Over the weekend, most Cast Member minimum wages were bumped to a $15/hour minimum. This was announced by a number of Walt Disney World unions as a win for workers, and when you compare that to the $10 minimum wage for the State of Florida, it certainly is.
The $15/hour mark was reached as part of a multi-year deal that was struck back in 2017. The next contract negotiations will take place in 2022 and union members on social media are speaking up about their hopes for the next round of talks between Disney World and its unions.
According to the MIT living wage calculator for Orange County, Florida, only a single person with zero children would be able to consider $15/hour a livable wage. Once you start to introduce children, the “living wage” number jumps to $31/hour for single adults, and almost $17/hour in a two-income household.
That’s only half of the story though, as housing continues to become more and more expensive in the Central Florida area. According to data from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, renters in the Orlando/Kissimmee region would need an annual income of $45,600 to afford just a one-bedroom accommodation. That works out to nearly $22/hour if workers want to keep to a 40-hour workweek.
According to Unite Here Local 737, the following positions have all experienced $0.75 pay bumps to the following minimum hourly pay rates:
- Food & Beverage: $15.00
- Barista: $15.30
- Cook 2: $16.40
- Housekeeper: $17.00
- Cook 1: $19.00
- Chef Assistant: $20.00
None of those positions would be able to afford housing at fair market rents.