ANAHEIM (CNS) - Disneyland Resort hotel workers have ratified a new five-year contract with the company that brings their pay to at least $15 an hour, three years before California's minimum wage is scheduled to hit that number, the Burbank-based company announced.
Some 2,700 workers from Unite Here! Local 11 ratified the deal on Sunday. It includes a minimum-wage increase of 40 percent over the next two years of the agreement, with the $15 minimum wage taking effect in January 2019. Housekeepers move to $15.80 immediately.
“The strides we have made to implement $15 an hour minimum wages will have an immediate and lasting impact on the quality of life of our cast members and their families,” said Josh D'Amaro, president of the Disneyland Resort. “Additionally, we are very proud to offer our cast peace of mind through affordable healthcare options and free educational opportunities ...”
The tentative deal was reached last week after a year and a half of negotiations, and comes on the heels of recent agreements that will push pay for about 7,000 non-union workers to $15.75 an hour in December and move about 9,700 unionized ride operators, janitors and other theme park workers to $15 an hour in early 2019.
Union spokesman Austin Lynch said last week that hotel workers were happy about the contract and “feel like they're going to be able to stop choosing between food and rent.”
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