In the past few weeks, The Walt Disney Company and its CEO, Bob Chapek, have issued statements and responses regarding a piece of Florida legislation that critics call the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Cinderella Castle
In response to Disney’s recent statements on Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” Bill, a group of Disney Cast Members and employees are reportedly planning a week-long walkout.
The organizers of the walkout come from many areas within The Walt Disney Company, and are separate from Disney’s business employee resource groups and Disney PRIDE organizations, according to Variety. The walkouts are expected to take place both in-person and virtually.
Rainbow Mickey
On March 14th, the Twitter account @DisneyWalkout posted a message sharing the changes that they would like to see within The Walt Disney Company and attached both a petition and open letter to Disney. The tweet reads, “The LGBTQIA+ workers and allies at The Walt Disney Company are standing in solidarity together over the coming weeks.”
©Disney PhotoPass Magic Shot
In the open letter to Disney, the group explained, “While we certainly appreciate Bob Chapek’s apology note, there is still more work to be done.”
Pride Month Cake from EPCOT
Variety further explained that the walkouts will take place during Cast Members’ 15-minute break period each day through March 21st, concluding on March 22nd with a “full-scale walkout.” Currently, there is no indication of how many Cast Members plan to join the walkout.
Pride Pins
According to Yahoo!, Unite Here Local 362 President Eric Clinton said that “the union is not affiliated with the group organizing the walkouts.” The union represents workers through many areas of the Disney Parks. Clinton also said “Boycotting the company could end up harming the LGBTQ+ workers people are fighting to protect” and that the union “is working to support thousands of LGBTQ+ workers affected by the legislation.”
Amorette’s Pride Treat
The union is advocating for more action against the legislation to further support Disney’s employees. Some members are pushing for a petition that would demand Disney issue a “public and forceful statement”, fight for the removal of the politicians who passed the bill, end donations to these politicians, and provide more counseling to employees that are affected, according to Yahoo!.
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Disney has not commented on the upcoming walkouts. In the meantime, stay tuned for all the latest Disney news, updates, and more.
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Hi Rick! Your post was not deleted, it just takes time for us to go through all the comments to approve them. The only time we will not approve a comment is if it is insensitive in nature, contains profanity, attacks someone directly or would not be received well by a wide audience.
I am all for rights for ALL human beings, as long as only adults are involved and everything is consensual. Straight, gay, trans, bi I don’t care, its not my place to tell anyone how to live their lives. If Disney is paying the same to straight, gay, trans, bi etc then what exactly is the problem? Anyone and I mean anyone, who has an issue with not explaining sexuality to children under 10 years old is mentally ill. That is all the new legislation is saying. There is no “don’t say gay” in any of it and shame on some of the LGBTQ community for lying about it. Young children need to learn math, spelling, reading, history in school…NOT sexual orientation. Disney needs to take a neutral stand on this.
For those who are complaining about DIsney contributing to politicians who support this bill, you’re only telling half the story. Disney also contributes to politicians who do not support this bill. They are “equal opportunity contributors” in order to have a voice with both sides. To say otherwise is distorting the facts.
Ditto from Crystals response. It was perfect .
I understand the Bill discussing up to grade three and I agree. My concern are the words AGE APPROPRIATE beyond grade three. There is a lot of lee way in those words that give more power to people who will abuse it.
They need to read and understand the bill.
Just read the Bill get Educated
What about the Disney employees who have children or grandchildren who are glad that the bill is in place? Why isn’t chapek concerned about them? Perhaps the stance he is taking is offensive to them; shouldn’t he be sensitive to them as well? I suppose if that group of people would stage a walkout no one would care or write about it. Maybe Disney should stick to family entertainment and let families worry about what offends them or not because it appears that Disney is not concerned about all families, otherwise they’d address their employees with children/grandchildren who are for the bill.
Thank you Crystal for you comments. Disney should just be Disney. As a DVC member just back from Disney world, I was confronted with not getting the member discount applied to my purchases since I didn’t have the new digital DVC member card on my phone! I printed out and had a paper copy. This occurred several times and once at Kidani village, a DVC property. Also had problems at park gate entry. Was told I didn’t have a reservation each time. Of course I did!! I found that the louder I got the quicker things got fixed.
Sean, your comment is spot on. Of course there are two sides to every issue. I would bet my house that the side you mentioned that is happy the bill is in place, is in the majority. Unfortunately, Disney and most other corporations only listen to the side that screams the loudest. In a perfect world, Disney should be a-political and concentrate only on putting out the best product for the customers that are paying ungodly amounts of money to them.
Crystal and Opchic said it all.
Disney has no control over politics. Nor should they get involved for either side. In my opinion if some one walks out of work they have just quit. So DIsney should replace them. I know the markets tough but to bad .
I really don’t think cast members are walking out because of this. I was at Disney World last week and long time employees are upset at Chapek for changing a lot of things at Disney that used to be magical for them and guests. I’m fed up with all the changes; Disney Genie is worthless, no complementary transportation from the airport, ticket and food prices are outrageous and the magic the we’ve enjoyed for the past 25 years of going is fading away fast. The amount of money they paid Chapek is ridiculous. Maybe if they used some of that money fixing rides, lower prices so the average family can vacation at the parks and paid their staff more, employees wouldn’t leave and attendance would be more. Last week during spring break, attendance seemed very low. Very dissatisfied customer with Chapek’s performance as CEO.
I agree with Kathy 100%. Today I read an open letter from conservative Disney employees to corporate. In this letter, they expressed their frustration that Disney had taken sides in a political issue, which in turn had caused hostility in the workplace for them. They were not asking that Disney take their side, only that they remain neutral, so that they did not have to work in a hostile environment. Surely, Disney is not so obtuse that they do not understand that getting involved in politics will lead to nothing good happening. The magic will be gone, the brand tainted and soured, and nobody will benefit from it. Just because the left’s voice is always the loudest, it does not mean it’s always right. But Disney seems to have fallen prey to only hearing the loudest screams, and not the calm voices of the opposition. Get out of politics, Disney, and concentrate only on entertaining your customers that are paying you ungodly amounts of money.
Charles Jones, where did you read this open letter from? Please provide the source. DFB, if you haven’t done so already, why are you not highlighting this as one of your “NEWS” posts/articles? You’ve highlighted how some employees feel and continue to post articles about their walkout, etc. How about telling the story of what’s going on with the other employees? I hope that in the next couple of days you highlight this other side as “NEWS”. Based on the comments I’ve read, a lot of your subscribers would be happy to see that.
Great walk out and keep right on going!
You are right Opick. Children should learn History in school, the history of slavery and the holocaust. Unfortunately some states do not allow this. So Sad.
Here is the open letter from Disney Employees:
“As employees of the Walt Disney Company, we believe in the dignity of all people. This is why we do what we do. We write stories. We make costumes. We act in parades. We run cruises. We stream movies. We make magic. We do this because our work contributes to a fountain of wonder that inspires joy, awe, and delight in guests and audiences of all ages. We are proud employees of the Walt Disney Company. We love our jobs because we get to share the wonder of life and human experience with millions of people worldwide.
However, over the last few years, one group of cast members has become invisible within the company. The Walt Disney Company has come to be an increasingly uncomfortable place to work for those of us whose political and religious views are not explicitly progressive. We watch quietly as our beliefs come under attack from our own employer, and we frequently see those who share our opinions condemned as villains by our own leadership.
The company’s evolving response to the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” legislation in Florida has left many of us wondering what place we have in a company actively promoting a political agenda so far removed from our own. TWDC leadership frequently communicates its commitment to creating an inclusive workplace where cast members feel comfortable sharing their perspectives and being their authentic selves at work. That is not our workplace experience.
Over the last few weeks, we have watched as our leadership has expressed their condemnation for laws and policies we support. We have watched as our colleagues, convinced that no one in the company could possibly disagree with them and grow increasingly aggressive in their demands. They insist that TWDC take a strong stance on not only this issue but other legislation and openly advocate for the punishment of employees who disagree with them.
An internal poll within the company went out a few months ago asking us if we felt accepted in the company. Many of us didn’t complete it because the nature of the questions made us worry that the results of the poll could be used to target us for quietly holding a position that runs against the progressive orthodoxy that Disney seems to promote. TWDC has fostered an environment of fear that any employee who does not toe the line will be exposed and dismissed.
Much has been made of our internal efforts to Reimagine Tomorrow, but as much as diversity and inclusion are promoted, the tomorrow being reimagined doesn’t seem to have much room for religious or political conservatives within the company. Left-leaning cast members are free to promote their agenda and organize on company time using company resources. They call their fellow employees “bigots” and pressure TWDC to use corporate influence to further their left-wing legislative goals.
Meanwhile, those of us who don’t align with this vision keep our heads down and do our work without bringing our personal beliefs into the workplace. We’ve done this without complaint because we don’t want to rock the boat, but the boat is being rocked, and our leadership seems compelled to reward those who are rocking it.
Opchic, I agree with your comment of age 10 and below. What I am concerned with are the words in the bill stating AGE APPROPRIATE FOR ANY AGE OR GRADE. Where do we draw the line. Can teachers be taken to court if SOMEONE ANYONE FEELS ITS NOT AGE APPROPRIATE. Please explain. I will LISTEN.