Stupid Guest Tricks

One of our favorite boards is just packed to the rafters with SGs today in response to an article about a third shift worker losing her job because of a 30 day bereavement leave (even though she is getting it back). But mostly they were surprised about how little she made as a CM (even third shift). Then they delved into how Disney is an evil company and is forcing cms to work for slave wages etc...

Oh dear...PM me if you want the name of the board

You can send it if you like, but I like your new avatar pic!!!

Here it is...
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=299921
Thanks Grumpy...I was wondering if anyone was going to notice ;)

Without reading the thread in question here is my issue:

1.) 30 day bereavement is excessive. When my aunt died I was given 3 days plus the rearranged my schedule so that my 2 days off were tacked onto the end giving me a total of 5 days. I ended up picking up days when I got back.

2.) Disney does not force anybody to work there. I do not know what average pay is like in Central Florida, but my CP pay was actually somewhat competitive compared to frontline jobs where I live.

If Disney is so evil, why are they all registered to post on a board for people who like it? (Don't mind me, I'm very loyal to the places I work for)

Although I do agree that Disney and other theme parks do not force anyone to work there, I do think they bite off their own noses to spite their faces somewhat in the pay department. Sure, Disney pays a competetive wage, but it's only competetive in regards to other theme parks, and not a living wage. They lose many good cast members who just can't afford to continue working there due to ever increasing rent and cost of living. They also cap cms so after so many years they no longer get pay increases, which doesn't encourage longevity. After I'd worked at Disney for five years, I was capped. I worked with a woman who'd been there 15 years. She and I made exactly the same wage. There's really something wrong with that.

That being said, it does irk me to hear people who DON'T work in the parks complaining about our wages. The implication is that we're stupid for continuing to work there at that pay. The truth is, I had a higher paying job. I hated it. When I was laid off, I immediately realized I wanted to be back working in the parks. I struggle to make ends meet (heck, I struggle to get the ends in the same room so they can even SEE each other, let alone meet), but I'm still happier than I was working at a stressful job I disliked. It would be nice if Disney and Universal (and the other parks) recognized that paying their teams/cast like professionals would attract professional team/cast members. But in the meantime, I'd still rather be happy than rich. That's MY decision, and not something I need someone on a web forum (especially someone who doesn't work in the park) questioning.

TPW: I do agree that they lose many CMs due to it not being a living wage. It would be a perfect wage for my current area, but for Orlando... I was planning to go FT after I graduated. I did one last CP to give myself time to find a place to live, but after seeing how high rent was, I realized that I was going to get sucked into a job that would be paycheck to paycheck. That is why I am pursuing a Master's in Education. I plan to hopefully go back to Orlando and teach FT while working for Disney PT or seasonally.

Knott's not only cuts off their noses to spite their faces, but they shoot themselves in the balls as well as the feet. You can never make more than $8.50/hour there as a shift leader. Bad enough they treat you like shit, but to offer slave wages and then not raising them above a certain level is the capper. (I haven't seen Cujo around here lately; I'm positive he once worked at Knott's along with Dazeyhill. ) Then they have the audacity to post these obviously fake wage sheets with wages topping out at $25/hr. You know that's for management! I remember being told by some people in maintenence that if they got a job on the outside, they would make three times more. That is not competitive. Knott's is a ghetto park anyway; I'm waiting for something like Ghostrider to collapse during a ride cycle and for Knott's to get its collective ass sued out of existance.

The only way I can think of for CMs to start getting better wages is to get our unions involved and get them to try and persuade the company. It'll probably have to wait until the next time the contract gets negotiated as base pay rates are spelled out in it, which is going to be a while.

I don't know. I know many CMs like myself are disillusioned with the unions and do their best to steer clear. I don't intend on joining the union unless they help me get my job back after getting unfairly termed. However if they got me over to Soarin' I would join in a heartbeat. LOL!!! But that won't happen because they look down their noses at me since I started as Seasonal (AKA Scab). STCU is just annoying and I feel like it doesn't accomplish anything anyway, it just takes money out of my already small paycheck.

Part of the problem with the unions is that a lot of CMs don't join their union. Unions are only as strong as their membership so if only a few people join it'll be weak. Your belief is part of the problem, signing up only if they can help you hurts everybody as it leaves the union not as strong as it could be.