard of living.\u201d— Bernie Sanders (@Bernie Sanders) 1535392229
The new contract--which union members are expected to approve in a final vote in September--was finally reached after nine months of grueling and often heated negotiations, during which workers accused Disney of holding $1,000 in bonuses "hostage" as a negotiating ploy.
"There's no doubt that this is going to change people's lives."
--Jessica Lella, Disney World employee
"Disney is a powerful company, they're a formidable foe," Eric Clinton, president of Unite Here Local 362--which represents Disney World employees--said in an interview with CNN. "To stand up to your boss that's that big and that powerful is really remarkable, and it's really inspiring."
The current minimum wage at Disney World is $10 an hour, and many employees report working at the resort for years without seeing a significant raise.
Jessica Lella, a 24-year-old ride operator at Disney World, told the New York Times that she has been working at the park for nearly six years and still makes just $10 an hour. (Disney CEO Bob Iger made over $36 million last year.)
"There's no doubt that this is going to change people's lives," Lella said of the newly negotiated pay increase, which comes just a month after Disneyland workers in California won a $15 minimum wage.
\u201cThe Union Committee celebrates after learning of our historic contract! #SiSePuede #UniteHere #disneyraise\u201d— UNITE HERE! Local 362 (@UNITE HERE! Local 362) 1535219605
\u201cThis victory made by Walt Disney World workers standing together to get done what any single person could never do alone. Cc @UNITEHERE_CFL #disneyraise #1u\u201d— UNITE HERE (@UNITE HERE) 1535239229
Disney World's decision to agree to the new pay hike comes as the company is under growing scrutiny from workers, lawmakers, and reporters over its long hours and low pay, which often force workers to live in their cars and cheap motels to get by.
"The dozens of motels lining a 15-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 192 just outside of Disney World have a secret inside: For the past two decades, they've increasingly served as home for many Disney World employees," journalist Michael Sainato noted in a report for Vice in June.
"Sometimes workers stay in the motels temporarily while they find permanent housing, others are forced by poverty and other circumstances to live in them for months or even years," Sainato added. "It's difficult to say exactly how many employees currently reside in these motels but three Disney World workers have told me the number is in the hundreds."
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) took to Twitter on Monday to congratulate Disney World workers and their unions for negotiating a "historic" contract that will boost the minimum wage at the Florida resort to $15 an hour by 2021, a pay raise that will benefit thousands of employees.
"Congratulations to the courageous workers and their unions at Disney World for their historic victory," wrote Sanders, who over the past several months has shamed Disney at rallies and town halls for paying starvation wages. "I applaud everyone who stood up to demand that workers at one of the wealthiest corporations in the world should have a decent standard of living."
\u201cCongratulations to the courageous workers and their unions at Disney World for their historic victory. I applaud everyone who stood up to demand that workers at one of the wealthiest corporations in the world should have a decent standard of living.\u201d— Bernie Sanders (@Bernie Sanders) 1535392229
The new contract--which union members are expected to approve in a final vote in September--was finally reached after nine months of grueling and often heated negotiations, during which workers accused Disney of holding $1,000 in bonuses "hostage" as a negotiating ploy.
"There's no doubt that this is going to change people's lives."
--Jessica Lella, Disney World employee
"Disney is a powerful company, they're a formidable foe," Eric Clinton, president of Unite Here Local 362--which represents Disney World employees--said in an interview with CNN. "To stand up to your boss that's that big and that powerful is really remarkable, and it's really inspiring."
The current minimum wage at Disney World is $10 an hour, and many employees report working at the resort for years without seeing a significant raise.
Jessica Lella, a 24-year-old ride operator at Disney World, told the New York Times that she has been working at the park for nearly six years and still makes just $10 an hour. (Disney CEO Bob Iger made over $36 million last year.)
"There's no doubt that this is going to change people's lives," Lella said of the newly negotiated pay increase, which comes just a month after Disneyland workers in California won a $15 minimum wage.
\u201cThe Union Committee celebrates after learning of our historic contract! #SiSePuede #UniteHere #disneyraise\u201d— UNITE HERE! Local 362 (@UNITE HERE! Local 362) 1535219605
\u201cThis victory made by Walt Disney World workers standing together to get done what any single person could never do alone. Cc @UNITEHERE_CFL #disneyraise #1u\u201d— UNITE HERE (@UNITE HERE) 1535239229
Disney World's decision to agree to the new pay hike comes as the company is under growing scrutiny from workers, lawmakers, and reporters over its long hours and low pay, which often force workers to live in their cars and cheap motels to get by.
"The dozens of motels lining a 15-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 192 just outside of Disney World have a secret inside: For the past two decades, they've increasingly served as home for many Disney World employees," journalist Michael Sainato noted in a report for Vice in June.
"Sometimes workers stay in the motels temporarily while they find permanent housing, others are forced by poverty and other circumstances to live in them for months or even years," Sainato added. "It's difficult to say exactly how many employees currently reside in these motels but three Disney World workers have told me the number is in the hundreds."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.