Employees who portray iconic Disney characters and perform in parades at the entertainment giant's theme parks in Southern California voted to participate The Actors Equity Association announced this on Saturday evening.
In a National Labor Relations Board vote, 79% of Disneyland Resort cast members voted to join Equity, with 953 voting in favor and 258 voting against, the union said.
If there are no election challenges, the vote will be certified within a week, Equity said.
“The next step will be to work with them (the workers) on improving health and safety, wages, benefits, working conditions and job security,” Kate Shindle, president of the Actors' Equity Association, said in a statement. “We will then meet with representatives from the Walt Disney Company to negotiate those priorities into an initial contract.”
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Equity already represents character artists at Walt Disney World in Orlando, as well as those with Disney on Broadway.
Most of the more than 35,000 employees at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, home to the company's first theme park, already have a union. Parade and character workers announced their plans to unionize in February to address safety issues and scheduling, among other issues.
The employees at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim who portray characters have been non-union employees since Disneyland first opened in 1955, Equity said.
Disney has a large presence in Anaheim, where it operates two theme parks: Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, as well as a shopping and entertainment district called Downtown Disney. Disneyland, the company's oldest park, was the second most visited theme park in the world in 2022, with 16.8 million visitors, according to a report from the Themed Entertainment Association and AECOM.
Founded in 1913, Equity says it represents more than 51,000 actors and stage managers nationwide.
