A coalition of labor organizations representing thousands of Disneyland employees has filed unfair labor practice charges against Disney for allegedly “threatening to discipline” workers for wearing union pins depicting Mickey Mouse’s raised fist.
Master Services Council — which represents 13,000 custodians, ride operators, candy makers, merchandise clerks and other workers at the Anaheim amusement park — accused Disney on Tuesday of unlawfully disciplining, intimidating and surveilling employees for “exercising their right to wear union buttons at work” amid their contract negotiations with the Burbank-based entertainment giant.
In a statement provided Thursday to The Times, Disneyland Resort spokesperson Jessica Good said that “cast members may only wear buttons and pins that are a part of their costumes while at work so that the show is maintained for our guests.”
The bargaining unit maintains that wearing the buttons at work is a legitimate form of union activity and that Disney cannot legally take action against employees for violating a dress code, regardless of what uniform they are required to wear or how regularly they interact with guests.
This is a developing story.