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Credit: DLP Report on XEveryone knows that cast members at Disney Parks are drastically underpaid. At the Walt Disney World Resort, cast members average between $17-$19 an hour for an annual salary of just under $38,000, far below a living wage in Central Florida.
Related: Cast Members Make the Magic, but They Want You to Know Working at Disney Isn’t Magical
While cast members at the Disneyland Resort just negotiated higher wages, those too fall below a living wage in Southern California, which is significantly higher than in Central Florida.
Cast members at Disney’s international parks looked on while employees at Disney’s American parks struggled and took matters into their own hands. While American cast members threatened a strike, one Disney park saw its workers shut down the park with a strike.
Last year, cast members at the Disneyland Paris Resort went on strike, seeking higher wages. Unlike their American counterparts, the Disney workers in France took over the parks, shutting downlands and evening fireworks.
Related: Disney Has Another Problem: Cast Members Are Broken
The disruption to the guests at Disneyland Paris eventually ended when the workers and the park agreed to a raise.
Last October, Disneyland Paris and the French Democratic Confederation of Labor (CFDT), representing the 18,000 Disney employees, agreed to a 5.5 percent raise. A year later, the CFDT seeks a six percent raise for its members.
If they were to receive the raise, it would put workers at the Disneyland Paris Resort on par with their counterparts at the Walt Disney World Resort and the Disneyland Resort. However, while their salaries are similar, Disneyland Paris cast members get perks unavailable to their American counterparts.
The workers received a bonus after the theme park reached record profits in 2023. The employees received approximately $1,000, assuming they worked at the Disney park for over three months.
Disney employees in Europe also receive approximately $1,500 as a transportation subsidy, and they are reimbursed for up to 80 percent of their public transportation costs.
While those employees receive additional perks, they have also had to deal with much higher inflation in France. While inflation in the United States has cooled, France still sees a monthly two percent increase in goods and services.
The timing of the union’s demands is not an accident. With Disneyland Paris heading into the holiday season, the theme park can hardly afford a work stoppage.
With The Walt Disney Company facing a downturn in global theme park attendance, the company cannot afford to shut down its European flagship park.
The cast members appear to be in charge of these negotiations. Let’s see how Disney responds.
Do you think Disney cast members deserve a six percent raise?