Disneyland workers want to strike - but love the magic
www.bbc.com
Workers at Disneyland are considering a strike because pay at the 'Happiest place on Earth' has left many unable to meet rent.

Cynthia “Cyn” Carranza meticulously scavenged for a shady parking spot in the car she called home.

The overnight custodian at Disneyland has to sleep during the day - a difficulty for anyone, let alone when you’re living in your car with two dogs. Ms Carranza says she makes $20.65 an hour (about £15.99) at the park but last summer, she couldn’t afford rent in this Southern California city where the average apartment can run more than $2,000 (about £1,550) a month.

…

Ms Carranza, like others who work at the park, detailed to the BBC the financial hardships that come with working at what’s supposed to be the “Happiest Place on Earth”. About 10,000 union workers at Disneyland - the first of 12 parks created around the globe - are threatening to strike over the wages and what they say are retaliatory anti-union practices.

Hundreds of workers protested outside the park this week, with an array of signs and pins showing Mickey Mouse’s gloved fist in defiance.

“Mickey would want fair pay,” workers chanted outside Disneyland near the park’s gates.

They voted almost unanimously to authorise strike action on Friday, just days before union contract negotiations for workers are set to resume.

  • ImADifferentBirdEnglish
    6·
    5 months ago

    This is not a story uniquely about them, is my point. This story could be about any employer in Anaheim, or in many parts of the country. This particular one just happens to be about Disney.

    You would have us ignore the context this story exists in, which is perilous. Even if Disney doubled everybody’s salary overnight, that wouldn’t fix any of the issues that brought us to this point; there would still be millions of workers who can’t afford to live, just a few less. But that’s the mistake everybody makes - “Look at these awful people! Aren’t they awful?!” without looking at the broader issues that enrich awful people and encourage people to be awful.

    If you truly want things to change, you should welcome this talk, not push back against it.

    • Zipitydew@sh.itjust.works
      10·
      5 months ago

      Squid is right. VB is a bOtH siDeS account trying to get people to not vote. You should check out their post history. Have had them tagged as a troll for a couple months.

      • ImADifferentBirdEnglish
        6·
        5 months ago

        Ah, OK. Fuck that then.

        Vote. Vote like your life depends on it. It does.

        Biden sucks, but he can at least be convinced to do the right thing sometimes (and even if he can’t, another election is four years away). Trump is a straight up fascist autocrat.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
      5·
      5 months ago

      You would have us ignore the context this story exists in

      No, I would have the person I responded to not twist this into their election agenda.

      Please don’t tell me what I would have people do. You are not psychic.

      • ImADifferentBirdEnglish
        4·
        5 months ago

        No, but I can read.

        We absolutely should be talking about this story in the broader context of our society, including, yes, the election. I don’t know what conversations you’ve had with that user in the past, but the election and our leaders should absolutely be brought up here. They are the people with the power to fix things, after all.

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
          3·
          5 months ago

          What, specifically, could a president do to fix this? They aren’t a dictator (unless Trump gets in). The president can’t raise minimum wage. He can’t force a corporation to pay people more. It has nothing to do with Trump and Biden.

          Now if you want to talk about congress, fine. They’re the ones who have to fix this.

          • ImADifferentBirdEnglish
            3·
            5 months ago

            I think you’re understating the power of the Presidency here. For one thing, they have veto power over Congress.

            For another, many laws are broad and give a lot of leeway for interpretation, which is why presidents can accomplish a lot by executive order. As long as the Supreme Court doesn’t step in anyway.

            And third, don’t underestimate the power of the bully pulpit. Presidents are looked at as the leaders of their party, and often set the legislative agenda. If a president says they want something done, their party members in Congress will find a way to get it done.

            • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
              4·
              5 months ago

              Okay:

              What would Biden veto? Is there a “give people less money” bill?

              What executive order could he make beyond what he has already made? He raised federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.

              And he did use the bully pulpit. He did it when he raised the federal minimum wage.

              But, of course, that doesn’t pass the purity test.

          • Verdant Banana@lemmy.world
            2·
            5 months ago

            has Biden at least visited Disneyland and talked to the workers to let them know he stands with them even though his power to fix anything is limited

            he could at the very least show some solidarity to the working class that actually make the US great