PDA

View Full Version : Disney hotel union members to stage hunger strike at DLR next week



Pages : [1] 2 3

MousePlanet AutoPoster
02-04-2010, 02:00 PM
http://nt0.ggpht.com/news/tbn/OBNXG91nI8qRJM/6.jpg
Around Disney (blog) (http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Focresort.freedomblogging.com%2F20 10%2F02%2F04%2Fdisney-hotel-workers-to-start-fasting-tuesday%2F33605%2F&usg=AFQjCNGXNLpqM-byWsI9SFn787wg1yy8eA)
<img alt="" height="1" width="1" />
Disney hotel workers to start fasting Tuesday (http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Focresort.freedomblogging.com%2F20 10%2F02%2F04%2Fdisney-hotel-workers-to-start-fasting-tuesday%2F33605%2F&usg=AFQjCNGXNLpqM-byWsI9SFn787wg1yy8eA)
Around Disney (blog)
â??We are offering Local 11 the same reliable and affordable heath care coverage in which members of the other 30 of 31 unions at Disneyland Resort and more ...

and more &raquo; (http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1&ned=us&ncl=dCuCzS6FcSWlRHM)


More... (http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Focresort.freedomblogging.com%2F20 10%2F02%2F04%2Fdisney-hotel-workers-to-start-fasting-tuesday%2F33605%2F&usg=AFQjCNGXNLpqM-byWsI9SFn787wg1yy8eA)

AVP
02-04-2010, 04:04 PM
As reported by the Orange County Register's Around Disney Blog (link above), 10 people will stage a hunger strike outside Disney's Grand Californian Hotel starting next Tuesday night. The plan is for the protesters to live in tents on a sidewalk outside the hotel during the hunger strike. The protesters will reportedly be under medical supervision.

The Disneyland Resort issued a statement saying,


We issued a letter to Local 11 on 1/29, once again asking them to agree to meet with an independent federal mediator to help us come to an agreement. (Release attached.) To date we have not received a response.

This is just another tactic from Local 11 leadership to distract from the fact that after two years their members are still without a contract. This calls into question their commitment to meeting with an independent federal mediator in the hopes of making progress on our negotiations.

It also concerns to us that they would jeopardize the health and safety of their members in this manner.

Local 11 has not responded to requests for comment.

Your thoughts?

Kuzcofan
02-04-2010, 04:19 PM
Is it legal to camp outside the hotel? I think that would be fun. maybe we can have a MP camp out wed night we can roast hot dogs and marshmallows next to the starving idiots. Isn't it supposed to rain next week?
So why would they threaten to have a hunger strike? They haven't even had a walkout/strike that lasted more then 2 hours yet. IMO it is just stupid....

AVP
02-04-2010, 04:27 PM
Is it legal to camp outside the hotel?Not exactly. It is unlawful to block the sidewalk, and there could be a trespassing charge if they pitched their tent on Disney property. The union's secretary/treasurer was quoted in the article saying that they are prepared to be arrested, but that she hopes it doesn't come to that.

AVP

Disneyfan Kev
02-04-2010, 05:02 PM
A hunger strike at Disneyland? Wow - what will they think of next?

cstephens
02-04-2010, 05:03 PM
Too bad I have to work. Otherwise, it might be fun to plant myself in front of them as I quietly and earnestly gnawed on a giant smoked turkey leg. :~D

Drince88
02-04-2010, 05:10 PM
It says that Members of the union will be doing the hunger strike - At least they're not bringing in other people for this.

But you know what I think would be a more effective way to get a new contract -- sit down and TALK!!!

AVP
02-04-2010, 05:14 PM
It says that Members of the union will be doing the hunger strike - At least they're not bringing in other people for this. It's actually 7 Disney workers, the son of another worker, and two Union representatives.



But you know what I think would be a more effective way to get a new contract -- sit down and TALK!!! I may have my dates turned around, but I don't think there has been an actual face-to-face negotiation session since June. Disney has repeatedly asked them to meet with a federal mediator, but the union has not yet agreed to do so.

AVP

adriennek
02-04-2010, 06:03 PM
Too bad I have to work. Otherwise, it might be fun to plant myself in front of them as I quietly and earnestly gnawed on a giant smoked turkey leg. :~D

My corndog and I would be right next to you...

Adrienne

mechurchlady
02-04-2010, 06:22 PM
Someone from the union handed Mom a flyer at DLR promenade last Friday.
GO UNION. I will leave the picketers alone. The union helped the home care workers and my father was union in the machine shops.

Bytebear
02-04-2010, 06:27 PM
With 10%+ unemployment, what are they demanding? It seems to me it would be easy to find replacement workers.

torquedork
02-04-2010, 07:35 PM
My corndog and I would be right next to you...

Adrienne

I'll bring a bunch of chill dogs

torquedork
02-04-2010, 07:38 PM
With 10%+ unemployment, what are they demanding? It seems to me it would be easy to find replacement workers.

Yeah really there's so many people who's willing too jump at the chance to start working once again. Plus they should be thankful that they got a job instead of complaining

adriennek
02-04-2010, 07:54 PM
If they had spent just a fraction of the time & energy talking to Disney as they have talking to the media, I'll bet this would've been taken care of a long time ago.

Adrienne

Burnt Toast
02-04-2010, 08:51 PM
Good... I hope the union leaders starve to death. Worthless, the whole lot of them.

I'm so glad I work in a right to work state.

explodingboy
02-05-2010, 12:48 AM
That seems like a good, smart, reasonable, probably-gonna-work-out-well idea.

Right?

pixar
02-05-2010, 06:56 AM
Someone from the union handed Mom a flyer at DLR promenade last Friday.
GO UNION. I will leave the picketers alone. The union helped the home care workers and my father was union in the machine shops.

So no matter what they do, you'll support them simply because they're union members?


It's actually 7 Disney workers, the son of another worker, and two Union representatives.


I may have my dates turned around, but I don't think there has been an actual face-to-face negotiation session since June. Disney has repeatedly asked them to meet with a federal mediator, but the union has not yet agreed to do so.

AVP

Other than the possibility of the other unions striking or walking out in support of this union (which would be a big deal I suppose), is there any reason why Disney is still dealing with this union?

mechurchlady
02-05-2010, 07:38 AM
I support the unions until they are proven to be bad, wrong, inept, etc.
I seen how the union got changes for home health care workers. Mom cleaned apartments for seniors on a state program and other workers benefited. The unions have done some good.

I am staying out of this conversation as I do not know enough. There are many sides to this issue. At least give them credit for standing up for what they believe. That is my final answer.

adriennek
02-05-2010, 07:44 AM
Other than the possibility of the other unions striking or walking out in support of this union (which would be a big deal I suppose), is there any reason why Disney is still dealing with this union?

I know that the union has messed around with the members but at what point could the members demand to join the other Disney union? Don't the members have some rights in this? Because we know this isn't want the members want, but the union isn't actually, you know, being honest with or listening to its members.

Adrienne

AVP
02-05-2010, 08:08 AM
The union members could vote to decertify the union, in which case they could either choose to join a different union, or not organize at all. (I imagine they'd be absorbed back into the union that Unite Here originally split from)

There is a formal process for doing this, but the CMs I've talked with who have looked into this felt that it was too risky, and unlikely to succeed. A majority of the members in good standing would have to vote to decertify the union, but that's a whole 'nother challenge. A lot of members stopped paying union dues in 2008 when Disney stopped deducting them from their paychecks. (The agreement to deduct the dues on behalf of the union was part of the expired contract, and, since the union declined to extend the contract through the negotiation period, Disney declined to continue deducting the dues). The union tried to get members to sign up for automatic deductions straight from their checking accounts, but by all accounts fewer than half of the members agreed to do so. As I understand it, the members who are in arrears on their dues are not considered to be in good standing, and thus could not vote on a decertification petition. It's a neat little "pay to play" system.

Some union CMs who have expressed reservations about the actions of the union claim to have been subjected to some degree of harassment at work, whether it be from co-workers who support the union, or from leads who are also union leaders. One valet claims that his lead manipulated his shifts so that he spent more time working in the booth than other valets, which meant fewer "ups" and fewer tips for him. A busboy claims that, after he told coworkers that he had voted in favor of the Disney contract in June, he was sent home early (an early release, or "ER") more often than other workers. A server who had repeatedly questioned her union steward about the status of the negotiations claimed that she was then assigned to smaller tables, while union-supporting servers were assigned large parties (with guaranteed auto-gratuity). I asked Ada Briceno, the secretary/treasurer of the union, about these claims when I interviewed her last summer, and she said she had not heard of a single instance. A cast member friend agrees that these stories may be exaggerated - leads really don't have all that much impact on scheduling decisions, and the location managers are unlikely to punish someone who actually supports Disney's position in the dispute - but several CM sources admit that those workers who don't support the union's tactics tend to keep their heads down and their opinions to themselves.

AVP

pixar
02-05-2010, 08:15 AM
I know that the union has messed around with the members but at what point could the members demand to join the other Disney union? Don't the members have some rights in this? Because we know this isn't want the members want, but the union isn't actually, you know, being honest with or listening to its members.

Adrienne

Wow, I didn't realize that. If the members don't want this, I certainly hope they can get out of that union. Without members and their dues, let's see how long this union lasts.

dz4dsny
02-05-2010, 08:17 AM
In this day and age when so many people are out of work, and the world is still dealing with the crisis in Haiti, where people are actually starving, having trouble getting food and water, I think that a hunger strike is tacky and insensitive.

pixar
02-05-2010, 08:26 AM
The union members could vote to decertify the union, in which case they could either choose to join a different union, or not organize at all. (I imagine they'd be absorbed back into the union that Unite Here originally split from)...

Thanks for the info. Just seems unions hurt more than they help.

hefferdude
02-05-2010, 11:23 AM
If the hunger strike doesn't work, maybe the union can find some Boy Scouts to sue.

codewoman
02-05-2010, 12:06 PM
I'm wondering why Disney hasn't locked them out. They could hire replacement workers (non-union!) and go on about their business.