Current:Home > StocksDisneyland character performers at Southern California park vote to unionize -TrueNorth Capital Hub
Disneyland character performers at Southern California park vote to unionize
View
Date:2025-04-17 14:13:57
Performers at the Disneyland Resort in Southern California who portray characters such as Mickey Mouse and Goofy voted to unionize with the Actors' Equity Association, the union announced, following a landslide vote that culminated over the weekend.
The union said Saturday that the performers voted 953-258 favoring unionization, clearing the 50% plus one margin needed to join. The National Labor Relations Board could certify the election within a week, if there are no challenges.
"These workers are on the front lines of the Guest experience; they're the human beings who create lifelong memories when your kids hug a character, or when your family watches a parade roll by the castle," Actors' Equity Association President Kate Shindle said in a news release.
Shindle said that the union would focus on improving employment benefits, working conditions, and job security when negotiating a first contract.
The union represents other performers under the Disney umbrella, including performers and stage managers at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and Disney Theater performers and stage managers on Broadway and national tours.
In a statement, the Walt Disney Company said that it would be premature for the company to comment on the results before they were certified but respects that the employees "had the opportunity to have their voices heard."
Where do unions stand now?
The union win in California comes after a mixed bag of results in the South that slowed organized labor momentum as the United Auto Workers won an organizing vote at a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee but lost a vote at a Mercedes-Benz plant in Alabama.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 14.4 million wage and salary workers were a part of a union last year, a historically low rate in a year that saw the so-called "summer of strikes."
Almost 30% of all active union members lived in either California or New York, according to the agency.
Nearly 33% of employees working in education, training, and library occupations were represented by a union, the highest rate in the workforce. Police, firefighters, and security guards were a close second with nearly 32% represented by unions.
veryGood! (113)
Related
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- Why Bre Tiesi Was Finally Ready to Join Selling Sunset After Having a Baby With Nick Cannon
- Celebrity Hairstylist Kim Kimble Shares Her Secret to Perfecting Sanaa Lathan’s Sleek Ponytail
- Ravaged by Drought, a Honduran Village Faces a Choice: Pray for Rain or Migrate
- Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
- Meet the 'glass-half-full girl' whose brain rewired after losing a hemisphere
- Opioids are devastating Cherokee families. The tribe has a $100 million plan to heal
- Billions of people lack access to clean drinking water, U.N. report finds
- Tom Holland's New Venture Revealed
- Facing floods: What the world can learn from Bangladesh's climate solutions
Ranking
- Jamie Foxx reps say actor was hit in face by a glass at birthday dinner, needed stitches
- A months-long landfill fire in Alabama reveals waste regulation gaps
- Decades of Science Denial Related to Climate Change Has Led to Denial of the Coronavirus Pandemic
- Lisa Vanderpump Defends Her Support for Tom Sandoval During Vanderpump Rules Finale
- See you latte: Starbucks plans to cut 30% of its menu
- ‘Essential’ but Unprotected, Farmworkers Live in Fear of Covid-19 but Keep Working
- Coasts Should Plan for 6.5 Feet Sea Level Rise by 2100 as Precaution, Experts Say
- This Week in Clean Economy: Dueling Solyndra Ads Foreshadow Energy-Centric Campaign
Recommendation
Federal hiring is about to get the Trump treatment
Cyclone Freddy shattered records. People lost everything. How does the healing begin?
This safety-net hospital doctor treats mostly uninsured and undocumented patients
COP’s Postponement Until 2021 Gives World Leaders Time to Respond to U.S. Election
Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex
Jessie J Gives Birth, Welcomes Baby Boy Over One Year After Miscarriage
Lori Vallow Case: Idaho Mom Indicted on New Murder Conspiracy Charge
What worries medical charities about trying to help Syria's earthquake survivors