Disney World, Union Workers Reach Tentative Deal To Raise Minimum Wage To $18

After months of negotiations, unions for service workers at Florida's Walt Disney World reached a tentative deal Thursday with the company for a pay raise, which would see the minimum wage go from $15 to $18 an hour by the end of the year.

As part of the deal, workers will also receive a retroactive pay increase to $16 an hour dating back to October 2022, as per CBS News.

Service workers, who are part of the Service Trades Council Union coalition, will vote on the contract proposal on March 29, "with all 6 unions unanimous in their support for the agreement and recommending their members vote to ratify the agreement."

If ratified, workers will see their hourly wages rise between $5.50 and $8.60 by the end of the five-year contract.

Upon ratification of the deal, workers' current salary is poised to increase to $17 an hour, and it would go up to a minimum of $18 an hour starting Dec. 3, 2023. In addition, the company will offer a raise of 50 cents an hour in December 2024, and an additional $1 an hour in 2025 and 2026, according to CNN. The tentative deal also included "industry-leading" benefits, such as health insurance coverage, tuition reimbursement and eight weeks of paid Child Bonding Leave.

The contract covers more than half of the 70,000-plus workforce at Disney theme park located in Orlando, including costumed character performers, bus drivers, culinary workers, lifeguards, theatrical workers and hotel housekeepers.

"Securing an $18 minimum hourly rate this year, increasing the overall economic value of Disney's original offer, and ensuring full back pay for every worker are the priorities union members were determined to fight for," Matt Hollis, head of the coalition of unions, said in a statement. "Today, we won that fight."

Last month, nearly 14,000 union members rejected Disney's previous offer, in which the company offered to pay a minimum of $17 an hour.

"Our cast members are central to Walt Disney World's enduring magic, which is why we are pleased to have reached this tentative agreement," Jeff Vahle, president of Walt Disney World Resort, said in an official statement.

About 75% of full-time workers currently receive $15 an hour under the deal agreed in 2018, which made Disney the first major employer in central Florida to offer a minimum wage of $15 an hour. With the latest contract, Disney has also surpassed Universal, which raised its minimum wage to $17 earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Disney CEO Bob Iger, earlier this month, asked executives to compile a list of about 4,000 workers to fire in a bid to cut costs. This was in addition to the 7,000 jobs that Iger announced to slash in February as part of the company's $5.5 billion cost-cutting initiative. Last year, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products generated $7.9 billion in operating profit, while the company's streaming unit lost about $4 billion.

In a related development, Walt Disney World is all set to host "the largest LGBTQ+ conference in the world" in September. This came as a major setback for Florida's rightwing Republican governor Ron DeSantis over his crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights with his "don't say gay" bill.