The largest Walt Disney World union has reached an agreement on Cast Member furloughs. The Service Trades Council Union (STCU) represents roughly 43,000 Cast Members at Walt Disney World. The STCU is comprised of 6 different unions covering a wide variety of trades.
The STCU just announced the details of the furlough, which will result in no pay for the Cast Members affected beginning April 19th. The STCU joins a number of smaller unions that have agreed to a furlough of their members in the past week. The STCU says that the union agreement “provides stronger protections and benefits for 43,000 Union workers at Disney than virtually any other furloughed or laid-off workers in the United States”.
Here are the announced details, per the STCU:
- Everyone’s job, seniority, wage rate and benefits are guaranteed through the furlough, even if you stay on furlough after Disney reopens. Seniority continues indefinitely beyond 12 months.
- Everyone who has insurance will keep it for the duration of the furlough up to 12 months, including both full-time
workers as well as part-time workers who qualify under the Affordable Care Act. - Insurance means all insurance benefits: medical, dental, life, etc. with no exceptions.
- Disney will pay 100% of your insurance. You will not owe back payments when you return to work.
- For insurance eligibility and pension contributions, full-time workers will be credited 40 hours per week during the furlough. Part-time workers will get credit for their weekly average hours worked since October 2019.
- If you are a new worker, you can choose insurance after your 90-day probation just as you had planned.
- If you come back from an approved Leave of Absence during the furlough, you are covered by the Union’s
agreement. - If you have a qualifying life event, you can get insurance. Example, if you had insurance through your spouse but
your spouse loses their job, you can enroll in Disney insurance. The same is true for a divorce or the birth of a
child. - If the furlough continues until the next open enrollment period in 2020, you will be able to choose insurance.
- Vacation, Floating Holidays and Paid Time Off (part-time employees): From April 12-18, you can choose to have it
paid out weekly up to 40 hours per week until it is gone. - Full-time employees can also choose to be paid out accumulated sick days above 96 hours.
- Other basic programs continue: HUB access, Aspire, Maingate, etc.
- If you are in a job that requires certain skills or proficiencies, the Company cannot say you lose them.
- A small group of less than 200 workers will do “essential” duties during the closure. The work will be offered to
volunteers by seniority. If not enough people volunteer, the work will be assigned to the least senior workers. If
you have a legitimate health, safety, childcare or other reason you cannot work, you will not be forced to work
and you will not be penalized. You will remain on furlough. - If any worker covered by Disney insurance needs COVID-19 testing, Disney insurance will pay for it.
Down the road at Universal Orlando, Comcast recently announced that full-time Team Members would not be furloughed, but they would see a 20% pay cut beginning in May.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com for the latest Disney Parks news and photos. We’ll continue to bring you news and photos, where possible, through the Disney Parks closure due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) and will resume our normal coverage once the parks reopen to guests on July 11th!