On April 2, it was announced that all U.S.-based executives, salaried and non-union hourly employees of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products would be furloughed starting April 19 due to extended park closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, given that union employees were excluded, negotiations have since been underway for weeks. This past weekend, agreements were finalized with the largest union representing roughly 43,000 cast members at Walt Disney World, and now the Actors’ Equity Association, which represents equity actors and theater performers, has also reached an agreement with Disney.
According to Gabrielle Russon of the Orlando Sentinel, the Actors’ Equity Association union reached an agreement with Disney today that will maintain their members’ health insurance benefits coverage, educational support, and additional employee assistance programs for 800 equity actors and theater performers. This aligns with most other union agreements established with Disney. Cast Members will be furloughed without pay starting April 19.
The smaller remaining unions are still in talks with Disney to establish agreements regarding furloughs for their members. Essential Cast Members that continue to work at Walt Disney World throughout the pandemic are now allowed to wear face masks to help curb the spread of COVID-19.
With all non-essential Cast Members (non-union and most union members at this point) to be temporarily furloughed starting April 19, things are starting to get very real for the roughly 77,000 magic makers of Walt Disney World Resort, and frustrations are ramping up regarding the faulty unemployment filing process across the state. While Cast Members are expected to keep any health benefits they’re currently enrolled for, they’ll no longer receive wages after April 19. Many will now have to file for state unemployment, which will only garner them a maximum total of $275 a week, among the lowest in the nation. (On the Federal level, the CARES Act will be providing a $600-a-week bonus through July 31 for those who have successfully registered as unemployed.)
Between the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis and the unreliable unemployment system, Cast are staging stay-at-home protests––except they aren’t aimed at Disney. They’re aimed at the State of Florida. As Click Orlando reports, they’re taking to the streets in the form of sidewalk chalk art, window signs, and messages on mailboxes with the hashtags #WorkersCantWait to voice their concerns about the unreliable system.
As April 19 approaches, tens of thousands of furloughed employees will be flooding the unemployment websites and phone lines. So far, reports on the application process have been grim, with entire applications disappearing, long waits to get through the online queues, and applicants getting bumped out of the system halfway through completing the form. At first, the government recommended that applicants use Internet Explorer, an outdated web browser that is known for being glitchy and unresponsive. The Department of Economic Opportunity states the site has been seeing approximately 120,000 simultaneous users lately, or double the peak usage since the first furloughs started. The call-in department received roughly 3.8 million calls just last week.
For Cast Members in need of income, the only thing they can do is hope that the broken unemployment website gets fixed (or otherwise send in a paper application), and continue application attempts until they’re successful. Jeremy Haicken, president of the Unite Here Local 737 union, part of the Service Trades Council stated, “We’re not going to stop until Gov. DeSantis fixes this unemployment system.”
The main entrance to the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. (Photo courtesy, Walt Disney World)
Walt Disney World closed in mid-March and remains closed “until further notice.” To access the printable unemployment application PDF,click here. To access the new mobile-friendly online unemployment application site that was recently launched, click here.
Easter is such a special time at Walt Disney World. Spring is in the air and typically the parks are decorated with bright colors and lots of stunning flowers! With the current closure of the parks due to COVID-19, Disney is making the most of the many Easter Lilies they had planned to use this season. Check out the details below from DisneyParksBlog:
Cast members at Walt Disney World Resort are keeping the Disney magic alive with impactful acts of kindness. Ahead of the Easter holiday, 200 local seniors received a special surprise with their Meals on Wheels delivery – Easter lilies donated by Walt Disney World.
The story behind this magical moment begins with a cast member, Michelle Giger Rohrmann, who manages the nursery where the flowers were grown. Michelle and her team realized that with Walt Disney World temporarily closed, the lilies intended for springtime decorations in our parks and resorts could still spread joy.
The flowers were gifted to the Osceola Council on Aging and added to Meals on Wheels deliveries near Walt Disney World. Each Easter lily has now found a new home with local elderly residents who are practicing social distancing during this time. While reflecting on her team’s efforts, Michelle said, “I’m glad that they are able to be enjoyed by these folks. I hope this will be a bright spot in their day.”
For Michelle and her fellow horticulture cast members, the Easter lilies hold a deeper meaning of coming together as a community in hopes of a brighter tomorrow: “To me, the lily is really symbolic of springtime – after a long, hard winter, the first thing to pop up is a lily. It’s a good representation of how we’ll come out of this together. We’ll pull through this. Better days are on their way.”
Though these flowers won’t be making their way into our parks and resorts this spring, they will still serve as a hopeful reminder that life continues to bloom and grow for seniors in the Greater Orlando community.
If there’s anyone yearning for some sense of normalcy back in their lives right now, it’s Cast Members.
However, with the COVID-19 situation changing rapidly by day, it seems Disney is hesitating to make any moves before announcing any official extensions of the park closure. While the Magic Kingdom was originally set to soft re-open by March 29th, it seems those plans may now be up in the air, as scheduling has been delayed for Cast Members returning to Walt Disney World.
Cast Members were originally set to receive their schedules for reopening week by now, but they have since been notified that they will not be receiving their schedules until Tuesday, March 24 at the earliest.
Do note that this is not a confirmation of a delay in re-openings, as Disney has not made an official announcement and the current established re-opening date is still April 1 until further notice.
We are counting down the days until the grand opening of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on March 4! This first ever attraction featuring the cutest Disney couple – Mickey and Minnie of course – is said to be well worth the wait. Check out Cast Members’ impressions below from DisneyParksBlog:
All aboard! The #DisneyCastLife series continues as the opening team cast members take their first journey aboard Runnamuck Railroad. Experiencing a brand-new attraction that takes you off the rails and into the world of Mickey and Minnie where mouse rules apply? Not bad for a day of work!
By riding the attraction, cast members help put the finishing touches into place, culminating years of partnership between Walt Disney Imagineering and the team that operates the attraction.
“As an Imagineer, we’re always being challenged to do things that no one has ever done before,” said Project Engineer, Antony Capstick. “For this attraction, you are going to be in the cartoon world and anything is possible.”
Check out the video below to hear what the railroad crew had to say and stay “tooned” as we prepare for the opening of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway on March 4 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios!
