Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy from Disneyland want to join a union

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Disneyland employees who perform as various Disney characters at the theme park are seeking to join the Actor’s Equity Association, which represents everyone from Broadway actors to strippers In Los Angeles.

The union said Tuesday that about 60% of Disneyland’s 1,700 employees in the character and parade departments have signed cards requesting a union representation election.

Performers doing the same work at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, are already members of a union and have been for years. And until recently, Disney World performers were paid more than their Disneyland counterparts, according to the union.

He union contract reached between a coalition of unions and Disney World management last year paid artists a minimum hourly wage salary ranging between $21.30 and $23.00, depending on the union. Disneyland performers had been earning $20 an hour until the union organizing drive began late last year. The minimum wage rose to $24.15 an hour late last year, according to the union.

But the cost of living is significantly higher in Orange County, California, where Disneyland is located, than in Orlando. According to data from the Council for Community and Economic Research, the cost of living is 50% higher in Orange County, California. Housing costs, which are more than double, are the main reason, but prices are higher in multiple categories.

There are more than 21,000 Disneyland employees, referred to by the company as cast members, who are represented by more than a dozen unions. Those union jobs include everything from retail and food service workers to security guards, hair and makeup artists and pyrotechnic workers. But not the entertainers who dress up as characters like Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy and interact with visitors.

“They love working at Disneyland. That doesn’t mean they don’t need enough money to live,” Kate Shindle, president of Actor’s Equity, told CNN. The 51,000-member union is 111 years old, making it one of the oldest American unions outside of railroads.

“Everyone recognizes that Disneyland is a special place,” he added. “But magic alone doesn’t pay the rent.”

The union already represents some of Disney World’s performers.

The company had only limited comment on the organizing effort.

“We believe our cast members deserve to have all the facts and the right to a confidential vote that recognizes their individual choices,” Disney said in a statement.

Disney has been struggling recently, with continued losses on its streaming service, layoffs and more. cost reduction effortsquestions about him future of its various multimedia propertiesand activist investor Nelson Peltz trying to win two seats on Disney’s board of directors.

But its national parks and experiences unit is the most profitable part of the company, with revenue of $6.3 billion in the last three months of 2023, up 4% from the previous year, and operating income of $2.1 billion. dollars, 2% less than the previous year. earlier. That gain accounted for more than half of the quarter’s overall operating income of $3.9 billion.

– CNN’s Samantha Delouya contributed to this report.