Strike!

[Stduck]

They want to make us do line schedules.

Actually talking to my shop steward they seem to think Disney learned their lesson. Can't have a couple thousand CMs per department quit like that again.

[PirateJohn]

Just be warned that if you cross the picket line, not only will you piss of your fellow workers, most unions will blacklist you if you cross.

Do I really want to be part of a union that would behave in such a retributive fashion?

Besides, I'm fairly certain that being blacklisted would not really affect me since my future career path is going to be working in a crime lab.

[BirdMom]

I'm unsure if one of my former buds is the shop steward on the west side. The guy who used to be shop steward back in my day was pretty active and would make sure everyone in the area knew what was going on. There's no rule that says you can't be proactive and search these folks out yourself. How can they know of your concerns if you don't make them aware? They aren't mind readers.

Not to bag on your personally John, but your situation has to be one of the reasons that American labor is in trouble. People want to put their personal situations first, rather than thinking collectively. I understand why you feel the need to act as you want to, but the more breaks in the chain, the less motivated Disney will be to negotiate.

[PirateJohn]

I'm unsure if one of my former buds is the shop steward on the west side. The guy who used to be shop steward back in my day was pretty active and would make sure everyone in the area knew what was going on. There's no rule that says you can't be proactive and search these folks out yourself. How can they know of your concerns if you don't make them aware? They aren't mind readers.

If they expect me to go through a MAJOR hardship, then they're the ones who need to be proactive. There's no rule that says I have to share their concerns.

I never claimed that Disney management is doing the best they can do to treat the cast well, but at the same time this is only a temporary job for me, and one I don't expect to keep for much longer anyway. Very, very few of the cast members really look at Disney as a career. So the union really cannot expect its members to do all the work to find out what's going on.

Not to bag on your personally John, but your situation has to be one of the reasons that American labor is in trouble. People want to put their personal situations first, rather than thinking collectively.

So I'm supposed to risk eviction, homelessness, and put my entire future in jeopardy for something that really isn't going to benefit me in the long run just because I'm supposed to "think collectively?" Really, now. You gotta give me a better reason than that.

I know your statement wasn't aimed at me personally, but my situation is hardly unique, either. It seems to me that the union is requiring an awful lot of its members without giving them an adequate reason why they should comply. Talk of "sticking together" and whatnot is nothing more than rhetoric to me, whereas paying rent and supporting my addiction of eating food at least two or three times per day is much more tangible and real.

[BirdMom]

Back in '84, there were thousands of people on the picketline that surrounded the park - all the way around Harbor, Katella, West Street and portions of Ball (excluding the freeway and such). I've never forgotten driving out there the first day - it was an amazing sight to behold - it really was a solid line of bodies with signs except for Ball Road. A lot of these people had mortgages to pay, kids to feed and so on. The same concerns that you have. The union provided people with strike pay proportional to their job status, and a lot of the local businesses (Anaheim restaurants) provided CM's with food. Some people filed for unemployement. I was lucky in one respect because I had moved back home about six months before the strike, so I didn't have the rent problem, but I had a car payment, insurance and credit card bills. On a $2.25 per hour rate. If I remember correctly, the walkout lasted 22 days. It wasn't enough time to lose a house, but it was enough time to put a serious chink in personal budgets. But people also knew it was coming, and the wiser ones amongst the CM's cut back on discretionary spending and budgeted ahead of time.

If the sacrifice that hundreds of people made 22 years ago is meaningless to you, there's not a lot I can do. I would think that what the union is currently trying to do is ensure that wage rates are keeping up with inflation (meaningful), medical insurance isn't unreasonably priced (meaningful) and that working conditions, including concerns with days off and scheduling are addressed to the satisfaction of the majority of permanant full time cast members. The company has been taking away and taking away for 22 years. It's time for cast members to stand up and get back what is rightfully theirs. That is why there is a need to think collectively and act collectively. Sorry, but I'm a child of the 60's and that's how I was raised to think. What is going to benefit the majority of people - not what can I get for myself.

[PirateJohn]

If the sacrifice that hundreds of people made 22 years ago is meaningless to you, there's not a lot I can do.

And if you're going to put words in my mouth, there's not a lot I can do, either.

I have said quite plainly from the beginning that I will respect 100% people's decision to strike. But they need to respect my decision not to.

I refuse to be guilted into putting my entire future at risk. Talk of "oh, but those people took risks 22 years ago" is utterly irrelevant. Everybody's situation is unique, and it is entirely unfair for you to expect me to base my decision on what "they" did.

[goose]

When it comes to striking, I'm prochoice. :D:

Striking is a serious decision and it should be thought about long and hard. Some people can afford to strike. Others can't. I would never ask someone to suffer "for the good" of everyone else. That's bullsh*t. Whatever happened to personal responsibility?

I am in foods. We are not allowed to strike. I know I couldn't strike for long. I don't have much money in the bank right now. I also have a medical condition and I need prescription drugs everyday. Is my Union leader going to pay for my drugs when I run out of money? Um...I don't think so.

Pirate John, don't feel guilty about your decision.

[Main Streeter]

I refuse to be guilted into putting my entire future at risk. Talk of "oh, but those people took risks 22 years ago" is utterly irrelevant. Everybody's situation is unique, and it is entirely unfair for you to expect me to base my decision on what "they" did.

PirateJohn, have been reading your posts for a long time. Most make me laugh. The one abt the autistic boy's mom made me hurt for you. We can never win :twisted: . Decided to post my 2 cents. I'm pro union in many ways, thought I'd never cross a line, still don't want to cross but have goals, needs & wants. As little as I make @ Disney I still need the income - possibly now more than ever. BirdMom, I admire the efforts of CMs 22 yrs. ago you speak of. They paved my way, but time has past, economics are vastly different, costs have greatly escalated since 84. We, who live in O C, find living very difficult when financially on our own. The picture is bleak any way you view. PirateJohn, your refusal to accept guilt is completely clear! Let it go!! The majority of CMs @ DL, DCA can't afford to strike/walkout. I feel the days of feeding strickers from DL are probably long gone. Most think CMs pull down huge wages. Union handouts are below basic - if any. I'm with you. Will work & feel no guilt.If there is a strike -we will both refuse to feel guilty, yet realize we are still quality. :) Geezz, wish I could word like Zazu .

[Wizard69]

When it comes to striking, I'm prochoice. :D:

Striking is a serious decision and it should be thought about long and hard. Some people can afford to strike. Others can't. I would never ask someone to suffer "for the good" of everyone else. That's bullsh*t. Whatever happened to personal responsibility?

I am in foods. We are not allowed to strike. I know I couldn't strike for long. I don't have much money in the bank right now. I also have a medical condition and I need prescription drugs everyday. Is my Union leader going to pay for my drugs when I run out of money? Um...I don't think so.

Pirate John, don't feel guilty about your decision.

What do you mean about not being able to strike? You're in a union. You can vote to strike just like we can if the need arises.

[Wizard69]

Do I really want to be part of a union that would behave in such a retributive fashion?

Besides, I'm fairly certain that being blacklisted would not really affect me since my future career path is going to be working in a crime lab.

If it's a union position then they will know you are blacklisted and can possibly make trouble for you in different ways.