With negotiations over a new contract for Walt Disney World cast members continuing, Senator Bernie Sanders is joining those calling for Disney to increase wages.
What’s Happening:
- Disney's pay to cast members has recently been a hot topic issue, and negotiations for a new contract for cast members have been underway since August 2022.
- Recently, they reached a point of serious impasse, with unions saying Disney refused to “add even one cent” to the proposal that was already rejected by 96% of voting cast members.
- Now Senator Bernie Sanders has weighed in.
- In a tweet, Sanders stated that Walt Disney World should pay its cast members a starting wage of $18 an hour.
- Making his point, Sander also alluded to former Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s $20 million payout, referring to it as a “golden parachute”
- The tweet read: “If Disney can afford to give a $20 million golden parachute last year to a CEO who did a lousy job, it can afford to pay Disney World Cast Members who are struggling to pay the rent & groceries a minimum wage of at least $18/hour. I say to Disney: Pay your workers a living wage.”
- During his presidential campaigns, Sanders had famously called for a $15 minimum wage across the country.
- Since then, inflation has heavily impacted workers and consumers. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' inflation calculator, $15 in January 2020 has the same purchasing power as $17.40 today.