LOS ANGELES, March 22 – Employees at The Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) staged strikes and social media campaigns Tuesday to protest the company’s response to Florida legislation restricting classroom discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity would restrict.
In a rare public demonstration of the riots, about 60 Disney employees gathered at a park outside of Los Angeles, where they waved signs calling on Disney to “protect LGBTQ children” and chanted, “Disney says gay. We won’t go away.”
“A lot of people enjoy working for Disney. And a lot of people are upset that the company they love is hurting the subset of employees and their community in Florida,” said Taylor White, technical director at Disney Television.
Disney has faced internal criticism for its public stance on the legislation, which critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law.
On Tuesday, some employees walked around the property of the nearby Disney studios in a demonstration. Other employees spoke up via Twitter. Turnout was modest for Disney, which employs about 16,000 people in Burbank and Glendale, although many are working from home because of the pandemic.
Disney employees protest Florida’s Don’t Say Gay law on March 22, 2022 in Glendale, California. REUTERS/Ringo Chiu
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The protests culminated in a week of abbreviated walkouts during planned breaks as part of a campaign called the Disney Do Better Walkout.
Organizers urged Disney to stop campaign contributions to politicians who support the Florida measure and develop a plan to protect employees from such laws. They also want Disney to halt construction in Florida, home of the company’s flagship theme park, Walt Disney World, until the state reverses the measure, which Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has indicated he will sign into law. If so, it will come into effect on July 1st.
Disney on Monday tried to address employee concerns about a virtual town hall for employees. CEO Bob Chapek said the company made a mistake by initially remaining publicly silent on the legislation and vowed to use the moment as a catalyst for change.
“We recognize how important this issue is to our LGBTQ+ employees, their families and allies, and we respect our colleagues’ right to speak their minds,” a Disney spokesperson said.
Ahead of Tuesday’s demonstrations, an entity within the company, Disney+, took to Twitter to offer public support for LGBTQIA+ colleagues, writing, “We strongly condemn all laws that violate the basic human rights of people in the LGBTQIA+ community.”
Reporting by Lisa Richwine and Dawn Chmielewski; Editing by David Gregorio