Disneyland Hotel Pact Ends 10-Month Dispute
Disneyland Hotel and 1,200 of its employees have agreed to a new labor contract, ending a 10-month dispute marked by boycotts, protests and arrests, hotel and union officials said Tuesday.
David L. Schultz, president of the Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Union, Local 681, said 91% of the membership ratified the new contract in an election Monday night.
Hotel employees continued to work without a signed contract after the old contract expired Feb. 28. The new contract will expire Jan. 2, 1990.
‘Give and Take’
Schultz characterized recent negotiations that led to the agreement as “give and take on both sides.”
However, both sides have agreed not to disclose the terms of the contract, union and hotel officials said.
“Let’s just say we reached an amicable agreement,” Schultz said.
“We’re just delighted,” said hotel spokesman Ric Morris. “The only thing I can say with regards to the ratified contract is that it’s a good contract for all parties. No winners or losers, just a good package.”
The new agreement affects maids, bartenders, waitresses, cooks and other employees, who account for 1,200 of the hotel’s 2,000 workers.
Schultz said employees were being paid before the ratification under the terms of the hotel’s last and final offer in February, which the union rejected in March.
The union had asked for raises ranging from 30 cents to 60 cents an hour. The hotel’s final offer in February included no increases for food service employees and raises of up to 30 cents for others.
Top hourly wages were $3.90 for waitresses and busboys, $4.90 for maids and more than $6 for cooks.
Union members began demonstrating in March, after turning down a four-year contract offer that called for wage increases averaging about 28.5% over the life of the contract.
Officials from both sides on Tuesday said considerable changes had been made to the hotel’s final offer.
“The union didn’t get everything it wanted, and I don’t think the hotel got everything it wanted either,” Schultz said.
Hotel Lost Business
During the labor dispute, the hotel lost at least $8,000 when a Sept. 5 seminar was canceled. More than 400 people refused to cross the picket line or left the hotel when the seminar, which was co-sponsored by two labor and management groups, was canceled.
The impact was also felt when celebrities, prominent individuals and elected officials honored picket lines. Vice President George Bush crossed the picket lines to speak at a political fund-raiser for Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) in May but canceled his stay and booked 100 rooms at a nearby hotel. In April, labor leader Cesar Chavez attended a rally that drew media attention to help bolster the spirits of the Spanish-speaking employees, who make up most of the hotel’s kitchen and housekeeping staff.
During the long dispute between the hotel and the union, there were about a dozen arrests by Anaheim police and other law-enforcement agencies. The arrests occurred at the hotel and in front of the homes of hotel executives when pickets allegedly became overzealous.
“We still never had any violence,” said Anaheim Police Sgt. Michael Webb.
“I’m glad it’s over because no one wins in an extended situation. With these things, it often gets emotional,” Webb said.
The Disneyland Hotel is owned by Wrather Corp. of Beverly Hills.
