Effective April 19, 2020 practically all of the 43,000 Walt Disney World employees working under the Service Trades Council Union (STCU) agreement will be furloughed until further notice. An agreement was reached this weekend which ensured employees would be able to maintain their health insurance at no cost to the employee for one year. In addition, the agreement protected the seniority, recall and various other rights for employees.
“Employee’s realize these are unprecedented times. No one imagined Disney would be closed until further notice. Thankfully, these members have an agreement which protects the health insurance coverage for themselves and their family for a prolonged period paid for by the company,” said TCU National Vice President Matt Hollis who is the President of the STCU. These employees qualify for unemployment benefits through the state of Florida and the increased unemployment benefits provided by the CARES act. However, that process can be daunting.
NVP Hollis continued: “The Florida unemployment system is fundamentally broken. The system is rigged to deter Floridians from filing for the benefits they desperately need and deserve. But we are fighting to change that. We are hopeful that an expedited process can be implemented which will offer pre-screened unemployment eligibility for Disney employees. This approach is similar to those used in various other states with large employers. Regardless of the method, we are urging Florida’s governor to do whatever is necessary to make the desperately needed improvements to the unemployment system so that employees can access these funds needed immediately. The STCU is calling for all our members to engage in a week of action. By using various means of social media and mass communication we plan to communicate a loud unified message to Florida Governor Ron Desantis. Workers can’t Wait! Fix Unemployment Now!”
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