Disneyland, Unions Tell of Some Progress in Talks

Disneyland management and union representatives for 2,400 employees on Friday reported some progress in contract negotiations, with the amusement park raising its earlier offer of a 2% annual pay increase.

The employees, whose jobs range from candy makers to Jungle Cruise operators, are scheduled to vote today on the three-year contract offer. Their contract expired at midnight Thursday.

Employees will vote to accept or reject Disneyland’s offer. The contract must be approved by 51% of those voting. A rejection of the contract by two-thirds of the voters would authorize union representatives to call a strike.

Details Not Revealed

Negotiators declined to reveal details of Disneyland’s latest offer. Tom Ramsay, a spokesman for the five-union coalition, said, “Management has made significant moves in the last day and a half.”

He said both sides bargained until 5:15 a.m. Friday before Disneyland made a final offer to increase its earlier proposed pay raises.

Under the earlier proposal, management offered workers with four or more years’ seniority a 2% pay increase for each of the next three years. Employees with one to three years of experience would have received slightly less over the life of the contract.

The top rate of pay at the park is $9.94 for permanent, hourly personnel--with slight variations according to job.

Park spokesman Bob Roth declined comment on the contract negotiations other than to say, “We’re still talking. . . . Both sides are working toward a settlement. We’re hopeful things can be worked out.”

The employees involved in the contract negotiations make up more than 25% of Disneyland’s full-time, permanent staff of 8,000 workers. They are the same group of unions that staged a 22-day strike five years ago--the longest stoppage in the park’s history.

Negotiations have focused on:

Whether employees will receive a percentage hourly increase or bonuses and the amounts of each.

Whether the employees’ health plan will be changed to put all of the company’s 32,000 workers into one health plan--rather than giving them a choice, as is done now.

Job “interchangeability”--so that Dumbo ride operators, for example, can be ordered to sell hot dogs and merchandisers can be told to sweep Main Street.

Whether the “lead rate”--an extra 50 per hour paid to ride operators who oversee co-workers--will be reduced for some classifications of employees.