Disney Parks and Disneyland Unions Reach Agreement on Reopening Plans

Disney Parks and Disneyland union workers have reached an agreement on plans to reopen the park. The employees recently made their demands known to the company and Disney responded with understandable speed. The Coalition of Resort Labor Unions represented a group of 17,000 cast members in that letter. Now, the two sides have begun the road back to welcoming staff's return despite the reopening of the park being postponed just yesterday. The Orange County Register managed to snag a statement from Disney about the negotiations. Public outcry around the California park's reopening had intensified this week as coronavirus cases spiked across the country. Meanwhile, in Florida, Walt Disney World is still moving toward its reopening date.

Disneyland's statement read, "The signed agreement details plans that include enhanced safety protocols that will allow us to responsibly reopen and get thousands of our cast members back to work." Theme park companies and entertainment destinations have been hit very hard by the pandemic. Both governments and the business involved want to get things moving in the right direction as quickly as possible.

Teamsters Local 495 coordinator Jim Lennox spoke to the newspaper as well. Navigating the furloughs and possible return was a priority for everyone involved. But safety had to play a large role as well. "We intend to continue the discussions," Jim Lennox told the OCR. "The company hears us loud and clear."

Disneyland's initial official statement to address this demand came a few days ago as well, ""The safety and wellbeing of our cast members and guests are at the forefront of our planning, and we look forward to continued dialogue with our unions on the extensive health and safety protocols, following guidance from public health experts, which we plan to implement as we move toward our proposed, phased reopening."

Check out the Unions' statement from over the weekend down below:

"Disney wants clearance from the government to reopen the Disneyland Resort in July," the letter stated. "Unfortunately, despite intensive talks with the company, we are not yet convinced that it is safe to reopen the parks on Disney's rapid timetable… We are not yet satisfied that it is safe to reopen the resort. There are numerous questions about safety which Disney has not yet answered."

"Disney has rejected or not yet responded to important safety proposals made by CRLU member unions," the union added. "Therefore, at this point we do not know if the resort can be operated safely."