After their “Rally for a Raise” last week, Walt Disney World Cast Members finally won negotiations for a pay raise. If the contract is ratified by the union, minimum wages will increase to $18 per hour.

If confirmed, Cast Members will be receiving a minimum wage of $17/hour now, with $18/hour by December if the contract is ratified and back pay to be included. Back pay of $1 extra per hour since October 1, 2022 will also apply to Cast Members hired on or before that date.

All Cast Members will also receive a minimum of a $5.50 raise over the next five years under this new agreement, with the first $3 coming by December 2023. These new minimum wages will also apply to all new Cast Members. By October 2026, the minimum rate will increase to $20.50 per hour for current workers, and $20 per hour for all workers hired after December 3, 2023.

Additional raises will also come to several classifications of unionized Cast Members:

• Housekeepers: $17 to $20 immediately, $24 by October 2026
• Dishwashers: $15 to $18 immediately, $22 by October 2026
• Cook 2 (Prep cooks) : $16.40 to $20 immediately, $24 by October 2026
• Cook 1 (Line cooks): $19 to $23.10 immediately, $27.10 by October 2026
• Chef Assistant: $20 to $24.60 immediately, $28.60 by October 2026
• Bus Drivers: $18 to $20.50 immediately, $24.50 by October 2026

The agreement also contains a new provision for eight weeks of paid Child Bonding Leave, which allows a parent to take time off to bond with their newborn child within its first year. Other hourly premiums will also increase with the contract.

Voting will take place on March 29 to ratify the new contract.

Negotiations over the contract, which expired in October but has remained in force during negotiation, focused primarily on wages, healthcare, and retirement. The negotiations began with Disney offering a pay rise of $1 to $16/hour as their “best offer” to Cast Members with plans to raise wages a further $1 annually until reaching $20. STCU has been asking for $18 per hour now, and a plan to eventually raise this to $20 per hour. In February, 96% of Cast Members voted to reject Disney’s “best and final offer.”

The Service Trades Council Union (STCU) represents more than 45,000 Cast Members working across Walt Disney World. STCU leaders canceled further negotiations with Walt Disney World following their refusal to add “even one cent” to their previous wage proposal and their removal of proposed retroactive pay for many Cast Members. After a brief stalemate, union leaders planned a “Rally for a Raise,” seeking public support for a fair contract. Earlier this month, the labor unions polled Cast Members to gauge the impact that low wages have had on their survival in order to quantify the difficulties these Disney employees have been facing.

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