Employees at Walt Disney World Resort will be paid $15 per hour starting 2021 in a move that should accelerate the impetus towards raising the standard of living of harassed American workers whose wages have remained flat, or have fallen, despite the surging U.S. economy.
The wage increase deal between the management of Walt Disney World Resort and the Service Trades Council Union (SCTU), which represents employees at the resort and theme park located in Florida, will boost starting wages by 50 percent. Employees will also get the $1,000 bonuses they were promised earlier this year.
Under the deal, the minimum wage will climb step-by-step over the next three years before reaching $15 per hour in October 2021. The deal also includes an offer to retroactively pay workers an additional 50 cents an hour or three percent, whichever is greater, for all hours worked since September of 2017.
Employees covered by the deal include food service, custodial, hotel and park workers. Union members will vote on the wage increase package on September 5. The agreement is easily expected to be approved by union members.
"I expect it to be a resounding 'yes,'" said Eric Clinton, president of Unite Here Local 362. "
In a statement, Disney said the deal contains the largest proposal ever offered by Walt Disney World Resort with significant pay raises.
Robbin Almand, vice president of labor relations for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, said Disney is happy to offer what is one of the highest entry-level service wages in the USA.
In July, Disney agreed to increase the minimum hourly wage to $15 for 10,000 Disneyland workers in Anaheim, California beginning in 2019. In June, Disney hinted it was willing to offer a $15 minimum wage to Walt Disney World employees.
Negotiation, however, bogged down over certain provisions Disney wanted to include in the new contract. They included rules governing scheduling and how employees are paid for working overtime and holidays.
The agreement is a big deal because American workers are seriously underpaid. A study released in June shows the American minimum-wage worker is so underpaid he can't afford to rent a modest, two-bedroom apartment in any state in the United States.
In Arkansas, the state with the cheapest housing in the USA, a minimum-wage worker needs to earn $13.84 an hour to rent a two-bedroom apartment. The minimum wage in Arkansas is only $8.50 an hour.
