Jentasmic: Rants and Ramblings about Disney Stock

Am I bitter about the economy? Yes, and for good reason. In the midst of the US’s “jobless recovery,” the rich are getting richer, and the poor poorer. Per usual. If you need the charts and stats, check out this Business Insider article.

Case in point: The juxtaposition of the 10-year-high price for Disney stock, and the financial hardships faced by many Cast Members, ultimate point of my rant this week on StudiosCentral.

And what does Disney’s stock price mean for Cast Members? Well, if they’re earning enough money to support participation in the Employee stock purchase program mentioned on the WDW web site, then they can benefit just like any other investor. And I’m guessing that some of the higher-level Cast Members may have significant stock holdings. Disney has continued to pay dividends regularly, and will do so again next week. The current economy does seem to favor stocks that pay dividends, as many investors are strapped for cash, and might also be nervous about whether any stock will reliably retain value, after some of the market drops we’ve seen in recent years.

But after having done some research lately on what Cast Members are paid, and watching the ongoing union negotiations at Walt Disney World, I’m guessing most can’t afford to invest in stock. Listening to first-hand accounts from some Cast Members on the Mousetrapped video series produced by one of the Cast Member unions, I’m left with a bitter taste in my mouth.

If all goes as planned, this month I’ll be fortunate enough to set foot in Disney Parks on both coasts, due to a SoCal business trip next week, and my BFF’s WDW wedding the week after. I will enjoy the hell out of this double-dose Disney fix. But I can’t say it won’t bug me to think of the inequities of the situation, and I promise I’ll tip whomever I can, whenever I can.

Another Contract Extension for WDW Cast Members

The Orlando Sentinel reports:

A second round of mediation between Walt Disney World and its largest labor group ended Friday with little movement on either side.

But Disney management and the Service Trades Council did trade some new offers and agreed to once again for bargaining on Feb. 10.

(Hat tip: The Disney Blog.)

So . . . since there’s more than a month before the next round of bargaining, let me reiterate my suggestion: If you think Disney should provide better compensation to their Cast Members, let them know. I’ve provided a link to Guest Services and the text of my own email to Disney in yesterday’s post.

Do I think that a flood of emails to Disney will result in immediate improvements of Cast Member wages? Sadly, no. And I don’t think I’m gonna be able to trigger that kind of flood, anyway. But at a minimum, at least I know I spoke my mind, and (perhaps better yet) some Cast Member in charge of reading through Guest comments might be glad to know some Guests care.

If you haven’t already watched Mousetrapped 2010, you might want to check it out now. I’m sad that so many of the people making the magic for me are under such financial duress. I also try to keep it in mind when I’m in the parks (or calling Guest Services), and try to be a little extra kind to those who are making the Parks so magical for me with such little compensation.

And if you’re moved to contact Guest Services yourself, why not also spread the word to a friend? We’re all in this massively connected online Disney Digerati these days, so tweet it out, Facebook it, whatever. Will Disney change its ways? Probably not. But maybe we can make a Cast Member smile, somewhere.

Can’t Tell the (Disney) Players Without a Scorecard

Honor Hunter of Blue Sky Disney has created a couple excellent cheat-sheets for those of us who might confuse Ollie Johnston with Eric Larson, or somehow even forget who Ed Catmull is.

• The Nine Old Men: Walt’s original supervising animators.
• Suits vs. Creatives, Heroes vs. Villians: Major players in the “Walt Disney Company Game”

Those with opinions on Tony Baxter (or wishing to form some) will want to read the comments on the Suits vs Creatives post fer sure.