Local Unions Reach Furlough Deal With Disneyland Amid Coronavirus Closure

By Elaine Low

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Workers United Local 50, the union that represents food and beverage workers at Disneyland, has come to an agreement with the Walt Disney Co. on the terms of a furlough while the theme park remains closed.

The group completed its talks with the company Thursday evening; any non-essential food and beverage members of the union will be furloughed as of April 19. As part of the deal, members will be afforded “signature benefits” at no premium cost, employee perks will continue, and pensions and full-time hours requirements “will be protected with credited hours.”

Other local unions have also completed furlough negotiations with Disneyland. Service Employees International Union-United Service Workers West, which represents janitors, security guards, airport personnel and Disneyland workers, said it has reached an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with Disney alongside Master Service Council unions, as has IATSE 504, which represents stage technicians, assistant stage managers, and pyrotechnics technicians.

Disneyland has been closed since March 14, shortly after California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom set forth guidance to postpone or cancel all gatherings larger than 250 people (though he had exempted Disneyland from the policy). The park was initially slated to be closed through the end of the month, but as of March 27 decided to close indefinitely amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak .

The full statement from Workers United Local 50 is as follows:

“This evening we completed our negotiations with Disney over the terms of the closure going past April 18th. The agreement covers a number of items that members and Union leadership have raised. This agreement covers members deemed essential during the resort closure, furloughs, and return to operations.

Effective April 19th non-essential food and beverage members will be furloughed. Negotiated as part of a furlough we were able to secure protections for signature benefits to be continued with no premium cost to the members. Employee perks, such as Aspire, will continue. Pensions and full-time hours requirements will be protected with credited hours. The negotiated agreement has recall language to ensure that food and beverage operations will be with Local 50 members and will observe seniority. If you are wishing to review the agreement and its details please contact us directly so we can arrange it. A summary of the agreement will be provided as soon as possible.

Beyond securing the much-needed protections mentioned above we unfortunately have no information about when the resort will be opened and members will return to work. As things change, we will continue to update everyone as fast as possible. The Union will also continue to provide assistance to cast members as we have been during this time. Continue to check out our website for resources that may be valuable to you, including how to apply for unemployment benefits. Stay safe everyone, we will get through this together.

In solidarity,

Chris Duarte

Workers United Local 50 President”