While many Disneyland employees have long been unionized, the characters and parades department recently organized in 2024. This move occurred amidst California's escalating cost-of-living crisis following the pandemic, initiating contract negotiations between the newly formed union and the company, marking the first collective bargaining agreement for these workers.
A central point of contention in these discussions revolves around the characterization of the company's proposals. The entertainment giant maintains it is establishing initial employment terms for the unionized group. Conversely, the union argues that by omitting existing benefits like paid parental leave from the initial contract, employees would effectively lose these entitlements.
Key Points of Contention Emerge in Talks
Beyond the benefits dispute, other significant issues have surfaced. Reports indicate that while progress has been made on certain health and safety matters, disagreements persist regarding the company's matching contributions to employee 401(k) retirement savings plans. Another point of friction involves a proposed limit on how often workers can exchange shifts without management's explicit approval.
Union Criticizes Proposals Amidst Cost-of-Living Concerns
A representative for the union highlighted the perceived contradiction between Disneyland's public image and its current contract proposals.
Disneyland is often presented as ‘the ultimate family-friendly destination,’ but that’s no longer the case for 1,700 cast members in the characters and parades departments who create Disney magic by bringing beloved characters to life in shows, meet and greets and character dining experiences,the representative stated.
The representative further elaborated on the union's concerns, noting that
Disney has proposed eliminating paid parental leave for these workers, and, in the first year of a contract, the company presented a 0% wage increase despite a period of high inflation. Orange County, California, where Disneyland is located, is also rated as one of the costliest places to live in the United States.
The union spokesperson asserted that Disneyland
wants to eliminate paid parental leave, cut the number of paid holidays and size of 401(k) contributions and make it unnecessarily harder for character and parade workers to swap shifts.
Al Vincent Jr., the executive director for Actors’ Equity, also weighed in on the issue. He was quoted saying,
When you propose to take away paid parental leave from those who work day in and day out to give other families great experiences, that’s not family friendly.
Company Responds to Wage and Benefit Claims
In response to the union's assertions, the company indicated that Disneyland Resort has put forward proposals for wage increases over the duration of the agreement. While acknowledging that an immediate wage hike is not on the table, the company stated it has continued to implement annual increases for this specific bargaining unit as negotiations proceed.
As an illustration, the company claimed that full-time and part-time cast members within this bargaining unit have experienced a 4% increase as of December 2025.