Members of the six unions representing Disney World employees have voted no on a contract that Disney had positioned as its best offer.

According to Unite Here Local 362, union members rejected the offer by a 96% margin. Disney World’s current contract with its unionized Cast Members expired October 1st, 2022. The Cast Members are working under a contract extension that will continue even after this week’s “no” vote.

The main point of contention in the contract negotiations has been wages. Disney says its offer would have provided 30,000 Cast Members with a pay increase that amounted to “a nearly 10% average” and would have been retroactive back to Oct. 1st. “We are disappointed that those increases are now delayed,” said Andrea Finger, a Disney spokesperson.

Disney unions represent 45,000 employees — the remaining 15,000 are part-time, and their contract is negotiated seperately.

Labor union leaders had asked full-time Cast Members to reject the offer, which would have gradually increased starting wages at Walt Disney World to $20 per hour over the next five years. The unions say their members need bigger raises sooner because of cost-of-living increases in Central Florida. ““Rent and other expenses have skyrocketed, leaving workers in a state of emergency,” the unions said in a prepared statement before the vote.

Disney Union members reject Company offer by a 96% margin!

When we fight, we win!#DisneyWorkersNeedARaise pic.twitter.com/B6hWsFsC36

— UNITE HERE! Local 362 (@UNITEHERE362) February 4, 2023

Researchers from Florida Atlantic University said in December that the average rent in the Orlando area had increased by 8.14% in one year, to an average of $1,995.62. Rent typically increases 3% to 5% per year.

The unions demanded an immediate minimum wage of $18 per hour for all Cast Members they represent. Disney states that 25% of non-tipped Cast Member roles would reach $20 an hour wages within the first year of the contract, and that 46% of those Cast Members would receive more than $1 an hour in the first year.

The Disney proposal would have paid those 30,000 full-time, non-tipped employees at least $5 more than the Florida minimum wage, currently set at $11 per hour. Housekeepers, bus drivers, and culinary cast members would have been paid at least $20 per hour immediate, Finger said.

Service Trades Council Union President Matt Hollis told the Orlando Sentinel that the unions would be asking Disney to resume negotiations. “Disney workers are united in our belief that Disney can do better,” he said.

Stay tuned to DFB for updates on these negotiations.

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The post BREAKING: Cast Members Reject New Disney World Contract first appeared on the disney food blog.