Disney and a union coalition representing 43,000 workers at Disney Works have reached an agreement on new safeguards for cast members to return to work amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement, the Service Trades Council Union said the deal provides for:
- Mandatory masks for both employees and guests, with Disney providing three masks for workers
- Guest temperature checks
- Paid sick leave for any employee who contracts COVID-19
- No attendance punishment for calling out sick with COVID-19 symptoms
- Thermometer provided for any cast member upon request
- Implementing social distancing practices
- Plexiglass barriers at cash registers
- More sanitizer and handwashing stations across Disney property
“This agreement paves the way for each affiliated union of the STCU to continue to have conversations with the company, including ensuring your safety when you return to work,” STCU said in a statement.
Disney furloughed the vast majority of the employees represented by the union coalition on April 19, a month after the resort began shutting down due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Disney Springs will be the first part of the Walt Disney World Resort to reopen, with some locations owned by third parties welcoming back guests with new safety procedures and limited capacity starting May 20.
Officially, Disney World theme parks remain closed until further notice. According to the terms of the labor deal signed in 2018, Disney would need to give unionized employees at least five days’ advance notice before they return to work.
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