The union wants a whole block of cheese and not ‘crumbs’. Update to this story.
Most people would be happy to pocket an extra $1,000, but labor officials were downright grumpy after the Walt Disney Co. announced it would hand out cash bonuses in response to the Trump corporate tax cut.
Unite Here, a union affiliated with the AFl-CIO, pooh-poohed the $175 million package of bonuses and tuition funding, saying Disney should have done more.
“The $1,000 bonus for 125,000 domestic employees will cost Disney $125 million,” said Unite Here, a hospitality union representing 23,000 Disney workers in Orlando. “However, the estimated windfall from the Trump tax cuts is over $2 billion annually, leaving the remaining approximately $1,875,000,000 unshared with Cast Members.”
Unite Here, which is currently in contract negotiations with Disney as part of the six-union Service Trades Council Union, said the bonuses are “unrelated to ongoing wage negotiations and should be offered unconditionally and with no strings attached.”[…]
Members of the Service Trades Council Union rejected a contract offer from Disney in December that included a 6 to 10 percent wage increase over two years for hourly workers.
“Unionized Cast Members in Orlando are bargaining for real raises that make a lasting impact on the lives of thousands of Central Floridians who live in poverty,” said Unite Here, which represents workers in food service, retail and theme parks.