Union Leaders Accept Disneyland Contract : Labor: Negotiators take rare step of overriding a majority of members who had twice voted to reject the proposal.

In an extraordinary move, leaders of five unions representing 3,000 workers at Disneyland decided Monday to accept a contract proposal, even though it was twice rejected by a majority of the voting members.

In a flyer to be distributed to members today, the five-union negotiating committee says it will sign Disney’s “last, best and final offer because it is a hard-won agreement that Disney refuses to change.”

The 30-member committee said it had little choice but to take the action given that it did not have the authority to call a strike because fewer than two-thirds of the voters rejected the contract offer.

“Without the serious threat of a long strike,” the flyer says, “Disney has no incentive to change their offer.”

Disney officials did not return telephone calls Monday.

The five-union committee can legally sign the contract offer, despite the majority rejection by the membership, because bylaws governing two of the five larger unions at Disneyland give that authority.

Such authority, while uncommon among unions, is aimed at enabling leaders to exercise control in the presence of an unruly or misinformed membership.

However, such powers are rarely used because they can engender backlash from members who believe such moves run counter to the spirit of democratic union principles.

“I don’t believe this,” said Sue Kemp, a 24-year Disneyland worker and union member. “They’re going to have a lot of unhappy people.”

Although some union members weren’t troubled by Monday’s decision, Kemp and others had previously threatened to give up all or part of their union membership if their leaders forced them to live with the contract.

None of the leaders of the five Disneyland unions would comment Monday. But sources said 30 of the committee members met for about four hours Monday afternoon at the United Food and Commercial Workers hall in Buena Park, with all 30 members agreeing to the decision.

The negotiating committee had the option to put the contract offer up for a third vote, but a source said union leaders felt it was better to take decisive action rather than risk a third rejection.

“It was like beating a dead horse,” the source said.

Anticipating the political heat that union leaders may now face, the negotiating committee said in its flyer that the five unions would organize quarterly membership meetings at the park with union officials.

Also, the committee said it would adopt bylaws governing the five Disneyland unions, apparently to clarify confusion that swept the park after the two rejections.

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The confusion stemmed from the unusual combination of five unions that have long had a single “master services” contract with Disneyland. Two of the five unions--Teamsters and United Food Workers--represent a majority of the 3,000 workers, and their contracts require a two-thirds rejection before a strike can be called.

However, the three other unions--Service Employees, Hotel and Restaurant Employees and Bakery Workers--require only a majority rejection to give strike authorization.

Because of the two-thirds rule, union leaders at Disneyland were backed into a corner because they did not have the weapon of a strike, and they felt they could not get a better deal from Disneyland.

The negotiating committee had shaken hands on the contract offer after months of talks. The offer included a 3% annual wage increase--better than what most unions have been able to obtain in recent years. Moreover, union leaders, with the help of a federal mediator, were able to push Disney to remove some strong and unfavorable language on seniority rules.

Even so, many of the 3,000 Disneyland workers, about one-third of the total work force, believed that their union leaders could have negotiated a better deal from the company and the park, which have been hugely successful. Most of the union workers make between $7 and $12 hourly.

Some workers complained that the union created the problem by failing to sell the contract to the members.

The park has not had a strike since 1984.

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Turbulent Negotiations

Disneyland employees twice voted down a proposed three-year labor contract before union leaders overrode their members and accepted it Monday. What the negotiations involved:

* Contract period: Sept. 15, 1995, to Sept. 14, 1998

* Employees represented: 3,000

* Unions involved: Service Employees, Hotel and Restaurant Workers, Teamsters, United Food and Commercial Workers, Bakery and Confection Workers

* In dispute: 3% annual pay increase for the next three years (employees wanted more), elimination of retiree health benefits for those hired on or after Sept. 15

* Current hourly wage: $7-$12

* September mail-in vote: Rejected, 848-805

* Oct. 16 in-person vote: Rejected, 742-729

Source: Master Services Joint Council, Times reports; Researched by JANICE L. JONES / Los Angeles Times