Hundreds of costumed cast members have threatened to leave the Teamsters Union at Walt Disney World over misrepresentation, prompting the national Teamsters president to order a hearing in Orlando.
James Hoffa at Rally in 2011 Photo via Orlando Sentinel
What’s happening:
- The Orlando Sentinel has reported that James Hoffa, national president of the Teamsters union recently visited Walt Disney World.
- Hoffa serves as general president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and came to the Sunshine State in hopes to ease tensions due to union Cast Members threatening to leave.
- According to reports, hundreds of costumed character-performer Cast Members have felt misrepresented and are threatening to leave the union.
- Among the complaints were allegations that leaders had made a deal with Disney to cut out nearly 20 character-performer positions from being covered by the union.
- Union members also said that leadership had been “unresponsive” to grievances.
- Addressing this issue, Hoffa visited Florida over the weekend and ordered a hearing to “determine whether leaders should be removed from the Teamsters union.”
- The hearing was held on Saturday with many local members present. Hoffa accused leaders or “horrible misrepresentation.”
- Also in attendance at the hearing was a panel of Teamsters officials. They will have two months to review testimony and decide if Local 358 leaders should be removed, Hoffa will have the final say.
- Another separate and independent investigation by the Teamsters office had been looking into allegations of false records being created, embezzlement, and obstruction.
Other facts:
- Service Trades Council Union (STCU) president Matthew Hollis says that there are around 5,000 Cast Members repped by the Local 358 Teamsters.
- The STCU is a group of six unions representing almost 40,000 Walt Disney World Resort Cast Members.
- Costumed character-performers have been a part of the Teamsters since the 1980s.
- Of the performance union members, nearly two-thirds of the 1,000 Cast Members signed the petition to leave the union.
- Removing a leadership official is not a common practice. Should the Teamsters panel and/or Hoffa decide to remove the current leadership, a ‘trustee’ from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters would run the local union until an election could be held.
What they’re saying:
- Bret Caldwell: “You don't take a trusteeship lightly when moving forward if that's where this ends up. The concerns of members are paramount.”
- Ralph Singer, a truck driver at Disney: “Everybody is hopeful and confident they're going to take them out. It just took way too long to get there.”
- Character-performers in email to Hoffa’s office: “ [We] would like to stand united in presenting this attached petition with more than 600 members' names who are interested in forfeiting Union membership as a result of the horrible misrepresentation we have received from our local Union representatives.”