Disneyland Resort Cast Members from the characters and parades departments are unionizing with the Actors’ Equity Association. The union represents 51,000 actors and stage managers across the United States, including Walt Disney World performers.
Magic United: Disneyland Performers Unionizing
The group is calling themselves “Magic United” and is circulating union authorization cards to 1,700 Cast Members. They will seek voluntary recognition from Disney Resort Entertainment when a majority of the Cast Members have signed.
If Disney declines to recognize the union, Actors’ Equity Association (a.k.a. Equity) will file the cards with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). NLRB will then schedule a union recognition election and Disney will be required by law to sit down with Equity’s representatives and negotiate a contract.
The bargaining unit includes Characters Cast Members, Hosts, Trainers, and Leads.
As the Entertainment Cast Members at the Disneyland Resort, it is time for us to come together as a union, to use our collective power to ensure that the park is a safer, more sustainable place to build careers and share magic with Guests from all over the world.
Magic United leadership
Most Disneyland workers outside of the Characters and Parades performers are unionized.
Disneyland is a very special place, where Cast Members create magic that attracts millions of guests every year.
Disney workers are openly and powerfully invested in and loyal to the Walt Disney Company and its values; so it’s reasonable for them to expect ‘the happiest place on earth’ to pay them fairly and prioritize their health and safety. Unionizing is the collective pathway to ensuring that the magic makers share not only in the happiness, but in the $9.13 billion in quarterly ‘experience’ revenue that Disney announced to its shareholders on February 7.
Equity already represents hundreds of performers at Walt Disney World in Orlando, and we have a long and successful bargaining relationship with Disney. We look forward to extending that work to include these Cast Members in Anaheim and applaud them for their incredible work on the campaign thus far.
Actors’ Equity Association President Kate Shindle
“We chose Actors’ Equity Association as our union because we’ve seen how well they work with Disney in Florida, on Broadway, and on tour,” Magic United leadership said. “Our Walt Disney World colleagues exemplify how you can be pro-Disney and pro-union at the same time. Furthermore, the vast majority of our park colleagues here in Anaheim already have union representation. It’s a win/win: when we can speak with a collective voice, we can have a clearer, more productive conversation with our employer. Ultimately this will result in a better experience for all – Cast Members, managers, and more importantly, our Guests.
“We find inspiration in Disney every day, in the stories that we get to tell. Whether we are meeting Guests up close or dazzling them with a parade, we know we are making lifelong memories. And now, we’re laying the groundwork for the future of entertainment employment at the Disneyland Resort. With Magic United, we can work together with each other and with Disney leadership to ensure our talents remain central to the Disneyland experience for generations to come. We are the Magic! We are the union!”
A petition is available for supporters of the Magic United union to sign.
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