Disneyland Employees Say They Live in Cars, Motels Because of Low Pay

Cynthia “Cyn” Carranza meticulously finds a shady parking spot in the car she calls home.

Overnight caretakers at Disneyland sleep during the day – a struggle for anyone, let alone when you live in a car with two dogs. Ms Carranza said she earned $20.65 an hour (£15.99) at the park but last summer she could not afford to pay her rent in the Southern California city, where the average apartment can cost more than $2,000 (£1,550) a month.

Ms. Carranza teared up as she recounted the hardships of that summer, which included sneaking into the Disneyland costume area to shower. She now shares a small apartment with her boyfriend, who also works at the park, but still makes enough money to make ends meet.

“It’s not something that anyone can experience working full-time for a company like Disney,” she told the BBC.

Ms Carranza, like others who work at the park, has told the BBC in detail the financial hardships of working at what is billed as the “Happiest Place on Earth”. Around 10,000 union workers at Disneyland – the first of 12 to be established globally – are threatening to strike over pay and what they say are retaliatory anti-union actions.

Hundreds of workers protested outside the park this week, with signs and badges featuring Mickey Mouse’s gloved fist in protest.

“Mickey wants fair pay,” workers chanted outside Disneyland near the park gates.

They voted almost unanimously to authorize a strike on Friday, just days before union contract talks for workers are set to resume.

While the vote does not mean a strike is imminent, it could prompt workers to act quickly if negotiations fail. The authorization also gives unions leverage as negotiations with Disney management continue next week.

The contract for Disneyland crew members expired June 16, and the current negotiations involve a coalition of unions representing nearly 10,000 park employees, including everyone from those who work as characters and operate rides to sales, restaurant and janitors.

Union officials say one in 10 Disneyland cast members have experienced homelessness while working at the park. A survey of employees found that 73% said they did not earn enough to cover basic monthly expenses, and about a third said they had experienced housing insecurity in the past year.

“We are the ones who make the magic,” said L Slaughter, a host at the Toontown theme park. “We need Disney to pay us a living wage.”

Ms. Slaughter lived in her car for two years while working at the park. She now has a small apartment about an hour’s drive from Disneyland.

She said she spent most of her time looking for a safe parking spot to sleep, adding that employees are not allowed to sleep in Disneyland parking lots.

“My rent just went up by $200 and I can’t afford it anymore,” she said.

Ms. Slaughter makes $19.90 an hour — thanks to a minimum-wage increase passed by city voters in 2018. Disney fought unsuccessfully to raise the wage, but workers say it’s still not enough to survive in Southern California.

A living wage calculator developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, says a single person without children would need to be paid $30.48 an hour to afford to live near Disneyland in Orange County, about 30 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

Workers interviewed by the BBC said they had kept their jobs at the park because they loved the Disney brand, and they relied on generous healthcare and union-run food banks, which some workers described as a lifeline.

Disney said it is committed to negotiating with “cast members” — the company’s term for employees who play princesses and pirates, as well as chefs or park maintenance workers.

“We respect and value our cast members and recognize the vital role they play in creating happiness for our guests,” Disney said in a statement, adding that negotiations with unions representing workers will resume on July 22 and that they are committed to reaching an agreement that “focuses on what matters most for our current cast members, helps us attract new cast members, and positions Disneyland Resort to grow and create more jobs.”

The most recent Disneyland strike took place in 1984 and lasted 22 days.

Ms. Carranza described the grueling work she did every night at the park — cleaning, polishing, repairing floors and sometimes laying carpets.

She said living in her car last summer was the worst time of her life, and she’s grateful to the dogs for helping her survive.

“I know that they are the reason why I am still here, why I don’t let go,” she said. “There are times when I wonder what I am doing here and how I can get back on my feet.”

But even with the small studio apartment that Ms. Carranza now has, she said she still has to live paycheck to paycheck and sometimes can only afford rice or noodles.

Although the workers’ demands were economic, the strike vote was called to address complaints that workers were being disciplined for wearing Mickey badges and spreading union information in the park.

In June, unions filed an unfair labor practice lawsuit against Disney with the National Labor Relations Board for “unlawfully disciplining, intimidating, and monitoring union members for exercising their right to wear union badges at work.”

Colleen Palmer, one of the negotiators from Local UFCW 324, has worked at Disneyland for nearly 37 years and makes nearly $24 an hour as a “merchant.” She said she wore her union badge for less than half an hour before management asked her to take it off.

Palmer said workers are responsible for the experience guests enjoy at Disneyland, and their loyalty and experience should be rewarded. She said workers believe the pay gap between workers and company executives is absurd: Disney CEO Bob Iger’s salary is $31.6 million in 2023 — hundreds of times what Disneyland crew members make.

“It makes me wonder, why don’t you want to recognize me? Because I’m making you that money, so you can buy that sports team right now,” she said, referring to the news that Mr. Iger and his wife had taken over the LA women’s soccer team, Angel City Football Club.

The gap between worker pay and management pay has fueled labor unrest in the United States. According to the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, CEO pay increased 1,460 percent from 1978 to 2021.

Disneyland is a unique place to work. Many people consider it a career, not a job, and employees are often fans of the Disney brand themselves—some call it the Disney cult.

Workers enjoy benefits like free admission to Disney parks for family and friends. But they also say Disney is not flexible when they have family crises or illnesses. Many have second and third jobs, making it difficult to balance Disneyland’s unpredictable schedule.

For students and retirees working part-time, it may be a dream job, but it no longer provides a living wage for people in and around Anaheim, a wealthy city where Disney is the largest employer, workers say.

“Without us, Disney would be just like any other place,” said Morgan, who has lived in motels around Disneyland for four years with her children and wants to be known only by her middle name.

The breakup of his marriage left Morgan homeless, and cheap motels were all he could afford on his Disney salary. When his children were with their mother, he often slept outdoors, hiding in the shadows to avoid police or thieves.

He now has a second full-time job in recruitment — which he can work from home — and an apartment he was able to buy with his combined income.

Still, he’s proud of his work selling Disney merchandise and says every cast member takes their work seriously.

“It’s not the animatronics – it’s us. At least respect us enough to pay us a decent wage.”