Disney are set to face the largest strike in the US this year after it was announced that thousands of theme park and hotel workers in California will vote on whether to stage a walkout.
Three trade unions representing 14,000 ‘cast members’ at Disneyland, Disney California Adventure, Downtown Disney and the Disney hotels announced that an unfair labour practice strike vote would be held next week amid negotiations over a new union contract.
In a critical statement, union leaders accused Disney of ‘unlawful discipline and intimidation and surveillance’ of union members.
The entertainment giant did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Talks over a new contract began in April. The following month, the unions filed unfair labour practice charges over cast members not being allowed to wear union buttons at work.
The Disney Workers Rising bargaining committee said: ‘Instead of working with us toward a fair contract, Disney has engaged in multiple instances of conduct we allege are unfair labour practices.
‘We know these actions are only an attempt to stop us from exercising our rights and saddle us with a contract that perpetuates the status quo at Disney.
‘We won’t accept less than what we deserve because we know our value to Disney.
‘The theme parks’ profits come from our hard work making a trip to Disneyland a magical experience for guests.’
The workers are represented by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM) Local 83, Service Employees International Union-United Service Workers West (SEIU-USWW), the Teamsters Local 495 and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 324.
Andrea Zinder, president of UFCW Local 324 said: ‘We haven’t been able to move the company on the issues most important to our members.
‘The unfair labour practices that Disney has committed are so egregious that they interfere with our ability to get a fair contract.’
The unions also cited a survey of workers, conducted earlier this year, which found that 28 per cent of Disney workers reported experiencing food insecurity, 64 per cent reported being rent burdened, and 42 per cent of workers reported missing work for medical treatment because they didn’t have enough sick leave.
Meanwhile, BMW workers at the distribution centre in Palmer Township, Pennsylvania, have voted more than 2-to-1 to ratify a new contract securing raises of up to 33 per cent and ending the two-tier wage system over the life of the agreement.
The agreement also introduces major improvements to policies on time off, uniforms, overtime exemptions, and attendance.
The deal comes after workers at the BMW facility, who package and ship parts, as well as all BMW motorcycles, to BMW’s dealer network, built a credible strike threat that forced the company to offer a contract that properly reflects workers’ immense value.
BMW has raked in a massive $50 billion in profits since 2021 and paid out $7.2 billion to shareholders last year alone.
Company CEO Oliver Zipse was rewarded with a nearly $10 million payday in 2023.
Yet, workers at the facility saw their standard of living continue to decline as wages and benefits stagnated for years.
Zach Haas, the chief steward and bargaining unit chair said: ‘The company has been making billions in profits while many of us had gone for years without a raise, which is unacceptable.
‘We used our collective power, including the very real threat of withholding our labour, to win a great deal that rewards our work and gives us a stronger voice and platform for making the plant safer.’
Many workers will receive an 11 per cent raise immediately.
The new agreement also contains a new process to guarantee that workers’ safety and health concerns are heard and dealt with in a timely and appropriate manner.
These BMW workers are the latest UAW members to win big as part of the Stand Up Movement.
Workers at World Fuel Services Corporation have voted overwhelmingly to join Teamsters Local 58.
The drivers organised with the Teamsters to win dignity and respect at their workplace and to end unfair treatment from management.
Mohammed Elkhatib, a driver at World Fuel and a new member of Local 58 said: ‘This is a victory for all the hardworking drivers who show up on the job every day.
‘We deserve the same pay, benefits, and working conditions as other drivers at the company.’
The workers at World Fuel’s Vancouver, Washington state location were inspired to organise after learning about the wages, benefits, and working conditions enjoyed by Teamsters drivers at the company’s other locations in Takoma and Anacortes, Washington.
With this organising victory, all fuel drivers in Washington State at World Fuel are now officially Teamsters.
Ashely Giese, an office manager at Local 58 and a lead organiser said: ‘Some of the experiences these drivers shared with me serve as a reminder of why this union is so valuable.
‘I am grateful to have had the opportunity to help these workers successfully organise.
‘They will make great Teamsters and will soon know the strength and power of a Teamsters contract.’
Marcus Williams, International Representative of the Western Region for the Teamsters Tankhaul Division said: ‘I am beyond proud of these workers and the strength they showed as a unit.
‘This is a big victory, and the Teamsters now represent every single location in Washington. That is what you call true Teamsters power.’
- On Wednesday, the White House announced a move to ‘begin episodic deployments of the long-range fires capabilities of its Multi-Domain Task Force in Germany in 2026, as part of planning for enduring stationing of these capabilities in the future.’
These will include SM-6 and Tomahawk missiles, as well as hypersonic weapons, the White House said as it explained that ‘exercising these advanced capabilities will demonstrate the United States’ commitment to NATO and its contributions to European integrated deterrence.’
While the White House mentioned long-range fires capabilities, the specific systems it listed are intermediate-and short-range missile systems.
The United States has not deployed such ground-based capabilities in Europe since the 1980s.
Washington and Berlin discussed this issue in strict secrecy, while Germany insisted that the new US systems be placed exclusively on German soil.
The United States, Germany, Romania, Italy and the Netherlands will soon provide Ukraine with four US-made Patriot systems and a Franco-Italian SAMP/T surface-to-air missile system.
Also, the allies agreed to channel $1 billion (£78 billion in support of Ukrainian air defences and reaffirmed their intention to allocate 40 billion euros ($43.3 billion, £33.3 billion) in military aid within the next year, US President Joe Biden announced in opening remarks at the summit in Washington.
According to the announcement released on the White House’s website, members of the alliance plan to send NASAMS, HAWK, IRIS T-SLM, IRIS T-SLS and Gepard air defence systems to Ukraine in the future. The press release did not specify the quantities.