Disneyland 'Pirates' performers can join union, NLRB says
Adds in paragraph 4 that Disney declined to comment
By Daniel Wiessner
Sept 12 (Reuters) -The National Labor Relations Board has ruled that a small group of performers who portray "Pirates of the Caribbean" characters in a show at Disneyland can vote on whether to join an existing union of cast members in other productions at the park.
The board in a decision issued on Wednesday said the group of about 20 workers in the show Fantasmic! had enough in common with other unionized performers at the California theme park to join them for the purposes of collective bargaining.
The decision reversed an NLRB regional director in Los Angeles who ruled last year that the performers could form their own bargaining unit with the American Guild of Variety Artists but not join the larger existing unit. After that decision, the workers voted 13-0 to unionize.
A Disney spokesperson declined to comment. The union did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In July, unions representing 14,000 Disneyland employees reached a tentative agreement with Disney on a new three-year contract, thwarting a threatened strike.
Fantasmic!, which is hosted by Mickey Mouse, features ships floating down an artificial river on which performers reenact scenes from classic Disney movies.
One of the ships is made to look like the Black Pearl, the pirate ship featured in the five Pirates of the Caribbean films, and performers portray characters including Captain Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth Swann.
The union petitioned to represent the workers in late 2022. The NLRB regional director last year found that the Pirates performers have distinct job functions, supervision, and training and do not interact with other performers in Fantasmic! or other shows, including ones based on the Lion King, the Avengers, and Toy Story.
Despite winning the election, the union had asked the board to review the decision and rule that the performers shared a "community of interest" with the existing bargaining unit, which includes singers, ice skaters, dancers, comedians, acrobats and circus performers, among others.
Forming small bargaining units can be an important first step for unions attempting to organize a larger non-union workforce. But when a workplace is already unionized, as Disneyland is, unions typically prefer to have larger units with more bargaining power.
The board on Wednesday acknowledged that there were some differences in the working conditions of the Pirates performers and others, but said the regional director was wrong to find that they outweighed the similarities. In some respects, the board said, all of the performers at Disneyland have the exact same job duties.
"The specialty performers lip-sync, perform choreography, embody the mannerisms of Disney characters, engage in acrobatics and stage swordplay, perform on heights with and without harnesses, and more," the board said.
The board sent the case back to the regional director to schedule an election.
The case is Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S. Inc, National Labor Relations Board, No. 21-RC-306324.
For Disney: Aaron Zandy and Bret Yaw of Ford Harrison
For the union: Benjamin O'Donnell of Gilbert & Sackman
Read more:
Disney, unions reach tentative pact, avoiding strike at Disneyland
Disneyland character performers announce plans to unionize
Disneyland not 'happiest place' for workers, wage lawsuit claims
Key union organizing tactic backed by U.S. labor board
면책조항: XM Group 회사는 체결 전용 서비스와 온라인 거래 플랫폼에 대한 접근을 제공하여, 개인이 웹사이트에서 또는 웹사이트를 통해 이용 가능한 콘텐츠를 보거나 사용할 수 있도록 허용합니다. 이에 대해 변경하거나 확장할 의도는 없습니다. 이러한 접근 및 사용에는 다음 사항이 항상 적용됩니다: (i) 이용 약관, (ii) 위험 경고, (iii) 완전 면책조항. 따라서, 이러한 콘텐츠는 일반적인 정보에 불과합니다. 특히, 온라인 거래 플랫폼의 콘텐츠는 금융 시장에서의 거래에 대한 권유나 제안이 아닙니다. 금융 시장에서의 거래는 자본에 상당한 위험을 수반합니다.
온라인 거래 플랫폼에 공개된 모든 자료는 교육/정보 목적으로만 제공되며, 금융, 투자세 또는 거래 조언 및 권고, 거래 가격 기록, 금융 상품 또는 원치 않는 금융 프로모션의 거래 제안 또는 권유를 포함하지 않으며, 포함해서도 안됩니다.
이 웹사이트에 포함된 모든 의견, 뉴스, 리서치, 분석, 가격, 기타 정보 또는 제3자 사이트에 대한 링크와 같이 XM이 준비하는 콘텐츠 뿐만 아니라, 제3자 콘텐츠는 일반 시장 논평으로서 "현재" 기준으로 제공되며, 투자 조언으로 여겨지지 않습니다. 모든 콘텐츠가 투자 리서치로 해석되는 경우, 투자 리서치의 독립성을 촉진하기 위해 고안된 법적 요건에 따라 콘텐츠가 의도되지 않았으며, 준비되지 않았다는 점을 인지하고 동의해야 합니다. 따라서, 관련 법률 및 규정에 따른 마케팅 커뮤니케이션이라고 간주됩니다. 여기에서 접근할 수 있는 앞서 언급한 정보에 대한 비독립 투자 리서치 및 위험 경고 알림을 읽고, 이해하시기 바랍니다.
