It might not have been making the news, but Disney has had a bit of a difficult time after reopening due to displeased cast members working at Disneyland Resort. Workers, who are called “cast members” by The Walt Disney Company, were ready to strike over low pay and lack of monetary regard for long-term employees. It hadn’t gotten so bad that Disneyland Resort may have faced a full-on strike in the next few days had negotiations with cast not gone well.
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However, on the last day of negotiations, with The Walt Disney Company having said they would negotiate no further, cast members for Disneyland and California Adventure have voted to accept the new agreements. They are as follows:
- A retroactive pay increase of one dollar per hour from June of 2021, plus an additional one dollar per hour pay increase in June of 2023.
- An additional dollar per hour increase starting November 2021.
- A bonus of up to $2,000 for cast members who have worked a minimum of ten years at the parks.
All together, the total comes out to be a three dollar increase in pay per hour by 2023. According to Glass Door, Disneyland cast members can start out making as low as $11 per hour. This will mean that the lowest paying roles at Disneyland will likely be $14 per hour by mid-2023. While not a fantastic starting pay given the cost of living around Anaheim, the wages will help give older cast members the opportunity to live a better private life.
According to the Public Policy Institute of California, the poverty line for a family of four in California is about $35,000 in 2020. That’s likely increased about 6-8% due to 2021 inflation. At $14 per hour, if a cast member works 40 hours for 50 weeks per year, they’ll still only come in at $28,000 annual income. However, if someone else is working in the household, or if the cast member receives raises over time, they’ll be able to work above the poverty line.
