Disney workers to vote on pact

The proposed contract Walt Disney World’s unionized workers will vote on next week would increase the starting minimum wage by at least 46 percent over three years to $15 an hour, while enabling Disney to use more parttime workers and require new workers to stay in their positions longer before transferring, according to details released Monday.

The proposed fouryear contract would raise wages for existing workers at the Orlando theme park by at least $4.75 an hour by October 2021.

A coalition of six unions representing Disney World workers is recommending that its members approve the deal, which was reached late last week after about a year of negotiations. The contract covers costumed characters, bus drivers, launderers, retail workers, monorail drivers, custodians, housekeepers, servers, cooks, florists, makeup artists and lifeguards, among other workers.

If the contract is ratified, each Florida worker will receive a $1,000 bonus that Disney had paid to other employees after last year’s tax cut by Congress.

“I hope it’s a deal everybody likes. It took a long time and ultimately everybody came together and we will be making more money,” said Ed Chambers, who headed the Service Trades Council until recently.

The deal covers more than half of the 70,000 workers at Walt Disney World, which is the largest single-site employer in the United States.