Disney coronavirus notes: Temperature checks? / Furloughs coming for union members

Whenever Disney World reopens, entering the parks may require an extra step: checking guests’ body temperatures.

Disney executive chairman Bob Iger mentioned it in an interview with Barron’s as one way to make guests feel that they’re safe:

Just as we now do bag checks for everybody that goes into our parks, it could be that at some point we add a component of that that takes people’s temperatures, as a for-instance.

We’re studying very carefully what China has been trying to do in terms of their return to normalcy. And one of the things that’s obvious is they’ve conscripted a large segment of their population to monitor others in terms of their health. You can’t get on a bus or a subway or a train or enter a high-rise building there—and I’m sure this will be the case when their schools reopen—without having your temperature taken.

In truth, Chinese measures go beyond screening for a fever. At the limited venues now open at Shanghai Disneyland, for example, visitors are also required to wear a mask and present a QR code to prove their health status from a smartphone app mandated by the Chinese government.

While Disney is accepting reservations for June 1 and beyond, one Wall Street analyst is expecting a much longer shutdown. Well Fargo’s Steve Cahall predicted “zero park attendance” for Disney in the second half of the company’s fiscal year — essentially projecting that the parks will remain closed through September.

“We don’t think Parks can get back to anything close to full capacity until testing and/or vaccines are far more ubiquitous,” Cahall wrote.

Disney World union gives update on furlough talks

For unionized cast members at Disney World, it’s not a question of if they’ll be furloughed, but when and under what terms.

Unite Here Local 737, which represents housekeeping, food and beverage employees at Disney World, provided an update on negotiations on its Facebook page. It said Disney proposed temporarily laying off all the cast members it represents beginning April 19 — the same date that furloughs begin for non-union employees.

“We are focused on securing medical insurance during the furlough, ensuring that thousands of Disney Cast Members are not dumped into an already broken Florida Unemployment Insurance system, and that Disney Cast Members are not impacted in a negative way because of the Disney property closure,” the union said.

The current Disney World union contract requires Disney to provide one week’s notice to employees being furloughed. When the parks can reopen, Disney would also need to provide cast members five days’ notice that they’re being called back to work.

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