The Disneyland Resort, California has awarded a two-year pay deal to 9,700 employees covered by the Master Services Council trade union coalition, increasing minimum wage rates by 40%.
The deal, effective from July 2018, will initially increase minimum rates from $11 to $13.25 for hourly-paid Master Services Council members. This is an increase of 20%. As of 1 January 2019, the minimum rate of pay for these employees will increase to $15 an hour and then again to $15.45 from mid-June 2020.
This will impact employees working across attractions, store operations, custodial duties, main entrance supervision, costuming, resort transportation and parking, on-site distribution and select staff in team centres and bakery and confection departments. The deal also includes at least a 3% pay increase for each year of the contract term for employees near or above the minimum wage rates.
This means that a full-time employee who previously earned $11 an hour should now receive an additional $8,000 a year.
The Master Services Council includes four trade unions: Teamsters Automotive, Industrial, Theme Park, Service Sector and Allied Workers Local 495; United Food and Commercial Workers Local 324; Service Employees International Union-United Services Workers West; and Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union Local 83.
The pay rise forms part of The Disneyland Resort's commitment to creating a holistic employee experience. As part of this, the organisation will also be launching an education investment programme for full-time and part-time hourly-paid staff this autumn, which will provide tuition assistance and other support to employees who wish to obtain a college degree or complete vocational training. The Disneyland Resort will invest $50 million into the programme for the first year, with an ongoing annual investment of up to $25 million.
Josh D'Amaro, president at The Disneyland Resort, said: "Disneyland Resort has long taken pride in providing an exceptional employee experience, and this agreement sets a new bar with minimum wages that are among the highest in the country.
"Our unprecedented offer shows our commitment and care for our [employees] and is the largest increase in our history. Our [employees] are at the heart of making our guests' dreams come true and this meaningful pay increase reflects the valuable roles they play at the resort."
