After Disney heiress, Abigail Disney, revealed the alleged Disneyland employees' poor working condition, the company released a statement about the initiatives it has for its workers. It opposes the claims of Roy Disney's granddaughter after she went undercover to see the staff members' grievances that made her felt livid with what she had learned.
According to The New York Post, Disneyland has an estimated 30,000 cast members. Each employee earns a starting hourly wage of $15, which is $3 higher than California's minimum wage requirement of $12 per hour. A spokesperson also revealed Walt Disney Company offers full-time employees with low-cost health care benefits and child assistance.
In a statement, the spokesman said Disney is at the forefront to provide workforce education, which widely recognized as to help employees have economic opportunity and upward mobility. The Disney Aspire initiative also has the most comprehensive employee education program in the country that covers 100 percent tuition costs, books, and fees, so hourly workers have the chance for free higher education.
Disney is committed to funding the Disney Aspire initiative for $150 million for the first five years. It also plans to continue the support for future investments. The company also cleared that the employees have access to subsidized childcare and flexible schedules if they join the scheme.
The statement came out after Abigail's interview for Yahoo's Through Her Eyes. Here, she revealed a Facebook message she received from a distressed Disneyland employee incited her to check on other workers' condition. To better understand their people's grievances, she went undercover and discovered the staff members were only pretending to be happy at work while they were facing real-life problems at home, struggling to make ends meet.
"Every single one of these people I talked to were saying, 'I don't know how I can maintain this face of joy and warmth when I have to go home and forage for food in other people's garbage," Abigail told the show's host Zainab Salbi. "I was so livid when I came out of there because, you know, my grandfather taught me to revere these people that take your tickets, that pour your soda."
The heiress went on to say their employees are their formula to success. She even said that when her grandfather was still alive and working at Disneyland, he hired people to give them a job that would sustain them for life.
Abigail even called out Disney CEO Bob Iger after seeing the huge gap between his salary and the common employees' wage. She explained that although Iger is a CEO, he is still an employee, just the same as the staff members who scrub gum off the sidewalk. Despite the position, she insisted they are also entitled to have the equal dignity and human rights that he has.
Abigail is Roy's granddaughter. He is Walt Disney's older brother, who also co-owned Walt Disney Productions. However, she doesn't have an active role in the company.
