ANAHEIM, Calif. , Aug. 15, 2008
"Tinkerbell" Busted At Disneyland
Demonstrators Dress As Disney Characters In Labor Protest At Amusement Park; 32 Arrested
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Protesters dressed as Disney characters, from left, Lori Condinus, Eric Zuniga and Angela Wilhite lead a march from the Paradise Pier Hotel to the main entrance of Disney Land during a demonstration protesting Disney's treatment of hotel workers in Anaheim, Calif., on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2008. (AP Photo/Carlos Delgado)
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Protesters dressed as Tinker Bell and Minnie Mouse wait to be taken away after being arrested by police officers during a demonstration against Disney's treatment of hotel workers outside of Disney Land in Anaheim, Calif., on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2008. (AP Photo/Carlos Delgado)
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The arrest of the 32 protesters, many of whom wore costumes representing famous Disney characters, came at the end of an hour-long march to Disneyland's gates from one of three Disney-owned hotels at the center of a labor dispute.
Those who were arrested sat in a circle on a busy intersection outside the park holding hands until they were placed in plastic handcuffs and led to two police vans while hundreds of hotel workers cheered and chanted.
The protesters were arrested on a misdemeanor count of failure to obey a police officer and two traffic infractions, said Sgt. Rick Martinez of the Anaheim police. They were cited and released, Sgt. Chris Schneider said.
Bewildered tourists in Disney T-shirts and caps, some pushing strollers, filed past the commotion and gawked at the costumed picketers getting hauled away. The protest shut down a major thoroughfare outside Disneyland and California Adventure for nearly an hour.
"It's changing my opinion of Disneyland," said tourist Amanda Kosato, who was visiting from north of Melbourne, Australia. "Taking away entitlements stinks."
The dispute involves about 2,300 maids, bell hops, cooks and dishwashers at three Disney-owned hotels: the Paradise Pier, the Grand Californian and the Disneyland Hotel.
The workers' contract expired in February and their union says Disney's latest proposal makes health care unaffordable for hundreds of employees and creates an unfair two-tier wage system. The union also says Disney wants to create a new category of part-time employees who would receive greatly reduced benefits.
"The other hotels around the area all have health care that is provided by the boss and have been able to get wage increases," said Ada Briceno, president of Unite Here Local 681, which represents the workers.
"At the other hotels in the same classification, for the same work, the workers get paid $2 to $3 an hour more."
Disney spokeswoman Lisa Haines said Disney and the union are in negotiations and nothing has been finalized. She said workers have protested 14 times but sat down to negotiate only 11 times in the past six months.
"Clearly we're disappointed that Unite Here Local 681 has spent more time protesting," she said. "Publicity stunts are not productive and are extremely disruptive to the resort district."
Before the arrests, the picketers marched and chanted outside Paradise Pier, holding signs that read, "Disney is unfaithful," and "Mickey, shame on you." They were joined by community activists and religious leaders from local churches.
Luz Vasquez, who works in the bakery at Disneyland Hotel, said she can't afford to lose many of her benefits. She said it's already hard to care for her three grandchildren and aging mother while earning $14.32 an hour.
"Disneyland is being unfair with us because we're fighting for our health care and they're trying to take it away," said Vasquez, 45. "They're trying to cut our hours and take away our seniority."
Co-worker Diane Dominguez, 50, said she was worried about losing health care because of the heavy labor involved in lifting mattresses, moving furniture and making dozens of beds a day. She also said rising prices and the cost of gas were eating into her salary of $11.11 an hour.
"The most important is health care. We need that and they want to take it away," she said.
At the heart of the issue is a free health care plan that has been provided to Disney hotel workers through a trust fund that Disney and other unionized hotels in the area pay into.
Briceno said that in exchange for the free medical plan, union members agreed in previous contracts to a lower wage for hotel workers in the first three years of their employment.
But Disney now wants to eliminate the free health plan for new hires and wants to create a new class of workers who put in less than 30 hours a week, said Briceno. Those part-time workers would receive no sick or vacation pay and not be given holidays, she said.
The company also wants to increase the number of hours full-time employees must work before qualifying for the health plan, she said.
"At the end of the day what it means is that workers are going to be priced out of health care," she said.
Haines said the majority of other employees at Disneyland pay for a share of their health plan, even though the resort shoulders about 75 percent of the overall cost. She said it's important to negotiate a contract that's fair to those other unions, too.
"We do remain hopeful that we can reach an agreement that's both fair and equitable, providing that union leadership is reasonable and realistic in its approach," Haines said.
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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See all 123 CommentsI think Walt is spinning in his grave right about now.
This is not what he had in mind, oh so many years ago.
Posted by GOP_forever
You like a job with paid vacation? How about a job with health care? Paid Vacation? You like all of those things? Well, guess what, they didn''t exist until they were fought for by Unions! People protested, picketed, were beaten by thugs hired by companies, and arrested, all so you can now have the benefits you now take for granted! Maybe you should think of that before you go off and make your selfish stupid comments!
I think Walt is spinning in his grave right about now.
This is not what he had in mind, oh so many years ago.
Posted by slim1h2o at 08:54 AM : Aug 15, 2008''
I think its exactly what he had in mind, as Walt Disney was a NAZI FASCIST. Seriously, look it up.
I still don''t understand why this brand still retains a market share among American consumers. You''re all fascists, stupid Americans.
Who P''d in your cornflakes this morning?
This is not what he had in mind, oh so many years ago.
Posted by slim1h2o at 08:54 AM : Aug 15, 2008''''
Actually, Disney was very much anti-union! He was convinced they were a communist plot! Animators at his studio went on strike in 1941, because they never got bonuses they were promised, after working unpaid overtime to get the film "Snow White" done on schedule. Disney was so angry he went before the House Un-American Activities Committee (the McCarthy hearings) and gave names of former employees who he claimed were communists because of their union activities.
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Well someone has to make the lower classes useful.
Sorry Disney whiners. That''s the world today. Don''t blame your employer. Look beyond that to the insurance companies and our frivolous lawsuit system.
If Tink agrees that should be a wrap.
Think how fast he''ll soar in the polls with the cartoon character''s vote in his pocket!
I never knew ole Walt was like that. Hmmm,,maybe we should boycott Encott then ,,,Yes?
Posted by piercetheval
Exactly ! Here is the transcript!
http://filmtv.eserver.org/disney-huac-testimony.txt
"Well soeone has to make the lower classes useful?"
You elitist b*itch. Get a job.
Posted by FarRemoved at 09:59 AM : Aug 15, 2008
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Yeah, she probably has to use them as s*ex slaves around her mansion because even her husband won''t touch her anymore because she''s such a snob.
my aunt lives in california, where she pays $1050/month for a STUDIO apartment. she makes $17/hr as a receptionist. gas costs between $4.50-$6.00 a gallon.
i just moved from the midwest, so i know the situation there. so far, in my search of employment in florida, the same jobs are paying $3-$4 more than in the midwest. and the issue isnt just about their pay, its about disney not wanting to continue the healthcare, yet keep the workers at their same pay rate.
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Outside of procreation, there is no need for ***.
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I was permanently banned from posting at ABC. I dont know why.
Posted by u-r-right at 11:00 AM : Aug 15, 2008
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u-r-right is TOTALLY right on this one. My fiancee''s niece (17) is due any minute with the child of an illegal immigrant who works at a Dairy Queen. Her cousin also became pregnant by another hispanic youth, and of course none of them are pro-choice...so they have the baby.
The parents the whole time are excited as heck that they''re getting GRANDCHILDREN! They''re sending the wrong message to these girls. What happened to the time when pregnant teens weren''t allowed to parade around the high school (or middle school) in their maternity clothes...when there was some shame to it?
Also, check out snopes.com article about Parkland Hospital in Dallas having 70% of the births to illegal aliens...paid for by YOUR tax dollars.
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When the healthcare system is having to give away services to the poor and the illegal aliens, guess who gets to pick up the bill?
And the pharmaceutical companies are coming up with new "designer" drugs and bombarding us with television commercials about quick fixes to our health problems that should really be addressed through diet and exercise...
And the lawyers, lawsuits, and insurance companies adding to the costs...
The system is broken. Nobody can afford healthcare unless it''s subsidized by a company.
Actually publicity stunts are very productive. It brings the plight of workers to the forefront for the public and as the consumers who are ultimately the employers of Disneyland and other places, it is the public''s opinion that will determine whether Disney keeps operating or goes into an Airline-esque decline.
With all the problems facing most of America, the idea that prices of tickets have risen but Disney is trying to stiff their workers is not acceptable.
Get to the table, Disney--take less profits and take care of the health and wages of your employees--unlike a lot of businesses, you can''t outsource amusement parks and then reimport it cheaply.
Sorry Disney whiners. That''''s the world today. Don''''t blame your employer. Look beyond that to the insurance companies and our frivolous lawsuit system.
Posted by blazercoach1 at 09:55 AM : Aug 15, 2008
good that you still have benefits. Keep that mindset and that willingness to negotiate for your company. When they decide to just do away with your benefits altogether or price them so high you are working only for benefits and no paycheck (Like the auto companies and steel companies did to their workers) or when they start insourcing cheaper teachers--you just remember your mindset. When it comes and it WILL come, you just keep your head down, don''t complain and just be glad they allow you to keep working to make them money.
You have a lot of learning and growing up to do--and experience is the best teacher.
The parents the whole time are excited as heck that they''''re getting GRANDCHILDREN! They''''re sending the wrong message to these girls. What happened to the time when pregnant teens weren''''t allowed to parade around the high school (or middle school) in their maternity clothes...when there was some shame to it?
Also, check out snopes.com article about Parkland Hospital in Dallas having 70% of the births to illegal aliens...paid for by YOUR tax dollars. Posted by aggiekat2004 at 11:39 AM : Aug 15, 2008
So... with so many of your fiance''s relatives ready and willing to gap their legs for illegals at a young age--do you ever worry about what kind of family you are marrying into--and more importantly, what kind of genetic cocktail you and your fiance will be creating for the future that might bring such a nightmare even closer to home?
So, will Obama be allowed out for the debate ?
Yes raising public awareness in this way is smart and productive. Disney is not evil nor good, just a mega-corp that will do anything they can get away with if it makes money. One thing Disney values is its "nice guy" "fantasyland" image--it is a myth they worked hard to create so anybody who makes the public question it gets top attention, though they may deny it.
really? I do not see any "nutjobs dressed up" but see some real people exercising their right to freedom to protest. A decent parent would welcome that as a teaching opportunity for their kids on the way to the park/
Posted by toldyouso12 at 11:56 AM : Aug 15, 2008
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Thanks for your concern, but we''re not having any kids! Yeah, the rest of his family is wacko nutjobs. He''s very normal, though, and is very vocal about his disagreement with what they''re doing.
Posted by licecramal at 12:30 PM : Aug 15, 2008
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Well said, liceramal. He should get together with GOP_forever who believes s*ex is only for procreation.
Posted by toldyouso12 at 11:56 AM : Aug 15, 2008
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Thanks for your concern, but we''''re not having any kids! Yeah, the rest of his family is wacko nutjobs. He''''s very normal, though, and is very vocal about his disagreement with what they''''re doing.
Posted by aggiekat2004 at 12:48 PM : Aug 15, 2008
Kudos to you. it''s not too late to talk to those relatives either--not about their choices per se--but about self respect and their duty to both this nation and their families. You two can still "parent" even if you don''t want to do it full time, and it sounds like his relatives need some insight.
Shut up and work or quit...End of story...People that strike should be fired...
Guess you have not had a job or not a decent one eh? Changing jobs is not the only way to get a raise... usually staying at a job and doing it well gets rewarded... give it a try! So a strike is a way of saying I like my job and want to stay, but... we need to change a few things and you are not listening.
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