Union Representing Walt Disney World Cast Members Gets New Leadership

A union representing Walt Disney World cast members is reportedly getting some new leadership after recent complaints from workers regarding their representation, according to Yahoo.

  • The Teamsters Local 385 union has appointed two associates to take over the union months after cast members threatened to leave the union in response to “horrible misrepresentation.”
  • General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters James Hoffa has said a process called trusteeship has begun and promised to send resources to help this union right itself, saying “It is regrettable that circumstances have reached this point.”
  • The union represents roughly 10,000 members in central and north Florida.
  • About half of those members work for Disney while many others work in the tourism and transportation industries including UPS drivers, hotel employees and food service workers.
  • Most of the 1,000 costumed character performers at Walt Disney World signed a petition just a few months ago, threatening to leave the union, which they have been members of since the early 1908s.
  • Among the complaints were allegations that leaders had made a deal with Disney to cut out nearly 20 character-performer positions from being covered by the union.
  • Union members also said that leadership had been “unresponsive” to grievances.
  • Hoffa ordered a hearing in Orlando back in March, during which union members were able to voice their complaints.
  • Hoffa noted that, since 2017, the union has lost more than 500 members.
  • He also said he asked Local 385’s leaders to respond to the cast members’ allegations but they did not respond.
  • Teamsters spokeswoman Kara Deniz said an election will be held within 18 months to allow union members to select their new leaders.

What they’re saying:

  • Character-performers original email to Hoffa’s office: “ [We] would like to stand united in presenting this attached petition with more than 600 members' names who are interested in forfeiting Union membership as a result of the horrible misrepresentation we have received from our local Union representatives.”