NEW YORK (CNN) – About 32,000 hourly workers at Disney World will receive a $3 an hour raise by the end of the year, and most will receive a raise of about 37% of their current salary through 2026 under a tentative five-year contract reached with a group of unions on the property Thursday.
According to the unions, about 75% of full-time workers covered by the agreement are currently being paid about $15 an hour. The staff do everything from roles as characters to serving staff in restaurants and shops, driving buses, trams and monorails, working the front desk and doing hotel cleaning duties.
They would receive a retrospective pay increase to $16 per hour through October 2022 and would see their current pay increase to $17 per hour after the deal was ratified. From December 3rd it would go down to a minimum of $18 per hour.
Also, they would get a 50 cents per hour raise in December 2024 and an extra dollar per hour in 2025 and 2026.
The company’s previous offer would have gotten them just an initial $1-per-hour raise, plus four additional $1-per-hour increases for each year of the five-year contract.
Disney is not agreeing to pay significantly more than the previous offer over the course of the five-year contract, with pay increases totaling $5.50 an hour instead of $5 an hour. But the unions were able to push through a much earlier pay package in this tentative deal.
About 96% of the members who voted on this earlier offer turned it down on the recommendation of their union leadership.
“The company has finally heard the cast members’ voices,” Matt Hollis, president of the Service Trades Council Union, the association of unions that deal with Disney management, said in an interview with CNN Business. “I can’t help but believe that the overwhelming outcome of the previous vote played a role in reaching this agreement. I think an overwhelming majority of the cast will see this as a win.”
The company said it was pleased to reach the preliminary agreement and hoped it would be ratified.
“Our cast members are central to the enduring magic of Walt Disney World,” Jeff Vahle, president of Walt Disney World Resort, said in a statement. “Disney is proud to offer an industry-leading employment package that includes 100 percent paid college tuition for hourly employees through the Disney Aspire program, comprehensive benefits and affordable health insurance.”
Disney recently announced plans to cut about 7,000 jobs company-wide. But Hollis said unions don’t think the hourly workers covered by the contract will be affected by the layoffs. In fact, Disney is struggling to fill some of the vacancies at Disney World.
The union has argued that the high cost of living and rapidly rising prices make life in central Florida unaffordable for many workers under the current wage structure.
While the company’s media and entertainment division lost $10 million for the most recent fiscal quarter ended December 31, its parks, experiences and products division reported operating income of $3 billion. Visitor numbers at domestic parks increased by 11% year-on-year and the average visitor spent 8% more. Hotel occupancy rose to 88% from 73% last year.
Though the union had never called a strike vote or threatened a strike, this wasn’t the time Disney wanted to risk bookings at the park by discussing a possible work stoppage.
The vote on the ratification of the treaty should be completed by next Wednesday evening.