In an unprecedented challenge to Walt Disney Co., a coalition of 11 Disneyland unions is calling on the resort to raise its base wage to $20 an hour after a survey of 5,000 workers found many were hard-pressed to pay for food and medical expenses and 11 percent said they experienced homelessness in the past two years.

According to a 125-page report “Working for the Mouse,” to be unveiled at a town hall of union members at the Anaheim Sheraton Park Hotel on Wednesday, Feb. 28, federal census and economic data show the average hourly wage for Disneyland resort workers dropped to $13.36 from $15.80 in inflation-adjusted dollars between 2000 and 2017.

Of 17,000 workers represented by the 11 unions, 85 percent now earn less than $15 an hour with more than half earning less than $12, below the poverty line for a family of four, according to a team of researchers at Occidental College and the Economic Roundtable, a Los Angeles nonprofit that drafted the report at the unions’ behest.

“The Walt Disney Company promotes Disneyland Resort as the ‘happiest place on earth,’” the report asserts. “But for many of the approximately 30,000 people who work there, it is not the happiest place to work. Despite steep increases in the cost of housing and other necessities, Disneyland workers have suffered steady pay cuts and are struggling to make ends meet.”

Disney spokeswoman Suzi Brown declined to respond to the allegations of particular hardships detailed by the union members or to the report’s data on falling wages for both full-time and part-time employees.

She said, however, the average annual wage paid to full-time, hourly employees in 2017 was approximately $37,000. This includes union and non-union employees and the tips that some workers earn.

At the same time, she charged, “This inaccurate and unscientific survey was paid for by politically motivated labor unions and its results are deliberately distorted and do not reflect how the overwhelming majority of our 30,000 cast members feel about the company.

“While we recognize that socio-economic challenges exist for many people living in Southern California, we take pride in our employment experience.”

Disneyland is the largest employer in Orange County with 58 percent of its workers represented by unions. More than half the resort’s workers live in Orange County, a third in Los Angeles County, 7 percent in Riverside County and 6 percent in San Bernardino County.

Of the 5,000 union members who answered the 50-question survey – a representative sample by age, employment longevity and wages, according to the researchers – “Almost three-quarters (73 percent) say that they do not earn enough money for basic expenses every month,” according to the report.

The report notes that while many assume that most Disneyland jobs are entry-level positions for young workers, in fact 41 percent of the resort’s employees are 30 to 54 years old and 18 percent are over 54.

Among the survey findings:

More than one out of 10 – including 13 percent of those with young children – report having been homeless, or not having a place of their own to sleep, in the past two years.

More than half are worried about being evicted from their homes or apartments.

43 percent reported in the past year they needed but could not afford dental care.

37 percent of those with young children said that there were times in the past year when they needed prescription medicine but could not afford it.

Nearly one of seven has had to resort to food stamps (the SNAP program), food banks, or other food donation programs.

60 percent said that in the past year they ran out of food without the money to buy more.

The report, which contrasts Disney’s growing revenue and profits, rising executive compensation and skyrocketing ticket prices with the economic conditions of its workers, pulls from a wide range of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and other official sources to calculate wages and demographics not just for union members but for the theme park’s overall workforce.

The Disneyland job is the primary source of income for 91 percent of its workers, according to the report. Full-time employment is provided to 54 percent of workers and more than half of part-time workers surveyed said they want to raise their pay by working more hours.

The union challenge comes at a time when many workers seem torn between their affection for the parks, having in many instances grown up visiting Disneyland, and a growing disillusion with their working conditions. They have taken to social media in droves to complain about having to live in their cars, being buffeted by unpredictable working schedules, and feeling unfairly treated by the company.

In the survey, 79 percent said they are “proud of the work I do at the Disneyland Resort,” but only 46 percent said they are “treated with respect on the job.”

Scheduling is a particular hardship, according to many Disneyland workers.

Only 28 percent of those surveyed report having the same schedule every week. More than half who are parents of young children say their schedules at the resort make it difficult to care for their families and children. Nearly two-thirds report “the scheduling of my work at the Disneyland Resort makes it difficult to find a second job.”

The forming of union coalitions in Anaheim and at Walt Disney World in Orlando marks a new phase for labor groups which have traditionally operated independently. Both coalitions filed unfair labor practice complaints with the National Labor Relations Board this month protesting Disney’s decision to withhold a promised $1,000 tax-reform bonus from several unions until they agree to the company’s latest contract offers.

In Anaheim, the bonuses are being used as a bargaining chip in current contract negotiations for Unite Here Local 11, which represents 2,700 housekeepers and other low-wage workers at Disney’s Anaheim hotels, and for the Orange County Musicians Association which represents 200 employees. Unite Here has been engaged in contentious negotiations for a new contract for more than a year.

Disney, which is estimating a $1.6 billion annual tax cut under the new tax law, is among a host of large companies that have chosen to give workers one-time bonuses in the wake of the corporate tax cut rather than across-the-board pay hikes, adding to the resentment of many workers.

The coalition’s report cites public records showing that since 2000, Disney’s annual revenues grew to $55.1 billion from $37.8 billion in 2017 dollars, an increase of 45 percent. Accounting for inflation, the company’s profit, or net income, rose by 582 percent over the same period to $9.4 billion.

Disney’s theme parks are particularly lucrative. Profit jumped 21 percent to $1.35 billion in the latest quarter, making the parks the only one of Disney’s four divisions to show earnings growth. Attendance at the Anaheim resort grew by 32 percent to 27.2 million between 2006 and 2016. Single-day ticket prices, which stood at $41 in 2000, according to the report, now range from $97 to $135 for one park.

At the same time, Disneyland has benefited from a series of subsidies awarded by the city of Anaheim. In 2016, the city agreed to allow Disney to keep 70 percent of room taxes generated by a new luxury hotel, a deal that will return at least $200 million in revenue to the company. Disney stated the hotel would generate 1,150 full-time jobs.

As Disney’s average theme park wages have stagnated, executive pay has boomed. Average annual compensation for the top five Disney executives reached more than $80 million in 2016. Last year, CEO Robert Iger made $36.3 million, more than three times the amount his predecessor, Michael Eisner, earned as CEO in 2005, his last year.

The gap between median Disney workers and its CEO’s pay stood at 367 to 1, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the third widest among large U.S. public companies.

“The rank-and-file employees who make Disneyland Resort such a profitable enterprise have not shared in the park’s success,” the report concludes, adding, “It would require only 5.7 percent of park revenue to raise the wage floor for Disneyland workers to $20.”

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