Disneyland cast members in California, known for their character performances and parade dancing throughout the theme parks, voted with a 79% majority to unionize under the Actors’ Equity Association (Equity).
Equity, founded in 1913, represents over 51,000 professional actors and stage managers.
A report published by The New York Times reveals the National Labor Relations Board supervised the vote, where the cast members’ collective concerns over safety, scheduling, living wages, and workplace benefits ultimately led to voting in favor of unionization.
“They say that Disneyland is ‘the place where dreams come true,’ and for the Disney Cast Members who have worked to organize a union, their dream came true today,” Actors’ Equity Association President Kate Shindle said in Equity’s announcement. “These workers are on the front lines of the Guest experience; they’re the human beings who create lifelong memories when your kids hug a character, or when your family watches a parade roll by the castle. The next step will be to collaborate with them about improving health & safety, wages, benefits, working conditions and job security. After that we will meet with representatives of the Walt Disney Company to negotiate those priorities into a first contract.”
According to Equity, the unofficial vote count is 953 in favor, and 258 opposed.
Union leaders celebrated this outcome as a symbolic victory, stressing the importance of solidarity among entertainment workers.
Meanwhile, a Disneyland representative told CNN that it is too early to comment on the results because the election has not yet been certified.
The successful unionization of Disneyland’s performers is reflective of a larger trend towards improving labor rights and working conditions in sectors across the workforce.
Despite a decline in union membership over the past few decades, public support for unions has been growing in recent years in the U.S. Workers at companies ranging from Amazon to Starbucks have made headlines last year with their efforts to organize and secure better working conditions and wages. One major strike that made headlines last year was led by the United Auto Workers (UAW).
